Anstruther Wester

The Murray Library, Anstruther holds copies of the East Fife Observer newspaper from 1914-1967.

The ScotlandsPlaces website lets users search across national databases by geographical location. It includes, amongst other material,

• catalogue entries for maps and plans held by the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh; some maps and plans can be viewed
• photos and details of historical buildings and archaeological sites recorded by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Edinburgh
• 17th and 18th century tax rolls
• Ordnance Survey [place] Name Books
• an opportunity to transcribe thousands of historic documents

A very good description is to be found in the relevant chapter in History of the County of Fife: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time by John M Leighton, published 1840, online at Google Books.

Old Anstruther (Stenlake Publishing) contains many photographs and full descriptions.

There are 2 cemeteries in Anstruther Wester parish, and 1 gravestone on the Isle of May:

1. Anstruther Wester Churchyard, High Street, Anstruther (grid ref. NO 565035, GPS: 56.222399 -2.704249):

• Monumental inscriptions are in Mitchell & Mitchell - see below.
• Another listing has been published by the Fife Family History Society in their Publication 19, Monumental Inscriptions.
• Some stones are recorded in Graveyard Monuments in East, North and Central Fife, John di Folco, published in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1969-70, vol. 102, pages 205-236, which deals largely with stones dated pre-1707. It can be downloaded from ARCHway.
• A CD with photographs of the stones and transcriptions is available from Scottish Monumental Inscriptions or from The Parish Chest.

2. Anstruther Cemetery, St Andrews Road, Anstruther (grid ref. NO 564038, GPS: 56.224766 -2.706121):

• The current lair registers (dating from 1888) are administered by Fife Council, Bereavement Services East, County Buildings, St Catherine Street, Cupar, KY15 4TA. Tel. 01334 659336. Fax 01334 412896.
• A CD with photographs of the stones and transcriptions is available from Scottish Monumental Inscriptions or from The Parish Chest.

3. On the Isle of May (grid ref. NT 655995, GPS: 56.18472 -2.555739):

• There is 1 gravestone (to John Wishart), listed in Mitchell & Mitchell (see below) - under 'St Monance'. This reference quotes from The Isle of May, by W J Eggeling, 1960.

The pre-1855 monumental inscriptions are listed in "Fifeshire Monumental Inscriptions (pre-1855) vol. 1 South east parishes" by John Fowler Mitchell & Sheila Mitchell, published by the Scottish Genealogy Society. ISBN 0901061948

War graves can be seen at the Scottish Wargraves Project and war memorials can be seen at the Scottish War Memorials Project.

Parish / district reference number for 1841 - 1901 censuses: 403

The 1841 and 1851 returns can be searched on the FreeCEN website.

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

The 1861 census has been indexed and can be downloaded here

The Isle of May is included in Anstruther Wester for the 1841 -1861 censuses, thereafter it is included in Crail (no. 417).

Some census records on microfilm may be consulted in LDS Family Search Centres around the world.

LDS Library Film Numbers:

	1841	1851	1861	1871	1881	1891
Anstruther Wester	1042699	1042252	103825	103986	203516	208746

(Data provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

Further information on the main Fife page.

The Old Statistical Account (written in the 1790s) gives this information about Dissenters:

• All the inhabitants are of the Established Church except one man and his wife who attend the Relief Congregation at Pittenweem.

The New Statistical Account (written in 1838) gives this information:

• 15 Dissenters in the parish, plus 4 Episcopalians.

The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists the parish church.

Information and pictures of the churches at the Scottish Churches website.

Details of church history:

• Anstruther Wester Kirk Session:

The church of Anstruther Wester was dedicated to St Ethernan and belonged, prior to the reformation, to the Priory of Pittenweem. In 1961 Anstruther Wester and Anstruther Easter were united together to form the session of Anstruther St Adrian's, and a further union followed in 1973 between Anstruther St Adrian's and Anstruther Chalmer's Memorial, under the name of Anstruther. The kirk session sits within the Presbytery of St Andrews.

Data provided by the  Scottish Archive Network (SCAN)

The Parish Church (Established Church, Church of Scotland):

The original Old Parish Registers (of baptisms / births, proclamations / marriages, and deaths / burials) of the Church of Scotland, which cover the years up to 1854, are held in the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh, and they can all be consulted there at the National Records of Scotland. The baptisms / births, proclamations / marriages and deaths / burials indexes can be searched at the ScotlandsPeople website. Copies of the register entries may be purchased.

