Burntisland

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.

History of Burntisland, Andrew Young, 1913, is online at the Internet Archive.

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

There are 3 cemeteries in Burntisland parish:

1. Kirkton Churchyard, Church Street, Burntisland (grid ref. NT 230865, GPS: 56.063932 -3.237804):

• Monumental inscriptions are in Mitchell & Mitchell - see below.
• Another listing of the stones has been published by the Fife Family History Society in their Journal, New Series, no. 21.
• There is a "Register of interments in Burntisland and Kirkton burying grounds" covering the period 1855-1935 in the Kirk Session Records (CH2/523/28) at the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh.
• A CD with photographs of the stones and transcriptions is available from Scottish Monumental Inscriptions or from The Parish Chest.

2. St Columba's Parish Churchyard, East Leven Street, Burntisland (grid ref. NT 235856, GPS: 56.05805 -3.232805):

• Monumental inscriptions are in Mitchell & Mitchell - see below.
• Burial records from 1873-1877, and the period up to 1935, are to be found in the Kirk Session Records (CH2/523/16 and CH2/523/28) at the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh.
• A CD with photographs of the stones and transcriptions is available from Scottish Monumental Inscriptions or from The Parish Chest.

3. Burntisland Cemetery, Kinghorn Road, Burntisland (grid ref. NT 245864, GPS: 56.064516 -3.21303):

• The current lair registers for the new cemetery in Kinghorn Road, dating from 1885, are administered by Fife Council.
• Records for 1885 to 1944 are among the Burntisland Burgh Archives at Fife Council Archives.
• Registers for the period after 1944 are at Bereavement Services Central, Kirkcaldy Crematorium, Rosemount Avenue, Kirkcaldy, KY2 6HQ. Tel. 01592 260277. Fax 01592 203438.
• A CD with photographs of the stones and transcriptions is available from Scottish Monumental Inscriptions or from The Parish Chest.

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

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: 411

Of the original 1841 returns, only those covering the Burgh survive. Those for the landward part of the parish, including Kirkton, are missing.

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

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

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
Burntisland	1042699	1042253	103825	103987	203517	208749

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

Further information on the main Fife page.

In addition to the parish church, there was a Free Church, an Episcopal Church and an Antiburgher Congregation (later United Presbyterian Church).

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

• There is a meeting house for the Antiburgher Seceders.

The New Statistical Account (written in 1836) gives this information:

• There is a United Secession Synod chapel in the parish.
• About 500 families in the parish, 330 of whom belong to the Established Church, nearly all the rest belong to the United Secession. About 3 or 4 are Roman Catholics. A very small number have no religious denomination.

A census of Religious Worship and Education was taken in 1851 at the same time as the census of population. A table of statistics about the churches in Fife at this time is available here. The statistics for the separate burghs were also given. Those for Burntisland are as follows:

Burntisland (Parliamentary Burgh): Population of Parish 3158, Population of Burgh 2724:

Religious Denomination	Number of Places of Worship	Number of Sittings			Number of Attendants at Public Worship on Sunday March 30 1851 (including Sunday Scholars)
		Free	Appropriated	Total	Morning	Afternoon	Evening
Established Church	1		755	755	310	324	264
United Presbyterian Church	1			598	396	430	200
Free Church	1	750		750	340	370
Episcopal Church	1	123		123	40	83
Total	4	873	755	2226	1086	1207	464

Source: Census of Great Britain, 1851, Religious worship and education. Scotland. Report and tables. British Parliamentary Papers 1854 LIX (1764).

The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists the parish church, the Episcopal Church (St. Serf's), the United Presbyterian Church and the Free Church.

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

Details of church history:

The Burntisland Online website has a lot of information about Burntisland churches.

• Burntisland Kirk Session:

The original Parish church in Burntisland was first erected at the Kirkton in 1243, on land granted by King David. Prior to the reformation the church, which was dedicated to St Serf, belonged to the Abbey of Dunfermline. In 1592 a new and more substantial church was built in the town, and it was here in 1601, due to an outbreak of plague within Edinburgh, that the General Assembly met. In 1977, Burntisland Parish Church was united with the former United Free congregation of Burntisland St Andrew's. A link was formed with Auchtertool on the same date however this was later terminated in 1987. The kirk session sits within the Presbytery of Kirkcaldy.

• Burntisland Free Church, (later Couper United Free):

Burntisland Free Church, Presbytery of Kirkcaldy, was established at the Disruption in 1843. Until a church was opened in 1846 the congregation worshipped outside or in a temporary accommodation.The congregation continued as a mission until 1854. In 1857 a school and teachers' house were built at East Wemyss. After the union in 1900 of the Free Church and the United Presbyterian Church, the congregation became Burntisland Couper United Free Church. In 1900 following the union of the United Free Church with the Church of Scotland, the church became Burntisland Church of Scotland. In 1930 the pro-union part of Erskine Church united with this charge and the name was changed to Burntisland St Andrews Church of Scotland. In 1969 the charge was linked with Auchtertool Church. In 1977 Burntisland St Andrew's united with Burntisland St Columba's as Burntisland Church of Scotland. The united charge was linked with Auchtertool until 1987.

