GENUKI Home page

Kingdom of Fife Kingdom of Fife Cupar Cupar

Cupar Parish Records

Church History

The parish church of Cupar was dedicated to St Christopher and belonged, prior to the reformation, to the Priory of St Andrews. In 1415 a new parish church was erected by the Prior of St Andrews, which was partially pulled down in 1785 to make way for the present day building. A second charge was established for the parish of Cupar in 1625 and in 1938 the two charges were united together. Following this union the session became known as Cupar Old and St Michael of Tarvit and the church of the former second charge was later sold in 1951. The kirk session sat within the Presbytery of Cupar until the restructuring of the Presbyteries in 1976, when it became part of the Presbytery of St Andrews.

The session of Cupar St John's began at the Disruption of 1843 when the minister and a significant number of the congregation of Cupar Parish Church adhered to the Free Church. A church was erected for the new charge in 1844, which was later replaced in 1878. Following the union of the United Presbyterian Church and the Free Church of Scotland in 1900, Cupar Free Church was termed Cupar St John's United Free Church. Following the 1929 union of the United Free Church and the Church of Scotland, Cupar St John's U.F. became Cupar St John's Church of Scotland . The Kirk Session, which remains active today, sits within the Presbytery of St Andrews.

The congregation of Cupar Boston U.P. church, which sits within the Presbytery of Cupar, can be traced back to 1770 when an area of land was purchased at Westport in the burgh for the purpose of erecting a Relief Church (hence the original name of Cupar Westport). Laurence Bonnar, who became the first minister of the newly established congregation, was ordained at a date no later than 1772. A new church, built on the site of the old one, was opened in 1849, and was now called Boston Church, within the United Presbyterian Church. Following the union of the United Presbyterian Church and the Free Church of Scotland in 1900, Cupar Boston U.P. Church became Cupar Boston United Free Church but the congregation was dissolved in 1918.

Prior to 1793 the Antiburgher families of Cupar, having no local place of worship, formed part of the Ceres congregation. In that year however the death of the Rev. Thomas Bennet, minister of Ceres Antiburgher Church, prompted a number of Antiburghers resident in Cupar to apply to the Presbytery of Kirkcaldy for provision of a separate charge. A temporary place of worship was consequently opened at Cupar in 1794 and in 1796 a church at Burnside was taken possession of, in which the congregation remained until 1866 when the church of Bonnygate was opened, by which time the church was within the United Presbyterian Church. Following the union of the United Presbyterian Church and the Free Church of Scotland in 1900, Cupar U.P. became Cupar Bonnygate United Free Church and following the 1929 union of the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church, the congregation was termed Cupar Bonnygate Church of Scotland. In 1972 the congregation, which sat within the Presbytery of Cupar, was dissolved.

The Cupar Original Associate Burgher Synod congregation branched from that of Kennoway in 1816. It was, however, only in 1819 that the first minister, Ebenezer Anderson, was ordained. In 1839, the congregation and the minister united with the Church of Scotland. After the Disruption, some members of the congregation turned to the Original Secession Church, and sought from the Presbytery of Perth and Dunfermline a supply of preachers, but at the end of 1844 it was decided that the congregation could no longer be sustained and it was therefore dissolved.

The parish church of Springfield was opened for worship on the 27th July 1862 and the parish itself was disjoined from that of Cupar on the 19th July 1865. In 1975 Springfield formed a link with Monimail however in 1983 this arrangement was terminated in favour of a link with Ceres. The two linked charges of Springfield and Ceres later went on to unite in 1989, under the name of Ceres and Springfield. The kirk session sat within the Presbytery of Cupar until the restructuring of the Presbyteries in 1976, when it became part of the Presbytery of St Andrews.

Return to top of page

Church Records

At the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library, with digital copies of the earlier volumes at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:

At the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library:

At the ScotlandsPeople Centre, Edinburgh but not online:

Return to top of pagee

Court Records

At the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:

ORDINARY COURT
SMALL DEBT COURT
DEBT RECOVERY COURT
SUMMARY REMOVINGS COURT
REGISTER OF DEEDS ETC
COMMISSARY COURT
CRIMINAL COURTS
WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION
MISCELLANEOUS SHERIFF COURT RECORDS
Fife Family History Society have published printed indexes of:

At the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library:

At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Markinch:

Return to top of page

Heritors' Records

At the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:

Return to top of page

Land & Property

At the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:

Return to top of page

Parochial Board  /  Parish Council Records

At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Markinch:

Return to top of page

School Records

At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Markinch:

Entries less than 50 years old may contain sensitive personal information and are not on open access. If you are a former pupil you are entitled to see your own entry. Please contact the Archivist for further details.
Return to top of page

Taxation

At the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:

Return to top of page

Town Records

At the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:

At the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library:

At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Markinch:

Return to top of page

Data provided by the  Scottish Archive Network (SCAN)

Are you lost in the GENUKI hierarchy or arrived here from a search engine? If so, use the up-arrow(s) at the top of the page to go up the hierarchy.

Problems?Find help, report problems, or contribute information

Page maintained by William McM. Owen : last updated 12 November, 2012