A glimpse into the lives of Langtonians of the past ...

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It sits in the shadows of three multi-storey tower blocks, and cars roar past just yards away but the old cemetery on Nether Street remains a place of forgotten tranquility.

 Turn away from the traffic and you have the most glorious view over the stone wall to the tower Ravenscraig Castle and out across the Forth, and an open invitation to step into Kirkcaldy’s past.

 The headstones date back to the 1800s, and give the most slender of glimpses into previous generations of Langtonians.

 Some have fallen, others have faded so badly the inscriptions are impossible to read, but they all mark the final resting spot of someone who left a footprint on this town. 

 Every headstone  offers a glimpse into a life lived - even if it is simply their date of death and a formal roll call of their loved ones who share their burial space.

 Many still mourn the loss of infants - children barely making it beyond their third of fourth birthday, and some contains eulogies to those who have passed away.

 One of the most striking has to be the headstone erected by Robert Kay, manufacturer, in memory of his only son of John. He died “full of promise” on November 29, 1854. 

 He was just five years, and nine months old. 

 Another manufacturer, John Blyth of St Clairton - one of several different spellings of Sinclairtown to be found in the cemetery - passed away aged just 42 on February 15, 1855, a loss “regretted by all who knew him.”

 You can only wonder if he ever got over the death of his son, Alexander, in 1845 aged just three months, who shares his resting place.

 For many a gravestone is the opportunity to place a lasting legacy.

 Adam Marshall died aged just 30 - another life cut short so young - on November 12, 1802. His wife survived him for more than a half a century before being reunited at the grave.

 The headstone, erected by his children, says it is “in memory of the affectionate regard and esteem for their beloved parents.”

 But for many, their time is marked with the simple recording of their date of birth and death. 

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