Westwood's Parochial Directory for the Counties of Fife and Kinross, 1862

Parish of Carnock.

This Parish is situated in the south-west of the County, to the west of Dunfermline and north of Torryburn, both of which parishes separate it from the Firth of Forth. It is bounded by Saline on the north, by Dunfermline on the east, by Torryburn on the south, and by the Culross district of Perthshire on the west. Its length and breadth are each about three miles. Like other parts of the County in this quarter, the ground is swelling and hilly, but very fertile, and in a high state of cultivation. The rivulets of Carnock and Pitdinnies have their banks covered with plantations of fir, larch, and ash, and present very pleasing scenery in several parts.

There are four villages in the Parish, - Gowkhall, two and a half miles west of Dunfermline, by the Stirling road, Carnock, a mile west of Gowkhall, Oakley, about a mile west of Carnock, and Cairneyhill, about three miles from Dunfermline, on the Alloa road. The principal mansion-houses are Carnock and Luscar; Newbigging, which at one time was a place of note, is now only a farm house.

The Parish is supplied with good roads; the turnpikes from Dunfermline to Alloa pass through the south section, and the road from Dunfermline to Stirling, and the Stirling & Dunfermline Railway, pass through the northern part of the Parish.

The village of Oakley, at which there is a railway station, has sprung up within the last fifteen years; and, chiefly owing to the Forth Iron Works there, the Stirling & Dunfermline Railway was made to pass contiguous, and at the present time these works yield the principal source of traffic for the line. The ore and fuel are raised at the works, and there are seven blast furnaces for the operation of smelting, but there have never been above six in blast at one time.

A large number of the inhabitants of the Parish are employed as miners, or in labours connected with the Iron works at Oakley, and a considerable number are employed in agricultural operations. There are a number of weavers at Cairneyhill, but, owing to the establishment of machinery in the larger towns, and the consequent decline of hand-loom weaving, their numbers are decreasing.

The old Parish Church at Carnock was repaired in 1602, but is now in ruins, being roofless and overgrown with ivy. It was a small building, with only 240 sittings, but is interesting as the Church in which Row, the historian, ministered, and where, at an after day, Mr Gillespie laboured, whose deposition was the origin of the Relief Church, he being deposed by the General Assembly for refusing to preside at the ordination of a minister at Inverkeithing, who was obnoxious to the people. A new Parish Church with an elegant spire was built in 1840, and contains 400 sittings. There is also a Free Church at Carnock, and a U. P. Church at Cairneyhill. In addition to the Parish School, which is at Carnock, there is a Subscription School at Cairneyhill, and the Forth Iron Co. have erected a handsome Academy at Oakley, for the children of the people connected with their works, which is conducted by a very efficient staff of teachers, male and female.

The POST TOWN is Dunfermline, with Sub-Offices at Carnock, Cairneyhill, and Oakley, James Pye, Angus Hodge, and Donald Mathewson, Sub-Post Masters. - A walking postman leaves Dunfermline about half-past ten a.m., and delivers letters along the road by Gowkhall, Carnock, Oakley, &c., returning along the same road in the afternoon. Another leaves Dunfermline at the same hour by the Alloa road, delivering letters at Crossford, Cairneyhill, &c., and leaves Cairneyhill on his return about 3 p.m.


BLACKSMITHS.
Duncanson, J. & W., Cairneyhill
Houston, John, do
Mack, James, Carnock
Reid, Robert, do

BOOT & SHOEMAKERS.
Littlejohn, Brothers, Carnock
Littlejohn, James, do
Moodie, David, do
Morris, Alexander, Cairneyhill

CARRIERS.
Black, James, from Dunfermline to Oakley, by Carnock, on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday
Luke, Alexander, from Culross to Dunfermline, by Cairneyhill, Tuesday and Friday

CARTERS.
Bruce, William, Cairneyhill
Erskine, William, do
Mitchell, George, do
Oswald, David, Gowkhall
Thomson, James, Cairneyhill
Thomson, John, do

