Oakley, Fife

Oakley
Blair Tower, north-east of Oakley
Oakley  Oakley shown within Fife
Population	2,362 [1]
OS grid reference	NT0388
Council area	Fife
Shire county	Fife
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Police	Scottish
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Dunfermline and West Fife
Scottish Parliament	Dunfermline
List of places UK Scotland

Oakley is a village in Fife, Scotland located at the mutual border of Carnock and Culross parishes, Fife, about 5 miles (8.0 km) W by N of Dunfermline on the A907.

The village was built in connection with the Forth or Oakley Iron-works (1846), now all gone along with the colliery industry. The iron-works, which ceased production many years ago, had six furnaces, with stacks 180 feet (55 m) high, and the engine-house was built with walls to comprise 60 cubic feet (1.7 m³) of stone below the surface of the ground. Subsequent to the Iron Works the buildings were used as a sawmill producing rough timber for railway sleepers, fence posts and the like. Comrie Colliery closed in 1986, and the village took many years to recover from this major employer's demise.

Amenities include: 3 parks, one of which is attached to the local community centre in the north of the village and has astroturf sports pitches available to the surrounding areas; Blairwood Park, Oakley United's football ground; a cycle track which was formerly a railway line that ran from Dunfermline to Stirling and provides access to the stunning local countryside; a Co-Operative which doubles as a Post Office; 2 hair salons; a bakers; a butchers; a pharmacy; 3 hot food takeaways; a café and a few other grocery stores.

Two burns merge in the village, the Oakley and Comrie Burns, providing another scenic walking area. The Oakley Burn, which runs right through the middle of the village, splits Oakley in two. There are adequate religious establishments; the Holy Name Catholic church, which boasts magnificent stained-glass windows by Gabriel Loire, a French stained glass artist of the 20th century, is well subscribed to. The church was built in 1956–58 for Roman Catholic miners who moved from Lanarkshire to work in the more prosperous coalfields of West Fife. The Oakley Parish church is a slightly smaller church for those of Protestant denomination and is also used for various activities aimed at all ages.

The village is made up of a wide variety of housing with modern schemes in Comrie; most of the houses built in the 1950s for incoming mineworkers from the west coast have been purchased by the occupants. There is a pub, The Greyhound Bar, in the centre of the village, and a Social Club on the main A907. There is a small industrial estate to the north of the village, providing some employment around the area.

To the south lies Inzievar House once visited by Jules Verne, now converted into flats. There is a thriving broad wood industry operated by Scottish Woods in the estate.

Education

There were two primary schools situated in Oakley, one Roman Catholic named Holy Name, the other Inzievar primary. However, recently a new building has been built which houses the library and both schools. This building is now Oakley Campus.

Health

Oakley Health Centre provides a wide and comprehensive programme of health care from the cradle to the grave, including a dental surgery, podiatry clinic, physiotherapy clinic, and cardiology unit.

Public library

The library has limited opening hours and is situated within the Oakley Campus. It provides books to suit all ages from infants onwards. Information resources including community information and useful reference materials are also available. The library also offers access to the internet and access to learning information from history books to scudbooks.^[2]

Transport

Stagecoach run the services 74, 74a and 74b which run very often from the new Dunfermline Bus station from around 5.30am until around 23.45 pm.

References