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Kingdom of Fife | |
Scoonie |
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It is thought that the history of Scoonie Kirk may date as far back as the 4th cent and that the beginnings of the church can be linked to the Shelter of St Ethernanus or Ethernan. The church belonged to the priory of St Andrews, and in 1243 Bishop de Bernham dedicated the Church to St Modwena. By the middle of the 18th cent the church was in such a state of disrepair that the congregation was moved to temporary premises until a new church was built at the present site at Leven in 1775. A new church, which incorporates the 18th cent steeple was subsequently built in 1904. The name Scoonie was dropped towards the end of the 20th cent and the parish is currently termed as Leven Kirk. The Kirk session sits within the Presbytery of Kirkcaldy.
On the 8 March 1831 a petition for sermon was presented to the Relief Presbytery of Dysart from around 200 residents of Leven and the surrounding district. Their request was granted and in September 1832 the newly formed Relief Congregation of Leven moved in to a newly erected church, which had been built at a cost of £542, this building was later superceded in 1871 when a church with seating for 600 was erected at a cost of £2150. James Vallance, the first minister of the congregation, was ordained in February 1834. In 1847 Leven Relief Congregation became part of the United Presbyterian Church. Following the union between the United Presbyterian Church and the Free Church of Scotland in 1900, Leven U.P. was renamed Leven St John's United Free Church and upon the 1929 union between the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church, Leven St John's United Free Church became Leven St John's Church of Scotland. In 1975 Leven St John's formed a union with the congregation of Leven Forman, under the name of Leven St Andrew's. The congregation sat within the Presbytery of Kirkcaldy.
Leven Free Church was formed at the Disruption by adherents from Scoonie parish. A church was built in the same year (replaced 1871, its predecessor becoming the town hall). It passed successively to the United Free Church, as Leven Forman, and to the Church of Scotland. The Church of Scotland charge, which was in the presbytery of Kirkcaldy and the synod of Fife, united with Leven St John's in 1975 as Leven St Andrew's.
At the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:
A transcript of the Baptisms 1834-1854 has been published by the Fife Family History Society Baptismal Registers No. 1. They are also available on CD and on the Records pages of their website.
At the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:
At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Markinch:
At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Markinch:
At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Markinch:
Data provided by the Scottish Archive Network (SCAN)
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Page maintained by William McM. Owen : last updated 15 June, 2010