{{Short description|Town in Fife, Scotland}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Use British English|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox UK place | map_type = | country = Scotland | official_name = Cardenden | gaelic_name = | scots_name = | population = {{Scottish locality population|name|POP=Cardenden and Auchterderran}} | population_ref = ({{Scottish settlement population citation|year}})<ref>{{Scottish settlement population citation}}</ref> | os_grid_reference = NT2295 | coordinates = {{coord|56.133|-3.250|display=inline,title}} | unitary_scotland = [[Fife]] | lieutenancy_scotland = [[Fife]] | post_town = LOCHGELLY | postcode_district = KY5 | postcode_area = KY | dial_code = 01592 | constituency_westminster = [[Glenrothes and Mid Fife (UK Parliament constituency)|Glenrothes and Mid Fife]] | constituency_scottish_parliament = [[Cowdenbeath (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Cowdenbeath]] | static_image_name = Cardenden.jpg | static_image_caption = Houses in Cardenden }}
'''Cardenden''' ({{respell|card-un-DEN}}; {{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|ɑr|d|ən|ˈ|d|ɛ|n|audio=Cardenden.ogg}}) is a [[Scotland|Scottish]] town located on the south bank of the [[River Ore, Fife|River Ore]] in the parish of [[Auchterderran]], [[Fife]]. It is approximately {{convert|4|mi|km|0|abbr=off|spell=on}} northwest of [[Kirkcaldy]]. Cardenden was named in 1848 by the [[Edinburgh and Northern Railway]] for its new railway station. A former mining town, Cardenden had a reported population of 448 in 1891 that had increased to 5,533 as of 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/php/uk-scotland.php?cityid=097001|title=Cardenden (Fife, Scotland, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics and Location in Maps and Charts|work=citypopulation.de}}</ref>
Areas of Cardenden include Auchterderran, Bowhill, Dundonald, the Jamphlars, New Carden and Woodend.
==Last Scottish duel== It is reported that the last duel on Scottish soil took place in a field at Cardenbarns to the south of Cardenden. On 2 August 1826, a Kirkcaldy merchant named David Landale fought a duel with George Morgan, a Kirkcaldy banker and retired [[Lieutenant]] from the [[77th Regiment of Foot]]. Morgan was killed by wounds received from a pistol ball. Landale was tried and subsequently cleared of his murder at Perth Sheriff Court.
The original pistols that David Landale used in the duel are housed in the [[Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery]]. The duel was the subject of an episode of [[Timewatch]] on [[BBC]] television, broadcast on 9 February 2007 entitled "The Last Duel".<ref>{{cite news | url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6345765.stm | title = Timewatch The Last Duel | work = BBC News Magazine | access-date= 2007-01-18 | date= 9 January 2007 }}</ref> The site is now the location of the Fife Community Off Road Motorcycle Club.
==Sport== Cardenden is home to the [[football (soccer)|football]] club [[Dundonald Bluebell F.C.|Dundonald Bluebell]], who play in the [[East of Scotland Football League|East of Scotland League]].
Also in the area is the Bowhill Leisure Centre, which has a swimming pool, sauna, steam room and gymnasium. The Auchterderran Golf Course was founded in 1904.<ref name="visitscotland.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.visitscotland.com/info/towns-villages/cardenden-p239481|title=Cardenden|work=visitscotland.com}}</ref>
==Notable people== {{see also|:Category:People from Cardenden}} * [[Joe Corrie]] * [[Tommy Hutchison]] * [[Willie Johnston]] * [[Willie Mathieson]] * [[William McLaren (illustrator)|William McLaren]] * [[John Thomson (footballer, born 1909)|John Thomson]] * [[Ian Rankin]]<ref name="visitscotland.com"/>
==See also== * [[Cardenden railway station]] * [[List of famous duels]] * [[List of places in Fife]]
==References== {{reflist|1}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Cardenden}} *[https://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townfirst23.html Gazetteer on Cardenden] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928060112/http://www.visitkilliecrankie.com/cardenden-history.htm History of Cardenden] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070105065252/http://www.mining-villages.co.uk/39.html Scottish mining villages - Auchterderran Parish]
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[[Category:Towns in Fife]] [[Category:Mining communities in Fife]] [[Category:Cardenden]]