Liggar’s Bridge
Liggar’s Bridge DFL S 090863 1 394 45m
terris de Legattisbrig 1555 x 1583 Dunf. Reg. p. 469 [Patrick Christie and Jonet Torrentine feus from Dunfermline Abbey the lands of Hoyle alias Legattisbrig]
Legattis brig 1561 Dunf. Reg. p. 425
Ligatis-Brig 1563 RMS iv no. 1476
Leggatsbrig 1638 Retours (Fife) no. 572 [to George Bruce of Carnock]
Liggars Bridge (Legates) 1856 OS 6 inch 1st edn. [the name in brackets on the map identifies the meaning of Liggars]
Sc legate or pn Legat + Sc brig
‘(The) legate’s bridge ‘ or ‘Legat’s bridge’. A legate was a churchman deputed to represent the Pope and armed with his authority. The name may have arisen from the fact that legates were met here at a bridge over the Lyne Burn on their way to Dunfermline Abbey, or were escorted as far as this bridge on their departure. If so, it suggests that the harbour of the Grange of Gellet (Limekilns) was the main landing-place for dignitaries visiting the abbey from the south or east, since Liggar’s Bridge lies on the Limekilns Road.[120]
The lands of Liggar’s Bridge were also called Hoill, for which see Hole DFL.
OS NameBook 130.31 (1853 × 1856) states that the bridge is named after the fish, liggers, which can be caught underneath it. DSL has no mention of such a fish, and early forms also militate against this explanation.
This place-name appeared in printed volume 1