Glenrothes (Scots Gaelic:Gleann Ràthais) is a muckle toun in the hairt o Fife, Scotland. It is lies aboot thirty mile frae baith Edinburrie an Dundee. Aboot 38,750 fowk abided in the toun in 2008.

The toun wis planned in the late 1940s as ane o Scotland's first new touns fae miners winnin coal at the Rothes Colliery. The mine wisnae a success, but the toun developt as an important industrial centur fae Scotland's Silicon Glen atween 1961 an 2000 wi mony electronics an hi-tech companies bildin factories in the toun.[1]

Glenrothes is the centur o govirnance fae Fife an haes baith Fife Cooncil an Fife Polis headquarters. Glenrothes toun centur is maistly ben the Kingdom Shopping Centre.

View of Glenrothes seen in its landscape setting from a nearby cemetery. A train is leaving nearby Markinch Station on the East Coast Mainline. Glenrothes town centre with the numerous taller residential and office buildings can be seen in the centre of the image. The River Leven Bridge provides a stark white vertical emphasis on the right side of the image. The Lomond Hills regional park and rolling countryside form the backdrop on the horizon
Panorama of Glenrothes seen from Markinch Cemetery

History

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Glenrothes wis designated in 1948 unner the New Towns (Scotland) Act 1946 as Scotland's second post-war new toun.[2][3] The nam Rothes comes frae the Nor-eist o Scotland Earl of Rothes, what haes the clan nam Leslie. The Leslie family aince owned muckle o the aurrie that Glenrothes haes been bildit oan. "Glen" (frae the Scots Gaelic wird 'gleann' meanin valley) wis eikit tae stop fowk gettin intae a guddle wi Rothes in Moray, an acause the toun lies in the Leven valley.[4][5][6] The oreeginal toun plan wis tae bild a new settlement fae 32,000 to 35,000 people. The intention o the developers wis: "to establish a self-contained and balanced community for working and living".[7]

References

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  1. "Economic Profile- Mid Fife and Glenrothes Scottish Parliamentary Constituency p.5" (PDF). Fife Council. 5 Mey 2011. Archived frae the original (PDF) on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 6 Juin 2011.
  2. Ferguson A New Town's Heritage: Glenrothes 1948-1995 p.7.
  3. Omand The Fife Book p.90.
  4. Ferguson A History of Glenrothes pp.56–59.
  5. Ferguson A New Town's Heritage: Glenrothes 1948-1995 p.11.
  6. Cowling An Essay for Today – The Scottish New Towns 1947-1997 p.31.
  7. Pride Kingdom of Fife p.80.

Coordinates: 56°11′50″N 3°10′23″W / 56.1972°N 3.1731°W / 56.1972; -3.1731