Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline into a working class family ­– so was I!

Andrew Carnegie was born in 1835 - I was not! I was born over 110 years after him. However, we both lived in houses about 60 yards from each other.

The name ‘Carnegie’ ran deeply in my growing up in Dunfermline. Firstly, my father, my uncle and my eldest cousin all worked for the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust for most, if not all, of their respective working lives.

We lived in a house on St. Margaret’s St. (just around the corner from the Museum) during my formative years - it is therefore little wonder that the great man had such an influence in my growing up. I lived in a little cottage next to the Glen Gates, which in those days, were closed and locked each evening, thus excluding the public – except me and my pals – our back door led directly into the Glen! Many the happy and carefree hours we played in the wooded areas and splashing around in the Tower Burn as it flowed southwards.

I was a frequent visitor to the Birthplace & Memorial Hall. There was so much see – and learn – about my near neighbour, even although there was around 100 years of difference in time! The living room, the bedroom, the kitchen, were in fact all one room! Then there was Andrew’s father’s Loom workroom where with eager eyes, the mysteries of the how all the Linen patterns were woven!

Then on into the Memorial Hall (it was not called a Museum in those days!). Here I could gaze and marvel at the multitude of Caskets on show, presented to Andrew from the many towns and cities who benefitted from a ‘Carnegie Library’! However, it was Dunfermline that received the very first Carnegie Library, the first of 2800 Andrew donated around the world in his lifetime.

Today, there are still many caskets on display to view along with Keys to various libraries. The most important one of all is The Laird’s Key for Pittencrieff Estate, when in 1902, Andrew bought his greatest gift to Dunfermline, what we now call ‘The Glen’. As a boy, Andrew was excluded from entering the private estate on the one day in the year it was opened to the townspeople. It’s a long story, but was as a result of a feud between the then owner of the estate and radical Morrison family (Andrew’s mother’s maiden name was Morrison), and a by-law was passed to say that ‘No Morrison – or decendant thereof, could enter into the estate’, sadly, that included young Andrew!

Today, the Birthplace & Museum is still a ‘must see’ attraction when visitors are in Dunfermline. The great story of how a boy born into near poverty to rise to be ‘the Richest Man in the World’ is told well and is well worth a visit! The story of Andrew Carnegie has not finished, as many millions of his money are still funding community projects around the World today. ‘Bringing sweetness & light to the toiling masses’ was Andrew’s phrase for his work. ‘Let there be Light’, his favourite motto, is inscribed in the facade of many Carnegie Libraries, including the one in Dunfermline. 

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Jack Pryde is a local tour guide. Watch Jack’s tour of Dunfermline by clicking here.