GENUKI Home page

Kingdom of Fife Kingdom of Fife Contents Contents Fife towns and parishes Fife Towns & Parishes NeighboursNearby places

Monimail

Map showing the location of the parish

"Monimail parish occupies a portion of the central valley of Fifeshire. It is bounded on the north by Cupar, Moonzie, Creich and Dunbog; on the south by Collessie and Cults; on the east by Cupar and on the west by Abdie and Collessie. It is 5 miles long by 4 in breadth. A range of whinstone hills lies to the north, of which Mount Hill is the highest; on top of which a beautiful pillar has been erected in memory of the late Lord Hopetoun in 1826; it is upwards of 100 feet in height. The south portion is generally more level, and diversified by soft undulations. The parish is watered by several rivulets, one of them turning a mill-wheel without a dam; they all fall into the river Eden. The Fife breed of cattle, and the Ayrshire cows for milk, are preferred. Though sheep are not reared, they are largely bought to feed on turnips through the winter. Potatoes are rather extensively cultivated for the London market, as also for feeding cattle. The rent of the land will run from £1-5s to £3-10s per acre. Coal has to be brought from Markinch or Dysart. The south half contains freestone, sufficient for local use. The whinstone, though abundant, is with few exceptions unfit for building, as it soon yields to the action of the atmosphere. Weaving of linens is carried on in the parish to the annual value of 'between £2000 and £3000'. Parish church and Free church. Parish school and three private schools. There are 3 public houses in the parish. There are 2 parish libraries; and a flourishing friendly society. There is one village, Letham, with 450 inhabitants; it is 4 miles west of Cupar and 5 miles east of Auchtermuchty; it has an annual fair in June. There are 2 hamlets in the parish: Monimail with 85 inhabitants and Easter Fernie with 60." from A Descriptive & historic gazeteer of the counties of Fife, Kinross & Clackmannan, M Barbieri, published in 1857

Towns and Villages

Bow of Fife
Letham
Monimail


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

Cemeteries

There are 2 cemeteries in Monimail parish:

1. Monimail Old Cemetery / Churchyard, Monimail (grid ref. NO 297142): 2. Monimail Cemetery, Monimail (grid ref. NO 297143):

Census

Parish / district reference number for 1841 - 1901 censuses: 448

The 1851 census has been indexed by the Tay Valley Family History Society.

Further information on the main Fife page.

Return to top of page

Church History

In addition to the parish church at Monimail, there was also a Free Church at Bow of Fife.
The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists the parish church 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):

Monimail OPR Births / baptisms Proclamations / marriages Deaths / burials / mortcloths
448/1 1656-1725 1656-1725 1677-1720
448/2 1725-1819 1725-1819 1738-1819
448/3 1820-1854 1820-1854 1820-1854
Data supplied by General Register Office for Scotland

The Free Church at Bow of Fife has some baptism records, held at the Manuscripts Dept. of St Andrews University Library:

Monimail Free Church Baptisms
CH3/679 1843-1845

A transcript of these baptisms has been published by the Fife Family History Society Baptismal Registers No. 1.

Kirk Session and similar records for both the parish church and the Free Church are held at the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library. Some Kirk Session material is to be found in the OPR records (415/1). Details of church records here.

Heritors' Records (HR432) are at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of heritors' records here.

Return to top of page

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
Monimail 448 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.

Description & Travel

Monimail village centre Ordnance Survey Grid Reference GPS Post code Lat. 56°18'53"N
NO 297142 56.314968
-3.138033
KY15 4RJ Lon. 3°8'7"W
Return to top of page

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).

Return to top of page

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.

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 884
1801 1066
1851 1102
1901 720
1951 622

See also A Vision of Britain for population statistics.

Probate Records

Prior to 1824, wills, testaments & inventories of residents of Monimail 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 and Cupar Sheriff Court.

Schools

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

Return to top of page

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.


William McM. Owen    last updated 30 December 2006