BURNTISLAND  , a royal, municipal an.I

police burgh of Fife, Scotland, on the shore of the Firth of Forth, 54 m . S.W. of Kirkcaldy by the North British railway . Pop . (1891) 4993; (19o1) 4846 . It is protected from the north wind by the Binn (632 ft.), and in consequence of its excellent situation, its links and sandy beach, it enjoys considerable repute as a summer resort . The chief industries are distilling, fisheries, ship-building and shipping, especially the export of coal and iron . Until the opening of the Forth bridge, its commodious harbour was the northern station of the ferry across the firth from Granton, 5 M. south . The parish church, dating from 1594, is a plain structure, with a squat tower rising in two tiers from the centre of the roof . The public buildings include two hospitals, a town-hall, music hall, library and reading room and science institute . On the rocks forming the western end of the harbour stands Rossend Castle, where the amorous French poet Chastelard repeated the insult to Queen Mary which led to his execution . In 1667 it was ineffectually bombarded by the Dutch . The burgh was originally called Parva Kinghorn and later Wester Kinghorn .

The origin and meaning of the

present name of the town have always been a matter of conjecture . There seems reason to believe that it refers to the time when the site, or a portion of it, formed an island, as sea-sand is the subsoil even of the oldest quarters . Another derivation is from Gaelic words meaning " the island beyond the bend." With Dysart, Kinghorn and Kirkcaldy, it unites in returning one member to parliament .