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Fife Towns & Parishes |  Nearby places |
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| Cupar Springfield |
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| Please read the main Fife pages if you have not already done so. | |
Cupar Library has a good collection of genealogy and local history materials.
An excellent book is Cupar - The History of a Small Scottish Town by Paula Martin, 2006. ISBN 1 84158 410 X
Old Cupar (Stenlake Publishing) contains many photographs and full descriptions.
There are 3 cemeteries in Cupar parish:
1. Cupar Old Parish Churchyard, Kirk Wynd, Cupar (grid ref. NO 372142):
2. Cupar Extension - St James's Cemetery, Ashlar Lane, Cupar (grid ref. NO 373142):
3. Cupar Cemetery, Ceres Road, Cupar (grid ref. NO 378135):
The pre-1855 monumental inscriptions are listed in "Fifeshire Monumental Inscriptions (pre-1855) vol. 3 The north east parishes" by John Fowler Mitchell & Sheila Mitchell, published by the Scottish Genealogy Society. ISBN 0901061999
The original 1841 census returns were lost in transit to Edinburgh.
Parish / district reference number for 1851 - 1901 censuses: 420
The 1851 census has been indexed by the Tay Valley Family History Society.
Further information on the main Fife page.
The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists the parish church, a second charge of the Established Church in Cupar and one in Springfield, the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church (St. James), the Baptist Church, 2 United Presbyterian Churches (Boston and Burnside) and the Free Church.
Details of church history here.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):
| Cupar OPR | Births / baptisms | Proclamations / marriages | Deaths / burials / mortcloths |
| 420/1 | 1654-1715 | 1654-1716 | 1654-1716 |
| 420/2 | 1717-1777 | 1719-1777 | 1719-1777 |
| 420/3 | 1778-1819 | 1778-1819 | 1778-1819 |
| 420/4 | 1820-1854 | ||
| 420/5 | 1820-1854 | 1820-1854 |
| Data supplied by General Register Office for Scotland |
The following records are also held by the General Register Office for Scotland in Edinburgh. They are not included on the OPR microfilms but have been filmed as part of the Minor Records series:
| Baptisms | |
| Cupar Free Church MR30/1 | 1843-1854 |
Kirk Session and similar records for the churches are held by the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library. Details of church records here.
Heritors' Records (HR31) 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 |
| Cupar burgh | 420/1 | 1855 | 1856 |
| Cupar landward | 420/2 | 1855 | 1956 |
| Cupar | 420 | 1857 | 1971 |
| Cupar | 417 | 1972 | 2002 |
| Fife | 417 | 2003 |
Registration districts did not necessarily coincide exactly with parishes. In the 20th century especially, there were frequent changes in registration districts.
Burgh Court Books (from 1699) are held by the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library.
On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is an index to Cupar Burgh Register of Deeds (1716-1862).
Cupar Sheriff Court records are held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh (SC20). They include Register of Extract Decrees (from 1658); Court Processes (from 1699); Sequestrations (from 1838); Small Debt Court (from 1825); Register of Deeds (from 1658); Registers of Protests (from 1800); Commissary Court records (from 1824); Criminal Court records (from 1821); Record of Services of Heirs (from 1652).
Details of court records here.
An Index to the Cupar Sheriff Court Aliment Decrees 1830-1854 and an Index to the Sheriff Court of Fife Deeds 1715-1809 are available on the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society's website. The Society has also published printed indexes of Cupar Sheriff Court Register of Inventories (1824-1892) (published as Wills 1824-1892 Registered with the Sheriff Court of Fife at Cupar), and Cupar Sheriff Court Register of Deeds (1809-1900)
| Cupar town centre | Ordnance Survey Grid Reference | GPS | Post code | Lat. 56°19'3"N |
| NO 375145 | 56.318757 -3.012036 |
KY15 5AS | Lon. 3°0'43"W |
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.
Valuation Rolls and the Burgh Register of Sasines are held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of records here.
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, 27.
A list of Cupar shoemakers, 1783 - 1846, extracted from the Shoemaker Trade Book of Cupar, held by Fife Council Archive Centre, has been published by the Fife Family History Society in Publication 13 - Trade Incorporation Records and is also on the Records pages of their website.
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.
| Year | Population |
| 1755 | 2192 |
| 1801 | 4463 |
| 1851 | 7427 |
| 1901 | 6768 |
| 1951 | 8085 |
See also A Vision of Britain for population statistics.
Prior to 1824, wills, testaments & inventories of residents of Cupar 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, Cupar Sheriff Court and Cupar 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 Burgh of Cupar are held at the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library, the Fife Council Archive Centre and at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of records here.
An index to the Cupar Burgh Register of Deeds (1716-1862) is available on the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society's website.
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