Parish reference number: 403

The Old Parish Registers (OPRs) span the following dates (although there are gaps within these ranges):

Anstruther Wester OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
403/1	1577-1601	1577-1601	1549-1817
403/2	1601-1757	1601-1611	1601-1754
403/3	1757-1819	1757-1819	1783-1819
403/4		1651-1699
403/5	1820-1854 (+ index 1838-1854)	1820-1854 (+ index 1838-1854)	1820-1854 (+ index 1838-1854)

(Data supplied by the National Records of Scotland)

 

The Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland, published 1872, provides this information about the content of the OPRs, including the gaps within them:

B.  and M.  intermixed till Feb. 1601, and entered in parallel cols. of the same Record 1601 - 1612. Imperfect leaf of B. after Dec. 1645. Blank Feb. 1683 - March 1684. Mothers' names seldom recorded Oct. 1587 - Oct. 1609. The early portion of the Register contains entries for the neighbouring parishes of Abercrombie or St Monance, Kilrenny, and Pittenweem.
M.  blank (exc. three entries 1611 - 1612) Oct. 1609 - Oct. 1651, also Nov. 1699 - Nov. 1757; from which last date they are recorded among the B. Record for 1651 - 1699 generally embraces Contracts, with occasional entries of M. After 1757 the entries relate to Proclamations.
D.  Exc. Burials for 1579, and 1585 - 1587 among B. and M., one p. of entries without year (circa 1600), and a few entries 1601 - 1603, there is no regular Record till Nov. 1747. Blank Oct. 1754 - Nov. 1783, and July 1794 - Jan. 1839. There are, however, Mortcloth Dues 1791 - 1837, exc. 1818 - 1820. Entries of D. 1783 - 1794 among B. and M. for same period. There is also a Record of D. of parishoners, collected from various sources by Rev. Hew Scott, D.D., embracing period 1549 - 1838.
[Vol. 403/5 contains indexes to B. M. and D. 1838 - 1854 (surname followed by forename).]

Copies of the registers on microfilm may be consulted in some local libraries and at LDS Family Search Centres around the world. The indexes to baptisms / births and proclamations / marriages can also be searched on the LDS Family Search website or on the IGI on microfiche in local libraries.

LDS Library Film Numbers:

1040146	Session book (includes Baptisms, Marriage proclamations, occasional Mortcloth dues [Burial records]) 1577-1601; Burial extracts (many gaps), 1549-1817; Baptisms, 1601-1819; Marriages, 1601-1614, 1757-1819; Burials, 1601-1603, 1747- 1791; Mortcloth dues, 1788-1818; Session book (includes Marriage proclamations), 1651-1685.
1040147 Items 1 - 2	Session book (includes Marriage proclamations), 1685-1699; Baptisms, Marriages, 1820-1854; Mortcloth dues, 1820-1837; Burials, 1839-1854; Burials (collection from many sources), 1549- 1838.

(Data provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

Deaths / burials are listed on Fife Family History Society's  Pre-1855 Fife Deaths CD.

Further information on the main Fife page.

Kirk Session records are held at the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library, with digital copies at the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh. Some Kirk Session material is to be found in the OPR records (403/1 and 403/4).

Heritors' Records (HR48) are at the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh.

At the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library, with digital copies of the earlier volumes at the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• CH2/624
  Anstruther Wester Kirk Session
  Minutes, 1578, 1587-1593, 1598-1651, 1759-1786 and 1818-1961; Minutes and accounts, 1700-1818; Accounts, 1787-1808; Cash book, 1808-1915 and 1921-1961; Church door collections, 1855-1900 and 1931-1961; Mortcloth minutes and accounts, 1670-1820; Printed confession of Faith, 1765-1949; Cartulary, 1880-1955; Copy of will of Lt Andrew Waid, 1800; Extract from Edinburgh Gazette, 1879; Register of baptisms, 1855-1961; Register of marriages, 1855-1961; Communion roll, 1873-1960; Property register, 1956.

Included in the Old Parochial Registers on microfilm and at the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh but not online:

• Anstruther Wester Kirk Session
  • 403/1
    Minutes c.1577-1601.
  • 403/4
    Minutes, 1651-1699.

At the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• HR/48
  Anstruther Wester parish heritors' records
  Minutes, 1825-1930; Cash book (includes poor relief), 1845-1930.

Other Churches:

The Anstruther Wester page of the LDS Family Search Research Wiki has more information about church history and records.

Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths began in Scotland on 1st January 1855. Full information on the main Fife page.

Registration districts covering this parish:

Registration districts did not necessarily coincide exactly with parishes. In the 20th century especially, there were frequent changes in registration districts. The Isle of May was moved to Crail registration district (417) before 1871 and remained there until at least 1901.