CLERGY.
Douglas, A. B., Parish Church, Carnock
Gilston, William, Free Church, do
More, John, U. P. Church, Cairneyhill

COALMASTERS.
Forth Iron Co., Oakley Collieries
Hutchison, Robert, Esq., Carnock Muir Colliery (Anthracite)

DRESSMAKERS.
Gilroy, Mrs, Cairneyhill
Howieson, Miss, do
M'Gregor, Miss, Carnock
Nisbet, Miss, Oakley
Paterson, Misses, Cairneyhill

FARMERS.
Craigie, James, Blair, by Oakley
Danks, Alexander, Clune
Deas, David, Carneil
Grinton, David, Easter Camps
Herron, Andrew, North Pitdinnie
Hutchison, Robert, Esq., Carnock
Lawrence, John, Wester Bonhard
Lawson, John, Isle of Canty
Marshall, David, East Luscar
Mercer & Sons, Wester Camps
Millar, James, West Luscar
Smith, Michael, Rosebank Mains
Watt, David, Pitdinnie
Wilson & Campbell, Newbigging

GENTRY & PEOPLE OF INDEPENDENT MEANS.
Babington, Colonel, Luscar House
Hutchison, Robert, Esq., Carnock
Mill, Adie, Gowkhall
Watt, Miss, Carnock House
Watt, Mr, do
Wetherington, Alexander, Gowkhall

GROCERS.
Those marked thus* are also Spirit Dealers.
Clark, David, Carnock
*Clark, Robert, Cairneyhill
Donaldson, John, Carnock
Fotheringham, Henry, Cairneyhill
Hodge, Thomas, do
*Hunter, John, Carnock
*M'Pherson, Archd., Cairneyhill
*More, Robert, Salesman, Forth Iron Co.'s Store

JOINERS & WRIGHTS.
Those marked thus * are also Cabinet-Makers.
*Allan, William, Gowkhall
Edwards, Thomas, Cairneyhill
Robertson, Brothers, do
*Thomson, W. C, Carnock
Walls, Alexander, Cairneyhill
*Young, James, Carnock

MASONS.
Dick, Robert, Gowkhall
Duncanson, Thomas, & Francis, Cairneyhill

SOCIETIES.
Carnock & Cairneyhill Funeral Society, John Gilmour, Cairneyhill, Sec.
Forth Iron Works (Catholic) Funeral Society, Michael Ormsbey, Sec.

TEACHERS & SCHOOLS.
Anderson, Henry, Second Master, Forth Academy
M'Gregor, Miss, Female Department, Forth Academy
More, Mrs, (Institution for young ladies) Cairneyhill
Robertson, Thomas, Subscription School, Cairneyhill
Stewart, J. C., First Master, Forth Academy
Stewart, P., M.A., Parish School, Carnock

VINTNERS.
Addison, James, Carnock
Nisbet, William, Carnock

MISCELLANEOUS.
Clark, David, Baker, (Coffee-House & Reading Room) Carnock
Dow, William B., Medical Practitioner, Carnock
Erskine, Robert, Superintendent of Forth Iron Co.'s Railway, Oakley
Ferrie, William, Manager, Forth Iron Works, Oakley
Gemmell, James, Brick & Tile Maker, Oakley
Hutchison, R., Esq., Corn Miller, Carnock
Kemp, D., Gardener, (Jobbing) do
M'Vicar, Hamilton, Bricklayer, Oakley
Reid, Robert, Veterinary Surgeon, Carnock
Robertson, James, Tailor, Cairneyhill
Seaton, Robert, Linen Manufacturer (Damask) and Land Surveyor, Gowkhall
Stewart, Peter, M.A., Registrar, Collector of Poors' Rates, and Session Clerk, Carnock
Stiell, Gavin, Druggist & Seedsman, Oakley
Young, A., Librarian, Forth Iron Works Library