Cowdenbeath is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It lies 5 miles north-east of Dunfermline and 18 miles north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town established around the extensive coalfields of the area and ended up being a Police Burgh in 1890. Based upon population stats from 2008, Cowdenbeath has a permanent population of around 14081. Within this population, 48.5 per cent are male and 51.5 per cent are female, which is consistent with the proportional split by gender in both the Fife and Scottish populations. Before 1850, Cowdenbeath was just a group of farms divided into four districts named after local farms. Regional residents of these focal points of progression, which were merging into a single town, congregated to pick a name for the emerging town. The ultimate decision was narrowed down to either White Threshes or Cowdenbeath. The arrival of the Oakley Iron Company around 1850 was to have a long-lasting effect upon Cowdenbeath, making the name synonymous with coal-mining for nearly 100 years. Shafts were sunk in the vicinity of the old Foulford Washer. It was in the mining for ore that the discoveries of the coal seams were made, and pits were sunk at every corner of the town. Characterising the northern perimeter of Cowdenbeath is a rural landscape, which blends into the Lochore Meadows Country Park, 'The Meadies'. This formerly industrial and mining landscape, which was home to a number of pit-heads including the Mary Pit, whose winding gear structure dominates the park as a memorial to its noteworthy mining history, is at present a very enticing area which provides leisure and recreational outdoor amenities. For all of your house upgrades, take care to choose reputable contractors in Cowdenbeath to ensure quality.