Welcome To Tayport Heritage Trail Site

The Tayport public’s demand for further information on local heritage was clearly identified during the 1980s when Tayport Community Council published a 1985 guide book and organised the transfer to video of the cine films recorded by Robertson of Spearshill covering local events from the 1930s to the 1950s. A subsequent conversion to CD has now been digitised and added to the Video section on the Gallery Page.

The 1987 Burgh Centenary celebrations were also popularly received with significant historical material donated and displayed at an exhibition held in the Gregory Hall. The Hall was also the venue for a centenary concert which included a performance of past events by local citizens, both young and old.

The Ferry Port on Craig Commonty Fund was constituted following the Edinburgh, Perth & Dundee Railway Company purchase of an area of common land in our village in 1848. The sole intention of the fund was to facilitate projects of benefit to the community which came within the terms of the said constitution.

Since then, many such projects have been delivered including the Community Millenium Celebrations which saw a large crowd gather at the War Memorial to enjoy the entertainment and nearby fireworks. One more recent such project being the joint effort with the Community Council to raise additional financial support to provide a new Christmas Lights display for the town in 2017.

It was subsequently decided by the Commonty Fund to initiate the project for the development of a Heritage Trail for the town. It was envisaged that such a project would create a greater awareness of the history of the town for both residents and visitors alike, whilst also helping provide an economic boost for the area.

The cost of the project was raised through grant aid and other generous donations (as listed on both the About The Trail & Trail Guide pages ) which, including the Commonty Fund contribution, totalled circa £43,000 and allowed the Tayport Heritage Trail to be launched in November 2021.

In addition to generous financial contributions, a considerable effort over the past five years has seen the collection and audit of information and images by volunteers. We are grateful to the following for support and delivery of this project:- families of both the late Ian Lorimer and Alan Law (private collections); W Hamish Tough (photographic collections and photographic enhancements); Colin Anderson (specialist I.T. skills and website management); Harold Driscoll (CD copy of Robertson’s films); Iain Flett (research guidance) and Albert J. Oswald (editorial support and research).

Discussions with Tayport Primary School’s head teacher saw the distribution of both Heritage Trail brochures and rubbing sheets to all local nursery and primary school children. 

The brochures were also made available at the Larick Centre, Caravan site, Co-op, Dolphin Centre, Harbour Café & Library as well as Tourist offices in St Andrews and Dundee and Libraries in Cupar, Newport, St Andrews and Dundee. The Heritage Trail Boards installation was completed & transferred to the stewardship of Tayport Community Council on 18th November and is covered by the Community Council’s insurance arrangements.

The Commonty Fund Committee continues to work with both the Community Council and Fife Council to establish a Heritage Centre within the former offices of the Burgh Chambers, which could be accessed in conjunction with the adjacent library opening hours.

We also welcome the submission of further historical information and images via the contact page provision, to enable the heritage project to further evolve.

Donations to safeguard the future of the Ferry-Port-on-Craig Commonty Fund (SC 011665), by helping support both the ongoing development of the project and providing for the costs of annual maintenance charges, are welcomed via the JUSTGIVING donation link below.

Ian D Mathers JP Chairman, Ferry-Port-on-Craig Commonty Fund

March 2022