Halbeath

Halbeath is a village northeast of Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. It derives its name from the Gaelic choil beath, which means "wood of birches", and began as a colliery village. In the summer of 1789, a coal pit was sunk at Halbeath, two and a half miles northeast of Dunfermline, and by 1821, 841 people were reported to be living in the village.[1]

Not to be confused with Hill of Beath.
Halbeath Main Street

Education

A school was built in Halbeath in 1875 under the School Board of the Parish of Dunfermline but was closed in 1966.[2] A new primary school, Carnegie Primary, opened in Halbeath in August 2011. It was previously a virtual school which shared its campus with Inverkeithing Primary School.[3]

Lauder Technical College was founded by Andrew Carnegie's uncle, George Lauder, Sr., father of George Lauder, Andrew's cousin and business partner, in 1899.[4] The original campus was situated in the centre of Dunfermline before moving to Halbeath in 1970.[5] The name was changed to Carnegie College in 2007.[4] Carnegie College came together with Adam Smith College in August 2013 to form Fife College.[6] There is also a Busy Bees nursery on the Carnegie College campus.[7]

Transport

The A92 road was extended in 1997, linking the roundabout at Carnegie College to the M90 motorway. This removed 22,000 vehicles a day from Main Street and Sandybank, the two busiest streets in Halbeath and greatly reduced congestion in the village.[8]

Construction of the Halbeath Park & Ride started in late 2012 and opened on 25 November 2013. The construction was funded by the Scottish Government and European Regional Development Fund. The aims were to reduce congestion problems during the construction of the Queensferry Crossing, to provide alternative routes to Edinburgh and Glasgow and to reduce traffic in Dunfermline town centre.[9] There have been calls to build a new railway station at the Park & Ride with the same aims as the Park & Ride.[10]

References
  1. Pitcairn 2000, p.443
  2. Pitcairn 2000, p.444
  3. "Welcome to Carnegie Primary School". Fifedirect. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  4. "Founder of Lauder College remembered with series of 200th anniversary events in Dunfermline". Dunfermline Press. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  5. McEwan, Bert (2004). Dunfermline: The Post-War Years. Derby: The Breedon Books Publishing Company Limited. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-78091-299-8.
  6. "Four merged 'super colleges' launch". BBC News. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  7. "Nursery Home". Busy Bees Childcare. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  8. Pitcairn 2000, p.446
  9. "About Halbeath Park & Ride". Halbeath.org. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  10. "Labour MSP calls for new railway station at Halbeath". BBC Democracy Live. Retrieved 7 September 2016.

Notes
  • Pitcairn, Sheila (2000). History of the Old "Fitpaths" and Streets of Dunfermline, Then and Now, Also Crossford, Halbeath, Rosyth, Townhill & Wellwood. Dunfermline: Pitcairn Publications.

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