a royal burgh of Scotland, situated in the western district of the county of Fife, 15 miles N.W. of Edinburgh, in W. Long. 3° 27' 11"; N. Lat. 56° 5' 3". The town is built on an extensive eminence, having a pretty steep and uniform declivity towards the south, and likewise declining into a ravine on the west, which divides the more ancient part of the town from the extensive suburb of Pittencrieff. This ravine is crossed by an earthen mound, on which an excellent street is built, and is equal to the second-rate streets of the metropolis, and surpasses in its uniformity, and the appearance of its shops, the principal streets of most country towns. The town is situated about 270 feet above the level of the sea, and about three miles distant from Limekilns, the nearest place on the coast. It may be described as consisting of one principal thoroughfare, and several parallel streets stretching from east to west, near the top of the eminence on which the town is built, which is intersected at right angles by streets running up and down the hill, terminating in a plain both at the top and bottom. From its elevated situation, the prospect all around is very extensive. Seen from the south or west, the town has a very noble appearance, principally from its irregular outline, and the many prominent objects, such as steeples and public buildings, with which the whole is adorned; and it is here and there interspersed with gardens and trees, which give it a very pleasing and picturesque appearance, flanked as it is on the west by the extensive parks of Pittencrieff, and on the east by the grounds of Viewfield and Comely Park. The building most worthy of notice is the Abbey Church, which has been erected on the site of the Church of the Holy Trinity, built by Malcolm Canmore, about the middle of the eleventh century. This was demolished by Edward I. on the 10th February 1304, and subsequently at the Reformation, on the 28th March 1560. However at the latter period, the nave escaped destruction, and was used as a place of worship till September 1821, when the new church was opened for divine service. It is a splendid edifice, in the Gothic style. Over the centre of the cross is erected a square tower ninety feet high, terminating in a flat roof, round the four sides of which, in open hewn work, are the words "King Robert the Bruce," in capital letters four feet in height, surmounted by royal crowns and lofty pinnacles on the four corners. The old church forms a very fine entrance to the new; and the extensive repairs recently made on it by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests have rendered it still more impressive. It is of various orders of architecture, accordant with the different ages in which it has been altered and repaired. The interior of the New Abbey Church is extremely elegant. Its tower and galleries are supported by magnificent piers, moulded on the solid mason-work with Roman cement, into small columns, which form the aggregate pier, the capitals of which are adorned with exquisite imitations of foliage. The ribs of the arches composing the different roofs and the central ornaments are in the purest style, and, seen from any point, the effect of the whole is at once magnificent and pleasing. Exactly below the pulpit, which is of wainscot, and in the Gothic style, lie the remains of Robert Bruce; and in the north transept lie seven other kings, two queens, and numbers of the nobility. Besides the old church and steeple, the remains of the ancient buildings consist of the south-west wall of the palace, which hangs on the brink of a deep hollow, through which runs a small stream, a building over a gate, probably the principal entrance to the palace yard, the south wall of the Reectory or Fraters Hall, and a large window of elegant workmanship. There are likewise some slight traces of Malcolm Canmore's tower, which formed the original nucleus of the town. The Guildhall, which was erected in 1808, is an edifice of Roman architecture, with a spire 132 feet in height. It consists of a large hall intended for meetings of guildry. It has lately been acquired by the county, and is used for sheriff and justice-of-peace courts and other public offices.

The town-house is a narrow building. It now contains the burgh-court rooms, the council-hall, and chambers for the town-clerk, the prison having been removed and a superior modern prison built in the outskirts of the town. In the same locality there has also been erected a commodious and well arranged poor-house, with a fever hospital adjoining. The council-hall is adorned with some good paintings, and is surmounted by a spire.

The educational institutions of the town are numerous, consisting of the High School, under the patronage of the town-council, and partially endowed; the Commercial Academy, the property of the guildry; the Maclean Schools, built and endowed by bequest of the late Rev. Allan Maclean, a minister of the parish; the Free Abbey Church Schools, and several others—all well conducted; but for a complete educational course there is still wanting one good academy taught by several masters for the different branches.

A school of art has lately been instituted in connection with the Board of Trade Department of Science and Art, and for its accommodation a tasteful and appropriate building has been erected by public subscription.

The linen trade is of considerable antiquity in Dunfermline. It began originally with ticks and checks. The first table-linen manufactured here was a kind called buckaback; this was followed in course of time by damask, the richest and most ingenious kind of table-linen, which has been for the last century improving in quality and pattern, and is still continuing to be improved. The value of table-linens, diapers, and table-covers annually manufactured here is estimated at about L450,000. Power looms for the weaving of all descriptions of diaper, and some varieties of damask, have been in use for several years. There are now two power-loom factories, employing about 700 hands.

At one period there were eight flax-spinning mills here; they have now dwindled to one, and that chiefly for the production of sewing thread; the yarns used in the trade being now imported from various places in England, Scotland, and Ireland, chiefly from the two latter. The decline of the flax-spinning trade is attributed to the want of facility for the importation of the bulky raw material. A proposal is now on foot for connecting Dunfermline by railway with a harbour at Queensferry, about 5½ miles distant. Were this scheme carried out it would give the town the advantage of a shipping port, and probably re-establish in it the trade of flax-spinning.

Extensive works are in operation in the immediate vicinity of the town for the manufacture of malleable iron. They were originally erected by a joint-stock company, and are now the property of the Weardale Iron Company.

This town is remarkable as having been the theatre in which the principal dissents from the Established Church have taken their rise; that, namely, of the Seceders under Ralph Erskine, and that of the Relief body under George Gillespie. It is amply supplied with places of worship in connection with the various denominations; there being three congregations of the Established Church, three of the Free Church, four of the United Presbyterian, and one each of the Independent, Baptist, Episcopalian, Morrisonian, Roman Catholic, and Rowite persuasions.

The population in 1851 was 8577 within the municipal boundaries; and 13,836 within the parliamentary bounds.