Wemyss, Fife

Wemyss (ⁱ/wiːmz/ WEEMZ) is a civil parish on the south coast of Fife, Scotland, lying on the Firth of Forth. It is bounded on the north-east by the parish of Scoonie and the south-west by the parish of Kirkcaldy and Dysart and its length from south-west to north-east is about 6 miles. Inland it is bounded by Markinch and its greatest breadth is  2 ¹⁄₄ miles.

The name of the parish is of Gaelic origin, signifying a cave, alluding to the number of caves on its coast. The parish gives its name to the family and Earls of Wemyss.

The parish contains the towns of Methil and Buckhaven in the north, formerly constituting the burgh of Buckhaven and Methil. In the south are the towns of East Wemyss and West Wemyss, between which is sited Wemyss Castle, ancient seat of the Earls of Wemyss and their family.

A Parochial Board was established in 1845, which was superseded by a Parish Council in 1895. However, in 1891 the police burgh of Buckhaven and Methil was established, consisting of the towns of Buckhaven, Methil and Innerleven, which contained most of the population of the parish (8,000 out of 15,000 in 1901). Parish councils in Scotland were abolished in 1930 but civil parishes persist for census and other non-administrative purposes, while Buckhaven and Methil burgh was abolished in 1975

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