A village, located in a parish of the same name, in S Central Fife to the south of Kinglassie and 2 miles (3 km) northeast of Lochgelly. Auchterderran is traversed by the River Ore and has a pop. (1991) of 5300 (with Cardenden). Its landscape was dramatically altered by over a century of coal mining which developed from the early 19th Century and resulted in the former hamlets of Auchterderran, Cardenden, Bowhill and Dundonald all merging into one great mining township. No longer dependent on coal mining, Auchterderran now has a diverse range of industries that include mechanical engineering and the manufacture of electrical equipment, clothing, bagpipes and building materials.
Well-remembered local writers from the mining community include the poets Joe Corrie (1894 - 1968) and John Pindar (1837 - 1905) who has a memorial in the parish church. In a field at Cardenbarns to the south of Cardenden the last duel in Scotland was fought on 2nd August 1826 between David Landale, a Kirkcaldy bleacher, and George Morgan, an agent of the Bank of Scotland. The ancient church of Auchterderran was given by Bishop Fothad to the Culdees of the old Celtic Church in the 11th century, but the present parish church, enlarged in 1890, dates from 1789.
Auchterderran has a 9-hole golf course.
