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Cupar

Map showing the location of the parish

"Cupar is bounded by the parishes of Dairsie, Kemback, Ceres, Cults, Monimail, Moonzie and Kilmany. It is 5 miles long and 5 miles wide at its widest point. The river Eden flows through the parish, about 2/3rds of the parish being on the north bank. There are 3 spinning mills, a foundry, a fulling mill, 2 tan works, 3 breweries, a rope work, a brick work and several corn, barley and flour mills. A principal employment is the weaving of coarse linens which employs upwards of 600 looms. There are stations on the Dundee fork of the Edinburgh & Northern Railway at Cupar and Springfield. The burgh of Cupar contains many new houses and presents the appearance of a thriving modern town." edited from  Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland published 1856.

Towns and Villages

Cupar
Springfield


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

Archives, Libraries & Museums

Cupar Library has a good collection of genealogy and local history materials.

Bibliography

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.

Cemeteries

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

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Census

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.

Church History

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.

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):

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

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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
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.

Court Records

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)

Description & Travel

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
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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.

Land & Property

Valuation Rolls and the Burgh Register of Sasines are held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of records here.

Maps

Historic maps: Present-day maps:
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Medical Records

Hospital records (mostly of an administrative nature) are held by the Fife Council Archive Centre. The following hospitals are included: Adamson Hospital, Cupar 1865-1979; Stratheden Hospital, Cupar 1867-1970s. Only Stratheden Hospital has extensive patient records. Patient records are closed for 100 years.

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).

Obituaries

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.

Occupations

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.

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 2192
1801 4463
1851 7427
1901 6768
1951 8085

See also A Vision of Britain for population statistics.

Probate Records

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.

Schools

School Board Records and / or school logbooks are held at the Fife Council Archive Centre. Details of records here.

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Taxation

Taxation Records are held by the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of records here.

Town Records

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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William McM. Owen    last updated 30 December 2006