History of Masterton

Thanks to Alastair M. Redpath at Project Dunfermline for the information.

Masterton is one of the most ancient and interesting areas of Dunfermline, dating back beyond the arrival of Saxon refugees to the town - the most prominent being Queen Margaret. She had been accustomed to the Roman Catholic Church in both Hungary and England, and urged her husband to build her a chapel.

The difficulty was to find an architect, or master-mason, capable of building such a church. There were dry-stone buildings in Scotland before this date; but few, if any, were constructed of stone and mortar. The little Celtic Church in which the couple were married had stone foundations, but is unlikely to have been built of solid materials.

In any case, they found a Saxon master-mason by the name of Aelric (Aelricus) to build their dream project - The Abbey Church of Dunfermline. Aelric possessed Ledmacduuegil (possibly meaning hill-side or slope of the sons of Dungal), and by way of thanks he was granted more lands in the area, henceforth known as the 'estate of the master-mason' or Mastertoun. Later, Aelric's successors adopted the name of their lands as their surname, becoming known as Mastertons of that Ilk.

One ancient and interesting feature here was a large beech tree standing on a small hillock known as the “Dule Tree” or 'tree of grief'. This may have marked a place of execution in the old days.

A hospital was founded at Masterton in 1675 by Sir Henry Wardlaw, proprietor of the estate, who endowed it for four poor widows, each with an allowance of six bolls of oatmeal and 40 shillings annually. The hospital had four rooms and was still standing in the mid-19th century. By 1791, Masterton village had 160 inhabitants, a few cottages, a public house, and a farmstead - reaching its greatest extent in the mid-19th century.

Villagers held religious services in the Abbey Cottage before St Margaret's Episcopal Church was built in 1888 to designs by Major Thomas Martin Cappon. The building was consecrated by Bishop Wordsworth of St. Andrews on May 25, 1889. With the death of the property’s patrons and renters, the building fell into disrepair and services ceased before the First World War. The associated village school closed in 1913. The church was deconsecrated in 1946 and was subsequently demolished.

The majority of Masterton's auld houses were demolished in 1959, together with the remains of the hospital. Masterton Primary School is based at nearby Dover Heights. The school opened in November 2006 with only 5 classes and now has a school roll in excess of 350 pupils.