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Crail, Kilrenny, Caiplie, Fife.
| NGR: | NO 59980 05830 |
| WGS84: | 56.24330, -2.64732 |
| Length: | Not recorded |
| Vert. Range: | Not recorded |
| Altitude: | Not recorded |
| Geology: | Not recorded |
| Tags: | Cave, Archaeo |
| Registry: | second |
Cave. On E extremity of [Kilrenny] parish at verge of sea mark is a cave which seems to have been the habitation of some solitary saint. Successive tenants have left figures of crosses, rudely cut. It has been converted to a barn and is large enough to admit two threshers at a time.
The Crail caves have been lived in for over 2000 years. In the 9th century St Adrian and his followers carved the many crosses on the wall of Chapel Cave. Hermits cave was the abode of "Covey Jimmy Gilligan in 1910.
'There are some remarkable caves or coves, as they are sometimes called, situated in the eastern part of the parish and close to the shore. They are considerably above high-water mark, but the rocks, in their outward form, have every appearance of of having been at one time under the action of water; while within the caves there are still further indications of such having been the case, by the rocks being drilled in places by the Pholas. They stand at present several feet above high-water mark, and rise to the height of 30 or 40 feet. There are likewise to be seen in the interior of the caves,artificial cuttings and chiselled crosses, which indicate that at some period they have been used as the abode of men.
Some Human bones were lately found, when removing a portion of earth from the interior of the caves; and a friend on hearing of this circumstance, has suggested the that idea they may have been the resort of the leper, or the hermit, or the persecuted in evil times.
It is highly probable that they would be resorted to by smugglers, at the period when smuggling was carried on to a very great extent in the east neuk of Fife. They were at a later period used as the outhouses for a small farm; and they are still used as a place of shelter for cattle. There is no tradition regarding them, except that there is a communication below ground between them and the house of Barnsmuir, situated nearly half a mile from the shore, where it is said that a piper was heard playing beneath the hearth stone of the kitchen; but these days of delusion have passed away.' The name Caiplie is probably a corruption of Capelochy (headland of the lochs) after the supposed Capelochy Castle, another site, east of Kilrenny where a promontory has low lying land on either side and to the north bearing marks of having been underwater suggesting a moat.
Jimmy Gilligan - The Covie Man. For a time in 1938-1939 this man lived with his four-legged friends in the easternmost of the caves at Caiplie Coves. He vanished just before the outbreak of WW2, leading some to suspect he had been spying on naval movements in the Firth of Forth. Sutherland, Ian, April 1998 Our Pictish Past / Ian Sutherland traces the history and heritage of the Picts in Fife. Scots Mag 148 (4) 377-381
Thirkell, Alison 1976 Auld Anster [=Anstruther]. Buckie House Gallery, Anstruther. 4-5 illus.
Alternative Names: Caplawchy Cave, Caipillie Cave, Caiple Chapel Cave, Hermit's Cave, Hermit's Well, Mortuary Cave, St. Adrian's Cave
Notes: Also known as Caplawchy, Caiple Chapel Cave and Hermits Cave and Hermit's Well [Cailple?]
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This entry was last updated: 2018-06-01 09:42:50
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