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Balmerino

Map showing the location of the parish

"Balmerino or Balmerinoch (pronounced Ba'mirnie) is a parish lying on the south bank of the river Tay, extending, on an average, about 3 and a half miles in length, and 2 and a half in breadth. The surface is a gradual decline to the side of the river. The harbour of Balmerino is small, but a considerable quantity of grain is annually exported from it. The kirk and little hamlet lie on the road along the high ground, from the ferry opposite Dundee, to Newburgh. To the west, and on a slip of ground intruding upon the waters of the Tay, stands the ancient village of Balmerino, adjacent to which are the ruins of the once-famed abbey - a beautiful structure, begun by Alexander II and his mother Emergarde, daughter of the Earl of Beaumont, in 1229. These ruins, which are richly clothed in ivy, and surrounded with some fine tall trees, are much admired by strangers." from Slater's Directory published 1852.

Towns and Villages

Balmerino
Gauldry (The Gauldry)


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

Bibliography

Balmerino and its Abbey by the Rev. James Campbell, published 1899, contains a very full history of the parish and much genealogical information.

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Cemeteries

Balmerino Cemetery, Balmerino (grid ref. NO 362248):

Census

The original 1841 census returns were lost in transit to Edinburgh.

Parish / district reference number for 1851 - 1901 censuses: 409

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

Further information on the main Fife page.

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Church History

In addition to the parish church at Balmerino, there was a Free Church in the Gauldry serving Logie and Gauldry.
The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists the parish church and the Free Church (Logie and Gauldry).

Details of church history here.

Church Records

The original Old Parish Records (of baptisms / births, proclamations / marriages, and 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 copies on microfilm may be consulted in local libraries and at LDS Family History Centres around the world. The baptisms / births and proclamations / marriages (but not deaths) can also be searched at Scotland's People - the online database of Scottish Birth, Marriage, Death & Census records at the General Register Office. The index can also be searched on the LDS FamilySearch website.

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

The old parish records span the following dates (although there may be gaps within these ranges):

Balmerino OPR Births / baptisms Proclamations / marriages Deaths / burials / mortcloths
409/1 1632-1779 1632-1779  
409/2 1779-1819 1779-1819 1747-1762
409/3 1820-1854 1820-1854  
Data supplied by General Register Office for Scotland

Kirk Session and similar records for the parish church (CH2/1540) and the Free Church (CH3/1119) are held at the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library. Some Kirk Session material is to be found in the OPR records (409/1). Details of church records here.

Heritors' Records (HR579) are at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of records here.

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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 district number start date end date
Balmerino 409 1855 1967
Newport-on-Tay 451 1968 1971
Newport-on-Tay 411 1972 2002
Fife 411 2003  

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

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Description & Travel

Balmerino Abbey Ordnance Survey Grid Reference GPS Post code Lat. 56°24'35"N
NO 358247 56.410152
-3.042013
DD6 8SB Lon. 3°2'33"W

Surrounding parishes: Creich, Flisk, Kilmany, Forgan.

Directories

On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is a transcription of Westwood's 1861 Parochial Directory of Fife.

Historical Geography

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

Maps

Historic maps: Present-day maps:

Names, Geographical

The Ordnance Survey [Place] 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).

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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.

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 565
1801 786
1851 945
1901 576
1951 533

See also A Vision of Britain for population statistics.

Probate Records

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

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 are held at the Fife Council Archive Centre. Details of records here.

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William McM. Owen    last updated 30 December 2006