Kennoway

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Kennoway is a village in Fife, Scotland, near the larger population centres in the area of Leven and Methil.It is situated on the Fife hills about three miles inland from the Firth of Forth north of Leven.This position gave it importance in the old days while travelling by coach, for the stage road ran through Kennoway from the ferry at Pettycur, through Ceres and on to St.Andrews.

Former Scottish First Minister Henry McLeish, who resigned after the Officegate scandal in 2001 was brought up in the village.

[edit] Place-name meaning

Kennoway derives from Gaelic ceann-achadh "field on a headland", ceann "headland" and achadh "field". Records of the name as Cenachedne in 1148 prove this. The suggestion that the final element "-way" derives from Old English weg "way, path" is wrong.Another possibility is that the name is derived from St Kenneth (Cainnech). The earliest Culdee church was erected to his memory in Kennoway and is associated with many of the legends about St. Kenneth. He is believed to have spent many years spreading the Christian faith in Scotland during the 6th century. There have been many spellings of the name Kennoway including Kennachin,Kennauchyn,Kennaukin,Kennochi and Kennochy.