A presence in Rosyth

A striking feature of the sanctuary is the 30-feet high
Byzantine-style mural painted by Derek Seymour

Episcopalian worship has been formally organised in Rosyth since 1917 (click here for more background), but the roots of our fellowship lie in the Anglican Church within the dockyard: click here for more about our history.

Our church is dedicated to St Margaret, and there is more about her at this link.

Rosyth, 3 miles south of Dunfermline, owes its existence to its role as a naval base for warships in the early 20th century. Historically, the foreshore has been known as St Margaret’s Hope, the place where Queen Margaret landed in 1069. As the town was being planned from scratch, it was laid out as a “garden city” to house those employed at the dockyard and naval base. The naval base closed in 1996 and the only RN facility now remaining is HMS Caledonia, which provides support for stand-by naval personnel for ships undergoing refit in the former dockyard. This has been run by a commercial company since 1987, was bought by Babcock International in 1996, and now has a much reduced labour force.

But Rosyth has not stood still. From the regeneration of the Naval Base area, Rosyth Europarc is being developed into a business park providing warehousing and office accommodation for hi-tech manufacturing. It already houses major companies such as HBOS and Intelligent Finance. The Port of Rosyth, established in 1997 by the Forth Port Authority, has developed considerably and provides an operating base for commercial work and a berth for cruise liners. It is also an important ferry port linking Scotland with Europe. Further clearance of the waterfront area has taken place by developers Scarborough Muir, who have submitted controversial plans for mixed (commercial, leisure and some housing) use of part of the land.

Elsewhere in the area, BSkyB Subscription Service, HBOS Card Services and the headquarters of the Dunfermline Building Society have premises on Carnegie Campus. Rosyth is now a thriving community with a population of about 13,000, over 60% of whom are of employable age. Good transport access to Edinburgh for daily commuters has resulted in recent extensive house-building programmes in the area.

Today within Rosyth there are churches representing several different denominations and although all the churches have had fluctuations in their membership and congregational sizes, religion still plays an important part in the Rosyth community. Since 1997, we have shared, by invitation, the premises of Rosyth Methodist church and with whom we enjoy a successful Local Ecumenical Partnership. Click here for more about the partnership.

Good relations exist between all the churches. Our Rector, together with ministers and clergy from the Church of Scotland and the Baptist, Roman Catholic and Methodist churches meet together as a Fraternity to discuss local issues, and members from all congregations join together in ecumenical study groups during Advent and Lent. The Methodist church is constantly used by community groups and there is a weekly Shoppers’ Service and popular coffee morning on a Thursday in the Baptist church. Ecumenical services, which are usually led by the denominations in turn, are held each Sunday afternoon at Orchard Head House and at the Rosyth Resource Centre (day care).

We, together with the other Rosyth churches, have representation on the Rosyth Waterfront Liaison Group (RWLG). The group’s primary role is to act as an interface between developers Scarborough Muir and the community, including local politicians and councillors. The work of the group is similar to that of a Community Council, but falls short of being a “pressure group”.

However, the real challenge for all the churches is to make them welcoming and inviting to attract new worshippers of all ages from the steady influx of people to the area. Christ is still alive in Rosyth as the above mural in the Methodist Church proclaims.