St Monans

St Monans ( , locally ), sometimes spelt St Monance, is a village and parish in the East Neuk of Fife and is named after the legendary Saint Monan. Situated approximately three miles (five kilometres) west of Anstruther, the small community, whose inhabitants used to make their living mainly from fishing, is now a tourist destination situated on the Fife Coastal Path. The former burgh rests on a hill overlooking the Firth of Forth, with views to North Berwick, the Bass Rock and the Isle of May. Like other East Neuk villages, it is rich in vernacular fisher and merchant houses of the 17th to early 19th centuries, with characteristic old Scots features such as forestairs, crow-stepped gables, datestones and pantiled roofs. Its historic buildings include a now defunct windmill that once powered a salt panning industry, and a 14th-century church that sits on the rocks above the water on the western side. Approximately 1⁄2 mile (800 metres) west of St Monans are the remains of Newark Castle, a 16th-century manor that has since fallen to ruin through cliff erosion and disrepair. In 2002, with the permission of Historic Scotland, an unsuccessful attempt to restore the castle was made. The civil parish had a population of 1,357 in 2011; the population at the 2021 Census was 1,120.