Old Photographs

School Photos
The Friends Reunited site also has a good collection of Burntisland school photos (both Primary and Secondary).

With the school photos, I have used the descriptions as supplied by the people who were kind enough to send me the photos, but these can be a little confusing to those without personal knowledge of the schools. I am therefore providing the following brief historical notes.

The first building to be erected on the Ferguson Place site was the new Burgh School, which opened in 1876. A second building was added in 1901, when Burntisland Higher Grade School (a basic secondary school) was launched. A third building was added at the rear of the site in 1928. The 1901 building (which is the eastern building facing Ferguson Place) and the 1928 building still exist in their original form. The 1876 building was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1913. It was speedily rebuilt, and significantly improved at the same time. In due course the two schools on the campus became the primary and secondary departments of Burntisland Junior Secondary School.

Burntisland Junior Secondary School had both a primary and a secondary department. Those who passed the 'Qualy'/11+ exam in Primary 7 went on to Kirkcaldy High School, while those who were unsuccessful stayed on at Burntisland Junior Secondary School's secondary department. The opening of the new Balwearie Junior Secondary School in Kirkcaldy in 1964 led to the closure of the secondary department of Burntisland Junior Secondary School in that year. The primary department of Burntisland Junior Secondary School then became Burntisland Primary School. From 1964, those secondary pupils who would in the past have attended Burntisland Junior Secondary School went to Balwearie Junior Secondary School, with the others continuing to go to Kirkcaldy High School. In 1972, Balwearie High School opened as a fully comprehensive secondary school, and from that date it took almost all Burntisland secondary pupils (but not those who were already attending Kirkcaldy High School). St Marie's RC Primary School and St Andrew's RC High School, both in Kirkcaldy, were (and continue to be) options for Roman Catholic pupils.

The 1901, 1913 and 1928 buildings are still in use. It is not clear how much of the 1876 building was retained in the 1913 redevelopment, but the western single storey parts between the janitor's house and the main building appear to be much the same as they were before the fire.

A new nursery school has recently been opened on the campus. At the time of writing (February 2007), a £3m development of the school is planned. This will include the retention and modernisation of the existing buildings. The work will be carried out in phases, and should be completed by 2010.

There was also a separate Episcopal School in Burntisland, latterly housed in the former Burgh School building at Mount Pleasant. It was a primary school, with the pupils' subsequent secondary education being as described above. As the Episcopal School building had spare capacity, it was sometimes used to house overflow classes from Burntisland School. The Episcopal School closed in 1962, with the pupils transferring to the school at Ferguson Place. The building at Mount Pleasant was demolished around 1971.

Burntisland Primary 1a pupils (1950-51)
From George Johnston and Keddie Law, with names.

Burntisland Primary 1b pupils (1950-51)
From George Johnston and Keddie Law, with names.

Burntisland Primary 7b pupils (1956-57)
From George Johnston and Keddie Law, with names.

Burntisland Episcopal School pupils (about 1955) 1
From Gillian Macgregor.

Burntisland Secondary School pupils (1950)
From Jimmy Stuart, Oshawa, Canada; with names.

Burntisland Episcopal School pupils (about 1955) 2
From Susan Jarvis (née Webster).

Burntisland Primary School pupils (about 1964-66)
From Murray Duncan; his brother David is front row, extreme left.

Burntisland Primary School pupils (about 1944-45)
From Hamish Williamson, who is front row, extreme left.

Burntisland Primary School pupils (1972)
From Brenda Tait; taken 9 June 1972; with names.

Burntisland Primary School pupils (1970)
From Brenda Tait; taken 8 June 1970; with names.

Burntisland Secondary School (about 1947)
From Neil and James Ewan.

Burntisland School c1896
Headmaster and staff.

Burntisland School c1900
Headmaster and Janitor.

Burntisland School c1905 1
Headmaster and Pupil Teachers.

Burntisland School c1905 2
Headmaster and pupils in the new Higher Grade school science lab.

Burntisland School c1901
First Assistant Teacher Nellie Campbell with her class.

People

Motor cycling with the Binn House in the background
KL.

Burntisland Pipe Band 1
The Pipe Band in Rossend Terrace; date unknown. DL.

The summer fair
Here featuring Buffalo Bill Kayes. Photo by Andrew Young.

Burntisland Pipe Band 2
The Pipe Band in Rossend Terrace; date unknown. DL.

The Robertsons on the promenade (c1904)
DRC.

Burntisland Pipe Band 3
KL.

Crowning of the Summer Queen (about 1957)
SJ.

Burntisland Pipe Band 4
Marching along Kinghorn Road. KL.

Dick Crescent post war celebrations 1
BA and JA.

Burntisland Pipe Band 5
Photographed in Cowdenbeath. KL.

Dick Crescent post war celebrations 2
SA.

A public proclamation by the Provost
Provost Ferguson and the Town Councillors of c1904.

Streets and Buildings

Ferguson Place
KL.

The Parish Church
DT.

The High Street and Harbour Place
KL.

Craigholm Crescent
Posted in 1908. The Crescent is now part of Kinghorn Road. HM.

Buccleuch Place and Craigholm Crescent
Now part of Kinghorn Road. KL.

The west end of the High Street
HM.

Bentfield c1915
Now part of Kinghorn Road. KL.

The High Street and public library
Posted in May 1907, 4 months before the library opening. HM.

The East Porte 1
Taken c1960. MD1.

The High Street
DT.

The East Porte 2
The war memorial can be seen to the left of the lamp standard.

The old swimming pool 1
Missed by many, but now replaced by the Beacon Centre. KL.

The East Porte 3
Posted in 1936. Taken from just inside the entrance to the Links. HM.

The old swimming pool 2
MD1.

Robertson's boot and shoe shop
Now The Cleaning Centre in the High Street. DRC.

The Binn Hill and Binn House
The Binn House was demolished in the early 1970s. DT.

Rossend Castle entrance
DT.

Craigkennochie Terrace from the Links
DT.

Rossend Castle 1
DT.

Rossend Castle 2
KL.

The Beach, Links, and Other Views

Burntisland beach 1
MD1.

Burntisland beach 2
DT.

Burntisland beach 3
Plenty of rowing boats to choose from!

The Links 1
Not much different from today! MD1.

Burntisland beach 4
DT.

The Links 2
Posted in 1907. IP.

The beach tearoom and baths
The tearoom is now a private house. DT.

Miscellaneous

The approach to the old station
KL.

The old cricket ground
The Binn House is also in the picture. MD1.

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