St Monans memorial garden to remember 21 men who died in fishing disaster

A memorial garden is to be created in St Monans to remember 21 fishermen from the village who died in a disaster off the English coast.

The space will be situated on Fife Council land at the corner of East Street and Station Road in time for the 150th anniversary of the tragedy which takes place in November.

Members of Fife Council’s North East Fife Area committee agreed to a request for £15,000 from the Common Good Fund which will enable the project to get under way.

Community Manager Kirstie Freeman told councillors the garden would commemorate the 150th anniversary of the 1875 fishing disaster which took place off the coast of East Anglia.

“The project is being broken into two phases,” she explained. “The £15,000 contribution on top of what has been raised will enable phase one to be undertaken.”

Her report explained that St Monans and Abercrombie Community Council have formed a subgroup to lead on the design and creation of the memorial garden.

It added: “Permission has been granted by Housing Service, who own the piece of land, and a licence to occupy to undertake works is in place.

“This application is to support phase one of the project at a total cost of £36,859.”

Phase two of the garden is expected to begin at the start of next year.