Monifieth /ˈmɒnifiːθ/ (Scottish Gaelic: Monadh Fotha[2]) is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland.

The presence of a number of class II and III Pictish stones points to Monifieth having had some importance as an ecclesiastical centre in the early medieval period.

The lands were a possession of the Céli Dé monastic order until they were granted to the Tironensian monks of Arbroath Abbey in the early 13th century.

Until the early 19th century, Monifieth remained a small village but grew rapidly due to the expansion of the local textile industry.

Monifieth is considered a commuter town and suburb of its closest city, Dundee, which it is physically attached to.

The local constituency boundary and whether Monifieth should fall within Angus or Dundee council areas continues to be a source of debate.

The town is served by Monifieth railway station, with hourly trains to Dundee & Edinburgh and North to Arbroath.

"Monadh" would mean a large upland mountainous area, which(given that the town is many miles from the highlands) is the exact opposite of Monifieths topography.

An alternative etymology Monaich Fother, 'Monks' Land' has been suggested, which holds some appeal due to Monifieth's early status as a possession of the Céli Dé monastic order.

[17] More tangible evidence for settlement can be found from the Neolithic period, for example with the Cursus monument, identified from cropmarks near Woodhill, between Monifieth and Carnoustie.

[18] This cursus is of a similar scale to the well characterised, mid 4th century BC enclosure found nearby at Douglasmuir near Friockheim.

[26] Artefacts found at and around the site include a quantity of gold coins, iron spear heads and a stone lamp.

[31] Prior to the thirteenth century, the church and lands of Monifieth were possessions of the Céli Dé monastic order.

[35] In January 1550, during the war now known as the Rough Wooing, Regent Arran and his French allies established a camp at Monifieth as a base to assault Broughty Castle.

Other industries included quarrying, weaving within the home and the start of manufacturing of linseed oil at a water-powered mill by the Dighty burn,[37] supporting a small community, 'Milltown',[12] later named as 'Milton of Monifieth'.

[3] During the 19th century, the village gradually expanded following the introduction of larger scale industries to the area, including manufacture of machinery for flax mills in 1811.

[32] James Low and Robert Fairweather had set up their foundry in the village at the start of the nineteenth century and in 1815 developed the first carding machine for flax tow in the area.

With the growth of the textile industry in Dundee and Angus the business grew rapidly, and, by the late nineteenth century, James F Low & Co Ltd was producing a wide range of machines used for the processing and spinning of jute, flax and similar fibres.

As well as building machinery for local use, the firm attracted orders from across the world and by the 1880s the Monifieth Foundry employed about 300 workers.

[3] In 1905 Monifieth gained a Cottage Hospital via a provision made in the will of the Reverend James Gerard Young DD.

[39] By the 1950s the demand for textile machinery had contracted and James F Low & Co (India) Ltd, who now owned the foundry diversified into other areas of production, including the manufacture of building equipment such cement mixers.

Contiguous to the town, on the West side of the county boundary, is Barnhill and Panmurefield Village and the Dundee conurbation.

The western political boundary of the town is marked by West Grange Road, leading south from the West Grange roundabout on the A92, the cycle track that goes from West Grange Road over the Seven Arches viaduct over the Dighty Burn (once part of the Dundee to Forfar Railway), around Monifieth High School grounds, between Inchkeith Avenue and Balmossie Place, and down North and South Balmossie Street to the river bank.

Monifieth has a small retail and leisure complex to the north of the town at Ethiebeaton, which comprises a garden centre, a gym and a fast food outlet.

Tourism plays a small but significant role in Monifieth's economy and has benefited from the area's associations with golf.

[62] Continuing eastwards from the Milton Mill, along Ferry Road and Maule Street towards the town centre, Monifieth's war memorial is situated.

[63] Invertay House, located further along Maule Street on the south side of the road, was built in 1878 and opened as Monifieth Public School.

[67][68] Fishers Tours also run coach services (222, 226, 228, 236, 252 and 272) from Monifieth to Dundee, Perth, Crieff, Oban, Pitlochry, Fort William, Aviemore, Inverness, Glenrothes, Livingston, Dunblane, Glasgow Braehead, Largs, Stirling, Callander, Carnoustie, Arbroath and many more destinations.

The old mansion (as of September 2011) has yet to be torn down and sits derelict in a position just east of the existing Seaview Primary School with all its windows boarded up.

Items accepted include, steel and aluminium cans, cardboard, paper, electrical equipment, engine oil, fridges and freezers, garden waste, gas bottles, glass, liquid food and drinks cartons, plastic bottles, plastic carrier bags, rubble, scrap metal, shoes and handbags, spectacles, textiles, tin foil, wood and yellow pages.