Court Cave

Court Caves

The first cave one comes to after leaving East Wemyss is the Court Cave. It is only a few metres past the Car Park and boulders.

In the Middle Ages the landowner was responsible for the upkeep of law and order and he presided over the ‘Baron’s Court’ which was held in this cave. The court was summoned by ringing a bell, which hung from the mouth of the Cave. Before the front of the Cave collapsed in 1970 the marks made by the bell-rope could be seen.

Others have traced the Cave’s name from the days when James V, disguised as the ‘Guidman of Ballangiech’, had an incident with the gypsies who were staying in the Cave at this time.

This Cave has two large entrances and two passageways, one a short one through the end of which was an opening so that the ladies from Wemyss who gutted the herring in Buckhaven could walk home safely when the tide was high. This passageway was later used to carry the pipe from the Macduff gasworks along the shore to the village. The other was at the back of the Cave and was said to lead to Kennoway, three miles away. However there has been a fall here and the floor rises to the roof, about 20 metres in. For safety reasons the Kennoway entrance has also been sealed.

The Wemyss Coal Company built five brick pillars into the Cave in 1934, to prevent the collapse of this famous cave due to mining works from the Michael Colliery below the ground. When the front of the Cave collapsed in 1970, one of the pillars was demolished, almost blocking the main entrance. There was a further small fall in 1990 when a tree fell from the cliff above the entrance.