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St David's Castle

St David’s Castle may once have stood on a promontory within what is now Dalgety Bay, however nothing of it remains and there is little documentary evidence relating to it.

The site is strategically-important, controlling access to St. David’s Harbour immediately to its west and also offering extensive views along and across the River Forth to Barnbougle Castle.

The early maps of Scotland don’t show the castle and initially I wondered if it could have previously been known by another name, however the only other castles marked in the vicinity of Dalgety Bay on the Gordons’ and Blaeu’s mid-17th century maps of Fife are Letham and Spencerfield.

The St David in question is thought to be David I, King of Scotland between 1124 and 1153 and the son of St Margaret. David is credited with the introduction of feudalism to Scotland and was responsible for building or rebuilding many important castles. It may be that a castle here was built by David and originally known by another name but later colloquially become known as St David’s Castle, although there isn’t any specific evidence for this.

In 1752 Sir Robert Henderson of Fordell bought some land, presumably from James Stuart, 8th Earl of Moray, on the south coast of Fife in order to build a harbour at St. David’s to serve his coal pits inland to the north. The development consisted of a north and south pier enclosing a harbour. The southernmost pier was an extension of a natural promontory.

The first appearance of the castle, and indeed the settlement of St. David’s, on a map comes on Ainslie’s map of Fife published in 1775.

County of Fife
John Ainslie, London, 1775map image courtesy of NLS

It has been suggested that the “Castle” marked on the map may refer to the name of a rock rather than an actual castle although there doesn’t appear to be any evidence that this is the case. It has also been suggested that St David’s Castle may be the name of a ship wrecked on this site before the mid-18th century although this appears to be pure speculation and I haven’t been able to find a shipwreck in this area matching the name.

The Fordel Castle Inn, later to become the Fordell Arms, was later built on or near the site of the castle, one of a series of buildings to be constructed on the pier. By 1959 the pub and the village were derelict and incorporated into a shipbreaker’s yard.

Around 1962 work began on the construction of the modern town of Dalgety Bay which eventually led to St. David’s being cleared away around 1980 and in the following two decades the town’s western expansion led to residential properties being built on the site of the old village. The promontory and pier still exist but have not been built upon.

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Alternative names for St David's Castle

St Davie's Castle

Where is St David's Castle?

St David's Castle is in the parish of Dalgety and the county of Fife.

Grid reference: NT 1478 8247

Lat / long: 56.02752300, -3.36897030

Bing Maps | Google Maps | Historic maps (NLS) | OpenStreetMap | Ordnance Survey | PastMap | Streetmap | Wikimapia

OS Map for St David's Castle

OS map 350
Edinburgh (Musselburgh & Queensferry)
OS Explorer map 350


OS map 367
Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy & Glenrothes South (Methil & Culross)
OS Explorer map 367


Directions to St David's Castle

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Weather at St David's Castle

15°C
max 17°C / min 14°C
32km/h W
1006mb
70%
75%
03:26 21:04

Broken clouds
Weather observed at Saint Davids at 17:49

References (books)

A Topographical and Historical Account of Linlithgowshire
John Penney
Edinburgh, 1832
Caledonia (Volume 4)
George Chalmers
Paisley, 1889
The Castles of Scotland
Martin Coventry
Prestongrange, 2015

References (websites)

Canmore
  • Ancestry UK

Castles near St David's Castle

Spencerfield House

1.1km away

Letham (site of)

1.1km away

Leuchat (site of)

1.3km away

Donibristle Castle (site of)

1.3km away

Dalgety House (possible) (site of)

2.5km away

Balbougie

2.5km away

Fordell Castle

2.9km away

Inchgarvie Castle

3.1km away

Otterston Tower

3.3km away
more castles....

Ancient sites near St David's Castle

Cammo Stone standing stone

8.2km away

Hopetoun Wood standing stone

8.4km away

Lochend standing stone

10.1km away

Huly Hill barrow and standing stones

10.1km away

Edinburgh Castle fort

13.6km away

Inchgall (possible) crannog

13.7km away

Wester Craiglockhart Hill fort

14.8km away

Kaimes Hill fort

16.0km away

Arthur's Seat fort

16.1km away
more ancient sites....

Pictish stones near St David's Castle

Princes Street Gardens Class I symbol stone

13.5km away

Abernethy No. 2 Class III symbol stone

14.3km away

Abernethy No. 4 Class III cross shaft

14.3km away

Tullibole Class III cross slab

20.5km away

Court Cave Class I rock carving

24.2km away

Doo Cave Class I rock carving

24.3km away

Jonathan's Cave Class I rock carving

24.7km away

Sliding Cave Class I rock carving

24.7km away

East Lomond Hill Class I symbol stone

25.6km away
more Pictish stones....
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Pictish sites near St David's Castle

Norrie's Law hoard

36.1km away

Borland silver chain

37.3km away

Haddington silver chain

37.7km away

Todholes (possible) silver chain

38.4km away

Traprain Law silver chain

44.1km away

Whitlaw silver chain

49.1km away

Hoardweel silver chain

67.6km away

Whitecleugh silver chain

70.9km away

Dunnicaer fort

126.1km away
more Pictish sites....
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Accommodation near St David's Castle

Boreland Lodge hotel
hotelInverkeithing
1.6km away
Queensferry Hotel
hotelNorth Queensferry
2.7km away
Orocco Pier
hotelQueensferry
4.5km away
Dakota Forth Bridge
hotelSouth Queensferry
4.7km away
Premier Inn Edinburgh Airport (Newbridge)
hotel, restaurantEdinburgh
4.8km away
Woodside Hotel
hotel, restaurantAberdour
4.9km away
Premier Inn Edinburgh (South Queensferry)
hotel, restaurantEdinburgh
5.3km away
King Malcolm Hotel
hotelDunfermline
5.7km away
Pitbauchlie House Hotel
hotelDunfermline
5.7km away
Premier Inn Dunfermline
hotel, restaurantDunfermline
5.9km away

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more accommodation....

Cafés, restaurants & bars near St David's Castle

The Two Bridges
restaurantSouth Queensferry
4.3km away
Premier Inn Edinburgh Airport (Newbridge)
hotel, restaurantEdinburgh
4.8km away
Woodside Hotel
hotel, restaurantAberdour
4.9km away
Premier Inn Edinburgh (South Queensferry)
hotel, restaurantEdinburgh
5.3km away
Papa Joe's Dunfermline
restaurantDunfermline
5.8km away
Premier Inn Dunfermline
hotel, restaurantDunfermline
5.9km away
Craigie’s farm deli and café
caféSouth Queensferry
6.2km away
Auld Mill House Hotel Bar and Restaurant
hotel, bar, restaurantDunfermline
6.6km away
The Hideaway Restaurant
restaurantDunfermline
7.0km away
Best Western Keavil House Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barCrossford
8.8km away
more food.... / more drink....

Related pages

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Garden of Cosmic Speculation plus castles
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Inveraray Castle and standing stone
Inveraray Castle and standing stone
A doocot, a castle and a beach in East Lothian
A doocot, a castle and a beach in East Lothian
A pair of castles on the River Tweed
A pair of castles on the River Tweed
Dunbar harbour and castle
Dunbar harbour and castle
Published on the 18th of January 2012 at 10:41 pm. Updated on the 16th of May 2020 at 6:21 pm.

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Andy Sweet above Fast Castle

Stravaiging around Scotland is written, photographed and researched by Andy Sweet.
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