At the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library:

• B/3
  Anstruther Easter, Anstruther Wester & Kilrenny burgh records
  Anstruther Wester Court book, 1708-1744; Admiralty Court book, East Fife, 1738-1775.

And interesting Wiki article here.

Surrounding parishes: Pittenweem, Carnbee, Kilrenny, Anstruther Easter.

• Geograph
• Flickr

The parish entry in Pigot's National Commercial Directory for the whole of Scotland, 1837, is online at Google Books.

Westwood's Parochial Directory for the Counties of Fife and Kinross for 1862 and 1866 are online at Google Books. On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is a transcription of the 1862 edition.

Several old gazetteers are available. They all contain descriptions of the parish and many are also worth searching for entries of places within the parish.

• David Webster's Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, published 1819, online at Google Books.
• Fullarton's Topographical, Statistical and Historical Gazetteer of Scotland, published 1842, online at Google Books.
• Samuel Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, published 1846, online at British History Online.
• Barbieri's Descriptive and Historical Gazetteer of the Counties of Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan, published 1857, is at Google Books.
• Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4) and John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887), are on A Vision of Britain (click on "Historical places and writing").
• Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland(1892-6) on Electric Scotland

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Anstruther Wester to another place.

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.

Details of historic buildings and archaeological sites in this parish held by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Edinburgh, are catalogued at ScotlandsPlaces. In the results, click RCAHMS. Unfortunately, not all entries have digital images.

Sasines:

At the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• B/3
  Anstruther Easter and Wester and Kilrenny Burgh Records
  Anstruther Wester: Register of sasines, 1775-1953; Register of sasines minute books, 1809-1953.

Valuation rolls:

At the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• VR4
  Valuation Rolls: Anstruther Wester Burgh
  1855-1930; the Roll from 1930 is included in the Valuation Roll for the County of Fife

• VR101
  Valuation Rolls: Fife
  1892-1975; covers the part of the parish outwith the Burgh

Historic maps:

• On-line maps:
  • National Library of Scotland map collection - main page
  • For 17th, 18th and early 19th century maps, see the National Library of Scotland map collection.
  • Using the geo-referenced maps at the National Library of Scotland allows historic maps to be viewed on top of a modern map or satellite view
  • Ordnance Survey 6-inch, 1st edition (1855) Fife sheets 26 & 27 at the National Library of Scotland (for the best images, or at OldMaps or British History online.
  • Ordnance Survey 6-inch editions of 1896, 1921 and 1938 at OldMaps.
  • Ordnance Survey 25-inch editions of 1895 and 1914 at OldMaps.
  • Town plan of Anstruther dated 1832 (Great Reform Act plan & report) at the National Library of Scotland
  • A Vision of Britain has the Ordnance Survey 1-inch, 1st edition (1850s) and the Ordnance Survey 1-inch, Popular edition (1920s) - both showing parish & burgh boundaries; Land Utilisation mapping (1930s); and more.
  • Ordnance Survey 1-inch, 1st edition (1857) sheet 41; 2nd edition (1899) sheet 41; and 3rd edition (1906) sheet 41 at the National Library of Scotland.
  • Ordnance Survey 1-inch, Popular edition (1927) sheet 64 at the National Library of Scotland.
  • Ordnance Survey 1-inch, 7th series (1950s-1960s) sheet 56 at the National Library of Scotland.
• Paper maps:
  • The National Library of Scotland sells paper and digital copies of their maps (select "Enquiries & copies").
  • The Caledonian Maps Victorian Ordnance Survey Map Series sheet 41 (reprint of the 1899 1-inch maps).
  • OldMaps sell paper copies of all their on-line maps.
  • Ordnance Survey 1-inch, 7th series (1950s-1960s) sheet 56
  • The best collection of large scale local and estate maps and plans is held by the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh. The RCAHMS also has some plans. They are catalogued on the ScotlandsPlaces website. N.B. Only a few maps and plans are available as digital images.

Present-day maps:

• On-line maps:
  • National Library of Scotland map collection - main page
  • Streetmap
  • Ordnance Survey maps
• Paper maps:
  • Ordnance Survey Landranger (scale 1:50000 - about 1 inch to 1 mile) sheet 59 - St Andrews
  • Ordnance Survey Explorer (larger scale 1:25000 - about 2 and a half inches to 1 mile) sheet 371 - St Andrews and East Fife

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference NO548035 (Lat/Lon: 56.222238, -2.730933), Anstruther Wester which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

War graves can be seen at the Scottish Wargraves Project and war memorials can be seen at the Scottish War Memorials Project.

