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Kingdom of Fife |  |
Contents |  |
Fife Towns & Parishes |  Nearby places |
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| Pittenweem |
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| Please read the main Fife pages if you have not already done so. | |
Old Pittenweem (Stenlake Publishing) contains many photographs and full descriptions.
There are 2 cemeteries in Pittenweem parish:
1. Pittenweem Churchyard, Kirkgate, Pittenweem (grid ref. NO 549026):
2. Pittenweem Cemetery, David Street, Pittenweem (grid ref. NO 546028):
Parish / district reference number for 1841 - 1901 censuses: 452
The 1841 return can be searched on the FreeCEN website.
The 1851 census has been indexed by the Tay Valley Family History Society.
Further information on the main Fife page.
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 (for St Adrian's Church of Scotland) span the following dates (although there may be gaps within these ranges):
| Pittenweem OPR | Births / baptisms | Proclamations / marriages | Deaths / burials / mortcloths |
| 452/1 | 1611-1745 | 1692-1745 | 1685-1690 |
| 452/2 | 1750-1819 | 1750-1819 | 1782-1819 |
| 452/3 | 1612-1652 | ||
| 452/4 | 1820-1854 | 1820-1854 | 1820-1854 |
| CH2/833 (at SRO) | Accounts for marriages 1650-1662 |
| Data supplied by General Register Office for Scotland |
The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists the parish church, the Episcopal Church (St John's) and a United Presbyterian Church.
The Episcopal Church in Pittenweem (St John's) has registers which are still kept by the church. Those for the period before 1855 are:
| Pittenweem (St John) | Births / Baptisms | Marriages | Burials |
| 1800-1854 | 1799-1852 (few in number) | 1812-1854 (very few) |
A transcript of these entries has been published by the Fife Family History Society Baptismal Registers No. 5. It is also available on the Records pages or their website.
There was another church (variously the Relief, United Presbyterian, United Free, then St Fillan's Church of Scotland).
Kirk Session and similar records for both the parish church (CH2/833) and the United Presbyterian Church (CH3/802) are held at the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library. Some Kirk Session material is also to be found in the OPR records (452/3).
Heritors' Records (HR68) are at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh.
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 |
| Pittenweem | 452 | 1855 | 1967 |
| East Neuk | 426 | 1968 | 1971 |
| East Neuk | 414 | 1972 | 2002 |
| Fife | 414 | 2003 |
Registration districts did not necessarily coincide exactly with parishes. In the 20th century especially, there were frequent changes in registration districts.
On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is an index to Pittenweem Burgh Register of Deeds (1721-1881).
| Pittenweem town centre | Ordnance Survey Grid Reference | GPS | Post code | Lat. 56°12'47"N |
| NO 548025 | 56.212923 -2.730319 |
KY10 2LA | Lon. 2°43'47"W |
On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is a transcription of Westwood's 1861 Parochial Directory of Fife.
On 15th May 1891, small areas with indistinct boundaries were exchanged between Anstruther Wester and Pittenweem parishes.
A Vision of Britain provides historical descriptions, population & housing statistics, historic boundaries and maps.
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, 30.
Mariners of St Andrews and the East Neuk of Fife by David Dobson can be obtained from the Fife Family History Society or the Tay Valley Family History Society.
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.
| Year | Population |
| 1755 | 939 |
| 1801 | 1072 |
| 1851 | 1473 |
| 1901 | 1911 |
| 1951 | 1594 |
See also A Vision of Britain for population statistics.
Prior to 1824, wills, testaments & inventories of residents of Pittenweem 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 Pittenweem Sheriff Court.
School Board Records and / or school logbooks are held at the Fife Council Archive Centre.
Some archives of the former Burgh of Pittenweem are held at the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library. They include the Burgh Court Book (1630-1669) and Council Minutes (1629-1975). Other records are at Cupar Library, including parochial assessments, rental books and lists of voters.
There are also some records at the Fife Council Archive Centre.
On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is an index to Pittenweem Burgh Register of Deeds (1721-1881).
The Pittenweem Burgh Registers of Sasines (1669-1960) are held at the National Archives of Scotland (B60).
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