When the sisters came to Dysart, they came to a place and house which had a rich history.
In our grounds are the caves of Saint Serf, used by him, according to tradition, as a hermitage in which to pray in solitude. He lived in the 6th century, and when he prayed in the caves, there was in one of them a stone carving which would already have been very ancient. Possibly a pagan priest made it before the saints brought the good news of Christ to Scotland.

The tower of Saint Serf, which stands just outside our enclosure wall, was originally built as a stronghold against the vikings, before being incorporated into a church in medieval times.

Historians say that the basement of our monastery also dates back to medieval times, and there is a tradition that Mary Queen of Scots once stayed in the older part of the building.

For many years, the earls of Rosslyn lived here. Eventually they ran out of money, and sold the property to the Nairns. However, they also thought of the ordinary people of Kirkcaldy, and they gave to them most of the land as a beautiful park, today’s Ravenscraig Park. The Nairns owned the linoleum factory which brought great employment to Kirkcaldy for several decades. Finally, a very generous benefactor bought Dysart for the carmelites. This business transaction was kept very quiet, for fear of arousing hostility from an anti-catholic neighbourhood. Today, we enjoy the friendship of so many of our neighbours!

Dysart Carmel was founded on June 17, 1931, ‘in poverty, with no temporal aid’ as our Annals record. During the great Depression of those times, our district of Kirkcaldy was classed by the government as a particularly depressed area.

Nevertheless as time went on, postulants came, as well as Sisters from other Carmels, and the community was gradually built up over the following years, while improvements were made to the house and garden.

In Carmels throughout Britain by the mid-80s, many Sisters were growing older and needing care, while on the other hand few young people were joining the Order. The Dysart Community decided to enlarge their Infirmary to enable them to care not only for their own invalids but also for Sisters from other Carmels who did not have the necessary resources.

Then in 1994 we investigated the possibility of making Dysart Carmel a ‘House of Welcome’ for any elderly Sisters who wished to become integrated with us while still able to take part in community activities, knowing that they would be able to remain and be cared for if they later became incapacitated. After making some necessary adaptations to the house we began to receive such Sisters. At the same time some younger Sisters came to assist us in the work, some of these remaining to become permanent members of the Community. Meanwhile as the years went on, Carmels no longer viable were having to close, and quite a few of the Sisters from these communities chose to transfer to Dysart. As a result, our own community gradually increased in number so that today we have quite a full house.

During all these comings and goings there have been, throughout both good and bad times, many blessings and overflowing grace which certainly accounts for the deep harmony among us all, in spite of the differences in our individual Carmelite beginnings and our varying ages and states of health. The Sisters are sensitive to each other’s vulnerability, and a loving concern marks our community relationships.