Milnathort

Milnathort
The centre of Milnathort in winter
Milnathort
Location within Perth and Kinross
Population1,950 (2020)[1]
OS grid referenceNO120047
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townKINROSS
Postcode districtKY13
Dialling code01577
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

Milnathort, Scottish Gaelic: Muileann Choirthe, is a small town in the parish of Orwell in the county of Kinross-shire, Scotland and since 1996, the local council area of Perth and Kinross. The smaller neighbour of nearby Kinross, Milnathort has a population of around 2,000 people. It is situated amidst countryside at the foot of the Ochil Hills,[2] and near the north shore of Loch Leven. From 1977 it became more easily accessible due to the development of the M90 motorway. The name was thought to come from the Gaelic maol coirthe meaning "bare hill of the standing stones"[3] but in fact comes originally from Muileann Choirthe - the mill in land of standing stones (probably the Orwell ones) - which got translated into Scots as Miln o' Quhorth and then elided down into the modern Milnathort, though some took Quhorth to be the River Forth and the town is still referred to occasionally as Mills o' Forth[4]

Amenities

Milnathort's amenities are typical of a small Scottish town with a nine-hole golf course, a park, countryside bike path, primary school, a range of pubs, cafés and a shop selling ice cream.[5] Milnathort Town Hall was completed in 1855.[6]

Church

The main church in Milnathort was built as a Secessionist Church in the north of the town and known as the Orwell Church which was built as a chapel in 1741 by the Old Light Burghers and rebuilt in 1821.[7] It amalgamated briefly with the Church of Scotland in 1839 before transferring to the Free Church of Scotland in 1843.[8] The manse was erected by the Free church in 1850 to house Rev James Thornton (1791-1874).[7] The most notable minister was Walter Chalmers Smith.[9]

Schools

The only school is Milnathort Primary School. The high school is Loch Leven Community Campus, just outside the town.[10]

Notable people

References

  1. ^ "Population estimates for settlements and localities in Scotland: mid-2020". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Milnathort: Overview". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  3. ^ Liddall, W. (1896). The Place Names of Fife and Kinross. Edinburgh: William Green & Sons. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  4. ^ Taylor, Simon (2017). The Place-Names of Kinross-shire. Shaun Tyas. p. 435. ISBN 978-1-907730-58-0.
  5. ^ Hinds, Alice (16 April 2017). "Ice ice baby: Meet family's youngest recruit making business a sweet success". Daily Record. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  6. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Town Hall, Milnathort (LB17638)". Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  7. ^ a b Ewing Annals of the Free Church
  8. ^ Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae
  9. ^ "Walter Chalmers Smith". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Loch Leven Community Campus". Live Active. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  • Media related to Milnathort at Wikimedia Commons
  • Milnathort Primary School