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Kingdom of Fife |  |
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Fife Towns & Parishes |  nearby places |
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| Blairhall Comrie Culross Low Valleyfield |
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| Please read the main Fife pages if you have not already done so. | |
There are 3 cemeteries in Culross parish:
1. Culross West Churchyard, by Upper Dean, Culross (grid ref. NS 979865):The pre-1855 monumental inscriptions for Culross West Churchyard and Culross Abbey Churchyard 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 - 1891
censuses: 343
District reference number for 1901 census:
418b
Further information on the main Fife page.
In addition to the Parish Church (first at the West Kirk,
later at the Abbey), there was a Free
Church of Scotland (St Kentigern's).
The Old Statistical Account (1793) describes the church as having 2 ministers "the charge being collegiate". It states that the Established Church has the only place of worship, but there are also not above 50 Burghers and Antiburgher Seceders.
The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists the parish church
with 2 ministers.
Details of church history here.
The Story of Culross West Kirk by Paddy Monaghan can be purchased in the village.
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):
| Culross OPR | Births / baptisms | Proclamations / marriages | Deaths / burials / mortcloths |
| 343/1 | 1641-1687 | 1640-1687 | 1640-1685 |
| 343/2 | 1687-1791 | ||
| 343/3 | 1797-1819 | 1687-1819 | |
| 343/4 | 1820-1854 | 1820-1854 | 1824-1854 |
| 343/5 | Index 1687-1819 |
| Data supplied by General Register Office for Scotland |
The Free Church (St Kentigern's) has these pre-1855 baptism registers, held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:
| Culross Free Church | Baptisms |
| CH3/1397/6 | 1845-1854 |
A transcript of these Free Church baptisms has been published by the Fife Family History Society Baptismal Registers No. 1.
Kirk Session and similar records for both the Abbey and the Free Church are held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of church records here.
Heritors' Records (HR158) are at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of records here.
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 |
| Culross Burgh | 343/1 | 1855 | 1856 |
| Culross Landward | 343/2 | 1855 | 1856 |
| Culross | 343 | 1857 | 1892 |
| Culross | 418B | 1893 | 1967 |
| Culross | 418 | 1968 | 1971 |
| Culross | 435 | 1972 | 1993 |
| West Fife | 435 | 1994 | 2002 |
| Fife | 435 | 2003 |
Registration districts did not necessarily coincide exactly with parishes. In the 20th century especially, there were frequent changes in registration districts.
Records of Culross Regality Court and Culross Small Debt Court are at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details here.
On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is an index to Culross Burgh Register of Deeds (1713-1801).
| Culross town centre | Ordnance Survey Grid Reference | GPS | Post code | Lat. 56°3'18"N |
| NS 987859 | 56.055196 -3.628170 |
KY12 8HN | Lon. 3°37'45"W |
Surrounding parishes: Carnock, Saline, Torryburn, Tulliallan, Clackmannan.
On 15th May 1891, the whole parish of Culross was transferred from the county of Perth to the county of Fife.
A Vision of Britain provides historical descriptions, population & housing statistics, historic boundaries and maps.
Sasines Registers and Valuation Rolls are held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of records here.
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.
A list of Culross wrights, 1612 - 1845, extracted from the records of the Incorporation of Wrights of Culross, held by the National Library of Scotland, has been published by the Fife Family History Society in Publication 13 - Trade Incorporation Records. It is also available on the Records pages of their website.
There are also some records of the Wrights held by the National Archives of Scotland. Details here.
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.
Peter Higginbotham's website has a lot of information about Dunfermline combination poorhouse.
| Year | Population |
| 1755 | 1695 |
| 1801 | 1502 |
| 1851 | 1487 |
| 1901 | 1120 |
| 1951 | 4228 |
See also A Vision of Britain for population statistics.
Prior to 1824, wills, testaments & inventories of residents of Culross may be found in either the Dunblane Commissariot (CC6) or the Edinburgh Commissariot (CC8) records. From 1824, commissary business may have been conducted by the Sheriff Court of Perth (SC49), the Sheriff Court at Dunblane (SC44), or the Sheriff Court of Fife at Cupar (SC20). From 1960, it has been conducted at Dunfermline (SC21) Sheriff Court.
Indexes and finding aids are given on the main Fife page.
Local sources worth searching for deeds include Dunblane Commissary Court, Dunblane Sheriff Court, Perth Sheriff Court, Cupar Sheriff Court and Culross Burgh Register of Deeds.
School Board Records and / or school logbooks are held at the Fife Council Archive Centre. Details of records here.
The archives of the former Royal Burgh of Culross are held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, at the Fife Council Archive Centre, Markinch, and at Dunfermline Carnegie Library. Details of records here.
On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is an index to Culross Burgh Register of Deeds (1713-1801).
Some early electoral registers are held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of records here.
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