The estate included the entire parish of Ferry-Port-on-Craig and part of the parish of Forgan, as illustrated on the 1831 Estate Map and included the village of  Maryton (East Newport). Prior to the construction of the road parallel with the river in 1830, the access route to Newport was from the tollhouse on the King’s Highway via the Loan and the Chapel Lees towards the Craiglaw Cotton settlement at Jess Philp’s Dam and then by way of Causewayhead Farm. The Scots Parliament Act of 1669 had introduced an upkeep system known as “statute labour” with variable results, but a further series of Acts from 1774 onwards were introduced to regulate these upkeep obligations for the landowners. This area was covered by the St Andrews District of Trustees. The Fife Turnpike Road Act of 1790 brought further powers “to purchase  ground for and cause erect tollhouses and gates”

The burn flows from the area which was previously a loch in the area of Bishop Sharp’s Quarry, passes by the Hermit’s Cave then Jess Philp’s Dam near Washer Willie’s cottage, before carving a route through several areas of previous prehistoric and medieval agricultural settlements of national importance as recorded on Pastmap and Canmore. It is joined by the burn from Inverdovat at the area known as Burnfoot, at the bottom of the Doll Field. It is called the Doll Burn on the 1831 estate map from that junction onwards. It splits at the sluice along Coffin Walk, known locally as the Burn Edge, to transfer water along the lade to the site of the former Mill Dam at Pond Lane. This supplied water power to the sawmill and also filled the boating pond in later years, reaching the river at the Esplanade corner. The overflow burn from the sluice is joined by the burn from the former Ninewells Farm on the Morton road and continues down past Linksfield & Golf Crescent where it provided essential water for the early steam engines of the former Scotscraig Works. The Hope Map of 1769 shows additional areas of Mill Dam provided in the area of the Glebe fields and an area of loch at the Garpit fields, prior to the period of agricultural improvements.

Referred to on the 1769 J Hope Map and is immediately to your left, in a field he calls the ‘Chaple Lees’, as you head up the Loan.    Sir J Scott (1927) notes “ ….Earl of Angus, bequeathed lands and fishings at Port-on-Craig to the Abbey of Arbroath, for the purposes of founding a hospital at Port-on-Craig.”  However further sources, including David Millar, advise that the land and fishings referred to, were in fact on the north ferry side in Angus. Simon Taylor (2008) advises “ we learn that around the late 1180s Earl Gilbride (Gillebrigte) of Angus had given land to Arbroath Abbey on which to build ‘ a hospital at Port-on-Craig’ The grant included ‘common pasture and all other easements of Monifieth (Monifod) ANG  and my fishing which extends from (the) Craig(que durat a Crag’) as far as my land stretches to the west “. It would seem however that before 1606 the parishioners of this northern part of Leuchars were served by a chapel of ease. It was likely St John’s chapel, first mentioned in 1597 in connection with Chapelton Ferry-Port-on-Craig on the lands of Scotscraig. The summary of graves in the Auld Kirk graveyard lists No.168 (chapel about one mile south, now in a field) Johne Barrie skipper 1613.  Further archaeological investigations were carried out in the area in 1992 as recorded on www.pastmap.org.uk

The burn edge footpath has long been known locally as “Coffin Walk” which may well be a reference to the days when the chapel was in use.