Kirkcaldy - Old Kirk

The first document to refer to the town is from 1075, when Malcolm III granted the settlement to the church of Dunfermline. David I later gave the burgh to Dunfermline Abbey, which had succeeded the church: a status which was officially recognised by Robert I in 1327. The town only gained its independence from Abbey rule when it was created a royal burgh by Charles I in 1644. Adam Smith, economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy, was born in Kirkcaldy in 1723.

The oldest church is the Old Kirk, consecrated in 1244 to St Brisse and St Patrick. The building's deterioration in the late 18th century was addressed by major renovations to the church between 1807 and 1808. Only the square western tower, which dates from around 1500, was retained and is now the oldest building to have survived within the old burgh. Today it is used for musical and dramatic performances.

In 1636 Alison Dick and her husband William Coke were condemned to deat for the crime of witchraft. Alison was locked in the Old Kirk tower befor she and her husband were both executed by burning.