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Torryburn

Map showing the location of the parish

"Torryburn parish is bounded by the Firth of Forth, Perthshire, Saline, Carnock and Dunfermline. It measures about 5 miles by 3. There are small piers at Crombie and Torryburn, but their importance is not so great as when they formed the port for Dunfermline. The village of Torryburn stands on the coast. A number of the inhabitants are weavers, producing damasks for Dunfermline and cotton goods for Glasgow. The parish church is at Torryburn, and there is a Free Church at Torry. " edited from Westwood's Directory for the counties of Fife & Kinross published 1862.

Towns and Villages

Crombie
Newmills
Torryburn


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

Cemeteries

There are 3 cemeteries in Torryburn parish:

1. Torryburn Old Churchyard, Main Street, Torryburn (grid ref. NT 026861):

2. Crombie Churchyard, Crombie Point (grid ref. NT 028856):

3. Torryburn Cemetery, Cairneyhill Road, Torryburn (grid ref. NT 034862):

Monumental inscriptions are listed in "Fifeshire Monumental Inscriptions (pre-1855) vol. 2 The western parishes" by John Fowler Mitchell & Sheila Mitchell, published by the Scottish Genealogy Society. ISBN 0901061972

Census

Parish / district reference number for 1841 - 1891 censuses: 458
District reference number for 1901 census: 458a

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

Further information on the main Fife page.

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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):

Torryburn OPR Births / baptisms Proclamations / marriages Deaths / burials / mortcloths
458/1 1663-1682 1629-1665  
458/2 1680-1819 1702-1819  
458/3     1768-1819
458/4 1820-1854 1820-1854 1820-1854
Data supplied by General Register Office for Scotland

The following records are held by the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:

Torryburn Baptisms Deaths
CH2/355/1 1629-1641 1696-1773

The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists the parish church and the Free Church.

There was also a Free Church at Newmills.

Kirk Session and similar records for both the parish church (CH2/355) and the Free Church (CH3/297) are held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Some Kirk Session material is to be found in the OPR records (458/1 and 458/3).

Heritors' Records (HR314) are at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh.

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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
Torryburn 458 1855 1892
Torryburn 458a 1893 1967
Culross 418 1968 1971
Culross 435 1972 1993
West Fife 435 1994 2002
Fife 435 2003  

Registration districts did not necessarily coincide exactly with parishes. In the 20th century especially, there were frequent changes in registration districts.

Court Records

Fife Family History Society have published a list of Torryburn Jurors 1851 on the Records  pages of their website.

Description & Travel

Torryburn village centre Ordnance Survey Grid Reference GPS Post code Lat. 56°3'28"N
NT 024862 56.058659
-3.568893
KY12 8LT Lon. 3°34'4"W

Directories

On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is a transcription of Westwood's 1861 Parochial Directory of Fife.

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Historical Geography

On 15th May 1891, a detached part of Torryburn parish was transferred to the parish of Saline. It comprised Bonnington, Cultmill, Cults, Wester Cults, North Cults, South Cults, Hallcroft and Hallburns, Hillend, Hillside, Meadowland, Pow and Wellwood.
On the same date, a detached portion of Saline parish was transferred to Torryburn parish. It comprised Inzievar, Inzievar Stables, Blair (part), Braidless, Duckill, Langlees, Mavisbank, Rimalton, Sunnyside, Oakley railway station and land near it, Fernwoodlee, Over Inzievar, Blairhall, Brown Muir and Rennieswells.

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).

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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, 30.

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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.

Peter Higginbotham's website has a lot of information about Dunfermline combination poorhouse.

Population

Year Population
1755 1635
1801 1403
1851 1341
1901 1130  * boundary changed
1951 1611

See also A Vision of Britain for population statistics.

Probate Records

Prior to 1824, wills, testaments & inventories of residents of Torryburn may be found in either the Stirling Commissariot (CC21), the St Andrews Commissariot (CC20) or the Edinburgh Commissariot (CC8) records. From 1824 to 1960, commissary business was conducted by the Sheriff Court of Fife at Cupar (SC20). From 1960, it has been conducted at Dunfermline (SC21) Sheriff Court.

Indexes and finding aids are given on the main Fife page.

Local sources worth searching for deeds include St Andrews Commissary Court, Stirling Commissary Court and Cupar Sheriff Court.

Schools

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

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William McM. Owen    last updated 03 December 2006