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The Properties of Pan Ha'

Please click on a property to read more about it.                                                                                            Pan Ha' from the sea c. 1980

The Bay Horse Inn

Built by a man evidently possessed of sufficient means to procure the finest materials, both in wood and stone, and to employ excellent craftsmen in its construction; which may be two of the reasons why this building has stood since 1585. 

Built for "Patricius Sinclare , filius potentis viri henrici domini synclare" [Patrick Sinclair, son of that able man Henry, Lord Sinclair] his initials appearing, not on the lintel above the doorway as with other Dysart properties, but on a painted ceiling, revealed during dismantling work after the removal of a plaster ceiling beneath. A second set of initials K.N. were also discovered. Patrick Sinclair had a "new-biggit house" in the year 1585; it was said to be "juxta templum" [near the church], with the sea on the South and passages on the East and West. The newly built house was put in his wife's name, Catherine Nisbet (K.N.) and may have been a "morrowing gift". It was the custom of the time for the bridegroom to give to his bride such a present on their wedding morning. This may have been a kind of insurance policy to protect and provide for the wife, should the husband die.

Patrick Sinclair was a prominent citizen of Dysart at the time of its greatest prosperity, from 1575 - 1625, when the burgh was second only to             St. Andrews in Fife for volume and value of trade.

James Sinclair - elder brother of Patrick Sinclair whose new-biggit house of 1585 became the Bay Horse Inn - is recorded in 1583 as the owner of the white and slated house "bewest ye kirkyarde of desert". This phrase may imply something more ominous than a mere geographical location. It has been observed that during mediaeval times there was a great reluctance to build a structure to the immediate west of a holy place.

The house remained in the Sinclair or St. Clair-Erskine families until 1896, when the then Earl of Rosslyn was declared bankrupt and parts of his estates were sold to Sir Michael Nairn.

The New Block

Rebuilt, in 1968/69, on the site of many ruined properties that had to be demolished, this new block of 5 properties blends well with its more ancient neighbours.

The Girnal

The Salmon Fishers House

The Tidewaiters House

The name "tidewaiter" was applied to excisemen in the early and mid 18th century.

The Tidewaiters house stood sentry at the entrance to the only "gait", or street, whereby one might pass from the shore to the walled town of Dysart, a good strategic position for a collector of customs. Before 1597, duty was levied on exported goods only, with Dysart having its fair share of trade. In 1575 Dysart was second only to St.Andrews in this regard.

The Pilots House

The Shore Masters House

The Anchorage

Originally erected in the late 16th centrury, this is one of the several substantial residences in Dysart of the time of the young James VI, a time when merchant ship owners had become prosperous and were able to put into practice the ideas they had aquired while trading with Continental ports.