Linktown Church History
The congregation of 'Linktown' was formed in 1737 as a dissenting Church by the people who had seceded from Abbotshall Parish Church. The site of the original Church was at the point where the Parishes of Kirkcaldy and Abbotshall joined, hence the name 'Linktown Church'.
The original building was opened in 1740 and was a little closer to the High Street than the existing building. Apparently, no record, photograph, plan or sketch of the original building has been found.
A notable minister of Bethelfield Church was the Reverend Shirra in the 1770s, who is said to have saved the town of Kirkcaldy in 1778 from attack and plunder by the privateer, John Paul Jones. The minister and his congregation prayed for help at the shore, and a storm blew up and forced Jones's ship to flee.
In 1829, the gallery of Kirkcaldy Old Kirk collapsed, with the loss of life resulting in a health and safety inspection of all local Church buildings. Linktown's building was condemned and the current building was erected and opened on 13th November 1831 at a cost of £4,000. At that time, the new name of Bethelfield was adopted, as the building is in Bethelfield Place. Bethelfield Church was originally Bethelfield (Burgher) United Associate Congregation. In 1847 Bethelfield became United Presbyterian Church, and in 1900 the United Free Church. In 1929 Bethelfield became Church of Scotland when the United Free Church and the Church of Scotland reunited.
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Inside Linktown Church |
The union with Invertiel took place in 1990 and the Bethelfield building was chosen by arbiters as the place of worship. The joint congregations chose the name 'Linktown' to be the name of the new congregation. The National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh have managers minutes and other records from 1797 onwards (ref CH3 846). For access details see National Records of Scotland. Interestingly, the minister from 1799 to 1859 was Rev. James Law, however Law is a common local name.
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View pictures of Linktown Church building |
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