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Auchtertool

Map showing the location of the parish

"Auchtertool parish is bounded on the south by Kinghorn, Burntisland and Aberdour, on the north & north-west by Auchterderran and Beath, and on the east by Kinghorn & Abbotshall. It is 3 miles long by 1.5 miles broad and covers an area of 2630 acres. There are 1650 acres under cultivation, 750 under pasture and none under wood. The Cullalo hills at the west of the parish rise to 750 feet above sea level and command a fine view of the Isle of May, the Bass and North Berwick Law. Camilla Loch, near the north-east boundary, covers 18 acres and is 22 feet deep in places. It is supplied with eels, perch and pike. Horses are only bred and reared for farm purposes, but not for sale. Much attention is paid to the breeding and rearing of black cattle, for which the growing of turnips and potatoes is much increased. Sheep have lately been introduced and appear to pay well. There are no collieries, coal having to be brought from Auchterderran. There are 2 limestone quarries, wrought for local use but not for sale. There are several whinstone quarries used for the turnpike and other roads in the parish. The parish church is about 1 mile distant from the village. There is a parish school, a private school and an infant school. There is also a parish library, established in 1824, with 240 volumes. The village has a savings bank, 6 public houses but no inn. The village is famed for its extensive brewery, making ales, porter and table beer. The ales are shipped at Kirkcaldy for London. " from A Descriptive & historic gazeteer of the counties of Fife, Kinross & Clackmannan by M Barbieri, published 1857.

Towns and Villages

Auchtertool

Places in Auchtertool parish, with links to online historical and modern maps. (The Google maps show all the places in the list; the links to www.magic.gov.uk don't apply in Scotland).

Please read the main Fife pages if you have not already done so.

Archives, Libraries and Museums

A separate Records Page page gives details of the records for this parish held by Scottish archives.

Bibliography

A very good description is to be found in the relevant chapter in History of the County of Fife: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time by John M Leighton, published 1840, online at Google Books.

Cemeteries

Auchtertool Churchyard / Cemetery, off B925 Auchtertool to Crossgates road (grid ref. NT 206903, GPS: 56.098856 -3.277938):

Census

Parish / district reference number for 1841 - 1901 censuses: 407

The 1841 and 1851 returns can be searched on the FreeCEN website.

The 1851 census has been indexed by the Tay Valley Family History Society.

Some census records on microfilm may be consulted in LDS Family History Centres around the world.

LDS Library Film Numbers:

  1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891
Auchtertool 1042699 1042252 103825 103986 203517 208747
Data provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Further information on the main Fife page.

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Church History

The Old Statistical Account (written in the 1790s) gives this information about Dissenters:

The New Statistical Account (written in 1836) has this to say:

The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists only the parish church.

Auchtertool Kirk has an informative website.

Details of the church history here.

Church Records

The Parish Church (Established Church, Church of Scotland):

The original Old Parish Registers (of baptisms / births, proclamations / marriages, and deaths / burials) of the Church of Scotland, which cover the years up to 1854, are held in the General Register Office for Scotland in Edinburgh, and they can all be consulted there at the ScotlandsPeople Centre.

Parish reference number: 407

The Old Parish Registers (OPRs) span the following dates (although there are gaps within these ranges):

Auchtertool OPR Births / baptisms Proclamations / marriages Deaths / burials / mortcloths
407/1 1708-1819 1708-1819  
407/2 1820-1854 1820-1854  
407/3     1830-1855
Data supplied by General Register Office for Scotland

The Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland, published 1872, provides this information about the content of the OPRs, including the gaps within them:

B.  and M. intermixed throughout. Proclamations and Marriages often separately recorded.
[Subsequent to publication of the Detailed List, records were found within other Church of Scotland records (CH2/25/4) which contain Deaths 1830 - 1855. These are now included in the OPR Records as 407/3.]

The baptisms / births, proclamations / marriages and deaths / burials indexes can be searched at the ScotlandsPeople website. Copies of the register entries may be purchased.

Copies of the registers on microfilm may be consulted in some local libraries and at LDS Family History Centres around the world. The indexes to baptisms / births and proclamations / marriages can also be searched on the LDS Family Search website or on the IGI on microfiche in local libraries.

LDS Library Film Numbers:

1040149 Items 3 - 4 Baptisms, 1708-1840; Marriages, 1708-1839.
1040194 Items 1 - 2 Baptisms, 1839-1855; Marriages, 1839-1854; Burials, 1830-1855.
Data provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Deaths / burials are listed on Fife Family History Society's  Pre-1855 Fife Deaths CD.

