Bridgeton, Kirkcaldy, Fife

[AlanBoyd]

Looking at the surprising number of newspaper hits for “38 Bridgeton Kirkcaldy” which are a parade of births, deaths, accidents and minor crimes with many associated names I think it is safe to say that the address was residential and probably a tenement.

[AlanBoyd]

In case anyone lands here trying to clarify where Bridgeton was in Kirkcaldy, here is a definitive answer. Apologies if I have duplicated information from the older parts of the thread ( and I realise it is a very old thread!)

The street called Bridgeton can be seen on these 1895 town plans:

https://maps.nls.uk/view/74416076#zoom=4.4&lat=2139&lon=7652&layers=BT

https://maps.nls.uk/view/74416078#zoom=3.8&lat=8313&lon=7438&layers=BT

It runs from West Bridge over Tiel Burn SSE to a junction with Horse Wynd (whcih runs to the ENE); Invertiel Road (runs WSW) and St Clair Place (runs SSE) with a Free Church manse at the south end.

On the town plan of 1855/1857 it is clear that the northern section was then called West Bridge then, after the junction, the stretch running down to the manse was called Morningside:

https://maps.nls.uk/view/74416058

Finally, here is a side-by-side view comparing the 1895 town plan with the modern map. It seems that today's Bridge Street aligns with the northern section of Bridgeton, but south of the junction with Invertiel Road and Esplanade the alignment breaks down and the modern Kinghorn Road doesn't really follow the line of Bridgeton. However it is clear from the maps—and from a quick hop on to Street View—that the manse is still there, a sole survivor in a sea of modern mediocrity.

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=17.9&lat=56.09743&lon=-3.16409&layers=93&right=osm

Added: as recently as 1994 there are newspaper adverts for a pub/restaurant called The Fourways with the address Bridgeton, Kirkcaldy.

[AlanBoyd]

Where was no. 38, and was it a tenement?

Here is the 1948 1:1250 map showing house numbers in Bridgeton. Number 38 is on the east side of the road at the top of the map and near the junction with Invertiel Road etc.. It is clearly different from the other buildings in the locality.

https://maps.nls.uk/view/102735137#zoom=4.4&lat=6703&lon=3204&layers=BT

Was it a tenement? In the 1905 valuation rolls I have identified no. 38 by cross-referencing names in newspaper articles with occupants. It is a little confusing because the newspaper articles always refer to addresses in Bridgeton whereas the valuation rolls have the addresses as Bridge Street, but I have found so many matching names that I am confident that I have the correct address. In 1905 there are 10 occupancies listed for number 38 Bridge Street, but of these 9 are empty. The other is occupied by a Thomas Crombie, bleachfield worker,  and there is a Thomas Crombie, dyer, of 38 Bridgeton who features in newspaper articles in 1904.

So, it was a tenement of some sort, but apparently not a desirable place to live at that time.

Added: comparing the earlier Town Plans with the 1948 map, it seems that there has been some demolition in the vicinity of no. 38, and nos. 40 and 42 are missing from the sequence.