Andrew Campbell has produced Fife Deaths from Newspapers 1822-1854 - a compilation of deaths recorded in local newspapers. Copies of this index are held by the Fife libraries and the Family History Societies.

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 re-published it in their Publications Series, 26.

Directory of Seafarers - the East Neuk ofFife1580-1800 and The Shipping of Anstruther and the East Neuk of Fife by David Dobson can be obtained from the Tay Valley Family History Society.

The parish is included in Andrew Campbell's compilation of Fife Shopkeepers and Traders 1820-1870 taken from newspapers and directories. It is available in most Fife reference libraries, in the libraries of the family history societies, and at the Manuscript Department of the Special Collections Department of St Andrews University Library. It is also available as Fife Traders and Shopkeepers on CD from Fife Family History Society.

There is a series of articles about many Fife family businesses in Fife Family History Society's Journal, New Series 9.

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. See Public Records below.

There is a page with census statistics from 1755 to 1961 here.

See also A Vision of Britain and Histpop for population statistics.

Probate records are 'Confirmations' in Scotland.

Prior to 1824, wills, testaments & inventories of residents of Anstruther Wester 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.

Parochial Boards and their successors, Parish Councils, administered many local functions including poor relief.

At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Kirkcaldy:

• FCC/6/4
  Anstruther Wester Parochial Board / Parish Council
  Minute books, 1845-1930.

School Board records and / or school logbooks are held at the Fife Council Archive Centre. Anstruther Wester records:

At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Kirkcaldy:

• Anstruther Wester School Board
  Minutes, 1873-1913.

• Anstruther Easter and Wester Joint School Board and Joint Technical School Board
  Minutes, 1912-1919.

• Anstruther School Management Committee
  Minutes, 1944-1949.

Entries less than 50 years old may contain sensitive personal information and are not on open access. If you are a former pupil you are entitled to see your own entry. Please contact the Archivist for further details.

Education statistics for Fife schools in 1891-2 list the following board schools in the parish:

"Statistical accounts" giving fascinating insights into the local topography and history, social and economic conditions, and even the daily lives of people, were written by the parish ministers in the 1790s and the 1840s. For more information see the main Fife pages

• The 'Old' Statistical Account is at The Statistical Accounts of Scotland and Google Books.
• The 'New' Statistical Account is also at The Statistical Accounts of Scotland and Google Books.

The hearth tax, clock & watch tax, male servants tax, female servants tax, and farm horse tax are all on ScotlandsPlaces.

At the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• E326
  Assessed Taxes Schedules 1748-1802
  Anstruther Wester Royal Burgh

See also the Early Taxation Records page.

Towns were usually referred to as Burghs in Scotland.

Under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo. V, c.25) , the Fife royal burghs of Anstruther Easter and Anstruther Wester and the burgh of Kilrenny were amalgamated to create the United Burghs of Kilrenny, Anstruther Easter and Anstruther Wester. The Kilrenny, Anstruther Easter and Anstruther Wester Town Council was abolished in 1975.

At the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• B/3
  Anstruther Easter and Wester and Kilrenny Burgh Records
  Burgh records, 1775-1953, including: Anstruther Wester: Register of sasines, 1775-1953; Register of sasines minute books, 1809-1953.

At the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library:

• B/3
  Anstruther Wester: Court book, 1708-1744; Town council minutes, 1741-1929.
  United burgh: Town council minutes, 1929-1974; Charities' committee minutes and journal, 1944-1974; Assessment roll, 1974-1975; Abstracts of accounts, undated; Miscellaneous documents, undated, including gift by Bonnie Prince Charlie to Anstruther Wester magistrates, 1745.
  Admiralty Court book, East Fife, 1738-1775; Anstruther Sea Box Society minutes, 1838-1943; Unidentified solicitor's business ledgers, 1924-1939, 1943-1946.

At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Kirkcaldy:

• B/An
  United Burghs of Kilrenny, Anstruther Easter and Anstruther Wester records
  Town council minutes, 1970-1975; correspondence files, 1933-1964; Dean of Guild court register of plans 1901-1949, and petitions, 1953-1963; Anstruther Joint Licensing Court records, 1912-1975 (with gaps); Anstruther Union Harbour Commission minutes, 1860-1975; correspondence, etc relating to housing and slum clearance, 1926-1963.

At the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library:

• B/10
  Crail burgh records
  Papers relating to elections of Member of Parliament for Crail, Kilrenny, Anstruther Easter and Wester and Pittenweem