Further information on the main Fife page.

Kirk Session records are held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of church records here.

The Presbytrie Book of Kirkcaldie, the record of the proceedings of the Presbytery of Kirkcaldy (which includes references to this parish), from 15 April 1630 - 14 September 1653, is available online.

Heritors' Records (HR638) are at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of records here.

Other Churches :
The Auchtertool page of the LDS Family Search Research Wiki has more information about church history and records.
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Civil Registration

Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths began in Scotland on 1st January 1855. Full information on the main Fife page.

Registration districts covering this parish:

Registration district number start date end date
Auchtertool 407 1855 1967
Cowdenbeath 410/1 1968 1971
Cowdenbeath 430 1972 2002
Fife 430 2003  

Registration districts did not necessarily coincide exactly with parishes. In the 20th century especially, there were frequent changes in registration districts.

Court Records

Fife Family History Society have transcribed a list of Auchtertool Jurors, 1851 on the Records pages of their website.

Description & Travel

Auchtertool village centre Ordnance Survey Grid Reference GPS Post code Lat. 56°6'10"N
NT 216907 56.102614
-3.261985		 KY2 5XW Lon. 3°15'37"W

Surrounding parishes: Abbotshall, Kinghorn, Aberdour, Beath, Falkland.

Directories

The parish entry in Pigot's National Commercial Directory for the whole of Scotland, 1837, is online at Google Books.

Westwood's Parochial Directory for the Counties of Fife and Kinross for 1862 and 1866 are online at Google Books. On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is a transcription of the 1862 edition.

Gazetteers

There is a list of places in Auchtertool parish, with links to online historical and modern maps. (The Google maps show all the places in the list; the links to www.magic.gov.uk don't apply in Scotland).

Several old gazetteers are available. They all contain descriptions of the parish and many are also worth searching for entries of places within the parish.

Historical Geography

A Vision of Britain provides historical descriptions, population & housing statistics, historic boundaries and maps.

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Maps

Historic maps:

This British Library webpage uses small examples of historical maps of London to show the differences between maps at various scales.

Present-day maps:

Names, Geographical

The Ordnance Survey Object Name Books 1850-1854 are held at the Fife Council Archive Centre. There is an index to the entries for this parish on the Fife Council website (select  A in the A-Z list, then  Archives).

Obituaries

Andrew Campbell has produced Fife Deaths from Newspapers 1822-1854 - a compilation of deaths recorded in local newspapers. Copies of this index are held by the Fife libraries and the Family History Societies.

Fife Deaths Abroad 1855-1900 - a compilation of overseas deaths recorded in Fife newspapers - has been produced by Andrew Campbell of Fife Family History Society. The Society have re-published it in their Publications Series, 26.

Occupations

The parish is included in Andrew Campbell's compilation of Fife Shopkeepers and Traders 1820-1870 taken from newspapers and directories. It is available in most Fife reference libraries, in the libraries of the family history societies, and at the Manuscript Department of the Special Collections Department of St Andrews University Library. It is also available as Fife Traders and Shopkeepers on CD from Fife Family History Society.

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

The relief of paupers after 1845 was carried out by the Parochial Board and later by the Parish Council. Their records are at the Fife Council Archive Centre. Details of records here.

Population

Year Population
1755 389
1801 396
1851 517
1901 742
1951 558

There is a page with census statistics from 1755 to 1961 here.

See also A Vision of Britain and Histpop for population statistics.

Probate Records

Prior to 1824, wills, testaments & inventories of residents of Auchtertool may be found in either the St Andrews Commissariot (CC20) or the Edinburgh Commissariot (CC8) records. From 1824 to 1960, commissary business was conducted by the Sheriff Court of Fife at Cupar (SC20). From 1960, it has been conducted at Kirkcaldy (SC23) Sheriff Court.

Indexes and finding aids are given on the main Fife page.

Local sources worth searching for deeds include St Andrews Commissary Court and Cupar Sheriff Court.

Schools

School Board records and / or school logbooks are held at the Fife Council Archive Centre. Details of records here.

Education statistics for Fife schools in 1891-2 list the following board schools in the parish:

School Board School Accommodation for scholars Average attendance
Auchtertool Auchtertool 143 94

Statistics

"Statistical accounts" giving fascinating insights into the local topography and history, social and economic conditions, and even the daily lives of people, were written by the parish ministers in the 1790s and the 1840s. For more information see the main Fife pages

Taxation

Hearth Tax and other 18th century assessed tax records are at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of records here.
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William McM. Owen    last updated  26 October, 2008