Inchkeith Island Connection ...

The Island of Inchkeith is situated 3½ Nautical Miles from Leith (Edinburgh) and 2 Nautical Miles from Pettycur (Kinghorn) Fife. A few surviving tablets from Roman times mention the island as being a place then known as “City of Aluna” and was known as such by Ptolemy in his “Crebis Guidi”. The island then became known in the Venerable Bede’s book as Bernicia from the people who then inhabited the Island. A monastery was established by St Adanam and/or St Sere in 679AD which thrived until 704AD. Some time after that a Viking known as Robert De Keth of the Clan Catti took the island prior to settling in modern Caithness. By 1010 the island was in the hands of Malcolm who also owned the Manor of Inchkeith and who held the Barony of Dalkeith. Some years later after the Macbeth-Wars, it was again Crown Lands and under the jurisdiction of King David I (1124-1153), with the next royal holder of record being Robert II (1371-1390). There are no surviving records that state clearly who held it in the meantime. There is another big gap in the island's historical record until the Thane of Glamis Tower, Sir John de Lyon, held the Island until it passed through inheritance and marriages to the Strathmore Family who were the recorded owners until 1649.