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Kingdom of Fife |  |
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Fife Towns & Parishes |  Nearby places |
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| Burntisland |
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| Please read the main Fife pages if you have not already done so. | |
Old Burntisland (Stenlake Publishing) contains many photographs and full descriptions.
There are 3 cemeteries in Burntisland parish:
1. Kirkton Churchyard, Church Street, Burntisland (grid ref. NT 230865):
2. St Columba's Parish Churchyard, East Leven Street, Burntisland (grid ref. NT 235856):
3. Burntisland Cemetery, Kinghorn Road, Burntisland (grid ref. NT 245864):
Monumental inscriptions are listed in "Fifeshire Monumental Inscriptions (pre-1855) vol. 2 The western parishes" by John Fowler Mitchell & Sheila Mitchell, published by the Scottish Genealogy Society. ISBN 0901061972
Parish / district reference number for 1841 - 1901 censuses: 411
Further information on the main Fife page.
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):
| Burntisland OPR | Births / baptisms | Proclamations / marriages | Deaths / burials / mortcloths |
| 411/1 | 1672-1686 | 1653-1686 | |
| 411/2 | 1701-1777 | 1701-1777 | 1734-1743 |
| 411/3 | 1778-1819 | 1778-1819 | 1806-1818 |
| 411/4 | 1820-1854 | 1820-1854 | 1825-1848 |
| Data supplied by General Register Office for Scotland |
The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists the parish church, the Episcopal Church (St. Serf's), the United Presbyterian Church and the Free Church.
There was an Antiburgher Congergation (later United Presbyterian) for which no records are available.
Kirk Session and similar records for both the parish church (CH2/523) and the Free Church - Couper - (CH3/695) are held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Some Kirk Session material is to be found in the OPR records (411/1).
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 (HR126) are at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh.
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 |
| Burntisland burgh | 411/1 | 1855 | 1855 |
| Burntisland landward | 411/2 | 1855 | 1855 |
| Burntisland | 411 | 1856 | 1971 |
| Burntisland | 423 | 1972 | 1991 |
| Kirkcaldy | 421 | 1992 | 2002 |
| Fife | 421 | 2003 |
Registration districts did not necessarily coincide exactly with parishes. In the 20th century especially, there were frequent changes in registration districts.
There are Burgh Court Books (from 1581) in the Burgh Records.
On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is an index to Burntisland Burgh Register of Deeds (1731-1874).
| Burntisland town centre | Ordnance Survey Grid Reference | GPS | Post code | Lat. 56°3'34"N |
| NT 232858 | 56.058860 -3.234860 |
KY3 9AH | Lon. 3°14'3"W |
There is a very informative Burntisland website with a lot of useful historical information.
On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is a transcription of Westwood's 1861 Parochial Directory of Fife.
A Vision of Britain provides historical descriptions, population & housing statistics, historic boundaries and maps.
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).
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 recently re-published it in their Publications Series, 26.
A list of Burntisland hammermen, 1648 - 1835, extracted from the records of the Burntisland Hammermen Craft Minute Book, held by the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library and Kirkcaldy Central Library, has been published by the Fife Family History Society in Publication 13 - Trade Incorporation Records and is also available on the Records pages of their website.
Also available on the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website are transcriptions of Burntisland Wrights (1648-1835), Weavers (1685-1866), Tailors (1685-1835), Shoemakers (1685-1835), Fleshers (1685-1835) and Bakers (1685-1835).
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.
Peter Higginbotham's website has a lot of information about Kirkcaldy combination poorhouse.
| Year | Population |
| 1755 | 1390 |
| 1801 | 1530 |
| 1851 | 3158 |
| 1901 | 5599 |
| 1951 | 5883 |
See also A Vision of Britain for population statistics.
Prior to 1824, wills, testaments & inventories of residents of Burntisland 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). 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, Cupar Sheriff Court and Burntisland Burgh Register of Deeds.
School Board Records and / or school logbooks are held at the Fife Council Archive Centre.
The oldest burgh records are held by the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh (B9). They include Protocol Books (from 1581), Sasines Registers (from 1681) and Registers of Deeds (from 1757). Court records include some 17th century harbour dues, a burgess roll, guildry records, council minutes (from 1672) and burgh charters.
On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is an index to Burntisland Burgh Register of Deeds (1731-1874).
The more recent archives of the former Burgh of Burntisland are held by Fife Council Archives. They include Council and Police Commissioners Minutes from 1835, Accounts from 1764, and cemetery records from 1885.
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