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Kettle

Map showing the location of the parish

"Kettle parish lies partly in the Howe of Fife and partly on the hills to the south. It is bounded by Falkland, Markinch, Kennoway, Scoonie, Ceres, Cults and Collessie. It is about 8 miles north-west to south-east by about 3 miles broad at its widest. It contains the villages of King’s Kettle, Kettle Bridge, Coaltown of Burnturk, Balmalcolm and Muirhead. For many years the parish was one of the main seats of linen manufacture in Fife, but its importance is declining. Agriculture employs the next biggest number, followed by the coal works at Burnturk and the lime works at Forthar. The present parish church was built in 1832. There is also a UP Church in King’s Kettle and a Free Church at Balmalcolm serving the parishes of Kettle and Cults. " edited from Westwood's Directory for the counties of Fife & Kinross published 1862.

Towns and Villages

Balmalcolm
Kingskettle
Kettle Bridge

Cemeteries

There are 2 cemeteries in Kettle parish:

1. Kingskettle Old Churchyard, 30 Main Street, Kingskettle (grid ref. NO 310084):

2. Kingskettle Cemetery, just off A914 near Kettlebridge (grid ref. NO 314079):

Census

Parish / district reference number for 1841 - 1901 censuses: 435

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Church History

In addition to the parish church (Kettle East), there was also a United Presbyterian Church (Kettle West), and Kettle and Cults Free church at Balmalcolm.
The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists the parish church, the United Presbyterian Church and the Free Church of Kettle & Cults.

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):

Kettle OPR Births / baptisms Proclamations / marriages Deaths / burials / mortcloths
435/1 1633-1721 1633-1721  
435/2 1723-1787    
435/3 1787-1819 1723-1819  
435/4     1700-1723
435/5     1719-1819
435/6 1820-1854 1820-1854 1820-1842
Data supplied by General Register Office for Scotland

Kirk Session records for the parish church are held at the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library and at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Some Kirk Session material is to be found in the OPR records (435/1 and 435/4).

Kirk Session and similar records for Kettle West (CH3/188) and Balmalcolm Free Church (CH3/1066)  are at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh.

Details of church records are here.

Heritors' Records (HR81) are at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of records here.

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Civil Registration

Registration district number start date end date
Kettle 435 1855 1967
Cupar 420 1968 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

Prior to 1824, wills, testaments & inventories of residents of Kettle 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.

Description & Travel

Kingskettle town centre Ordnance Survey Grid Reference GPS Post code Lat. 56°15'42"N
NO 310084 56.263060
-3.115503		 KY15 7PL Lon. 3°6'55"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.

Maps

Historic maps: Present-day maps:

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, 28.

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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 1621
1801 1889
1851 2601
1901 1759
1951 1603

See also A Vision of Britain for population statistics.

Schools

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

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William McM. Owen    last updated 03 December 2006