• Burntisland Antiburgher Congregation (later United Presbyterian Church):

-

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: 411

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

Burntisland OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
411/1	1672-1686	1653-1686
411/2	1701-1777	1701-1777	1734-1743
411/3	1778-1819	1778-1819	1806-1818
411/4	1820-1854	1820-1854	1825-1848
Register of Neglected Entries	1853-1854

(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.  blank July 1686 - May 1701. Prior to 1733, the entries are tabulated. Only five entries Dec. 1743 - Jan. 1747. Not very carefully kept 1782 - 1806.
M.  Contracts and Proclamations prior to 1686. Blank May 1686 - June 1701. Contracts and Marriages 1701 - 1762. Blank Dec. 1702 - July 1705. No entry Jan. 1743 - April 1744. Marriages after 1762, exc. a few entries of Contracts and Proclamations about 1770 - 1777.
D.  Deaths prior to 1743. Blank May 1743 - April 1806, after which date generally Deaths and Burials. Only nine entries 1806 - 1818 incl., then none till 1825; five entries 1825 - 1828 incl.; again blank till 1838, and very defective to end of Record in 1848.

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:

1040150 Item 4	Baptisms, 1672-1686; Session book (includes Marriage proclamations), 1672-1680.
1040151 Items 1 - 4	Session book (includes Marriage proclamations), 1680-1686; Baptisms, 1701-1854; Marriages 1701-1854; Burials, 1734-1742, 1806-1818, 1825-1828, 1838-1852; Neglected entries (baptisms), 1853- 1854.

(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 National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh. Some Kirk Session material is to be found in the OPR records (411/1). The Presbytrie Book of Kirkcaldie, the record of the proceedings of the Presbytery of Kirkcaldy, from 15 April 1630 - 14 September 1653, is available through the web archive.

Heritors' Records (HR126) are at the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh.

At the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• CH2/523
  Burntisland Kirk Session
  Minutes, 1602-1670, 1693-1711, 1719-1735, 1743-1748 and 1769-1949; Proclamations, 1867-1905; Baptisms, 1873-1900; Burials, 1873-1900; New communicants, 1858-1877; Communion roll, 1856-1934; Accounts, 1834-1871; Elder's roll book, 1896-1940; Plate collections, 1903-1914; Chartulary of glebe, 1887-1909; Register of interments in Burntisland and Kirkton burying grounds, 1855-1935; Papers of Rev Charles Watson; Case against James Mackintosh, 1848.

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

• Burntisland Kirk Session
  411/1
  Minutes, 1672-16862.

At the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• HR/126
  Burntisland parish heritors' records
  Minutes, 1805-1928; Accounts, 1901-1928; Vouchers, 1871-1896; Papers relating to buildings, 1895-1914; Papers relating to transference to Church of Scotland, 1928-1931.

Other Churches:

At the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• CH3/695
  Burntisland Free Church, (later Couper United Free):
  Minutes, 1843-1929; Deacon's Court minutes, 1883-1920.

The Burntisland 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.

At the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• B/9
  Burntisland burgh records
  Register of deeds, 1754-1896; Minutes of sasines, obligations, arrestments etc, 1620-1646; Court and council records, 1595-1612; Court books, 1581-1854; Guild Council book, 1617-1791.

On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is an index to Burntisland Burgh Register of Deeds (1731-1874).

At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Kirkcaldy:

• B/Bl
  Burntisland Burgh records
  Dean of Guild records, 1798-1960; Burgh Court register of cases, 1958-1975.

Burntisland.Net is a very informative website with a lot of useful historical information.

Surrounding parishes: Kinghorn, Aberdour.

• 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 (several pages in the wrong order).
• 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 Burntisland to another place.

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.

At the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• VR11
  Valuation Rolls: XXX Burgh
  1855-1930; the Roll from 1930 is included in the Valuation Roll for the County of Fife

• VR101
  Valuation Rolls: Fife
  1855-1975; cover the part of the parish outwith the Burgh

• B/9
  Burntisland Burgh Records
  Register of sasines, 1678-1942; Register of sasines minute books, 1823-1941; Minutes of sasines, obligations, arrestments etc, 1620-1646.

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 36 & 40 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, 1914 and 1943 at OldMaps.
  • Town plans of Burntisland dated 1824 (Wood), 1832 (Great Reform Act plan & report) and 1894 (Ordnance Survey) 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 (18670) sheet 40; 2nd edition (1899) sheet 40; and 3rd edition (1906) sheet 40 at the National Library of Scotland.
  • Ordnance Survey 1-inch, Popular edition (1928) sheet 68 at the National Library of Scotland.
  • Ordnance Survey 1-inch, 7th series (1950s-1960s) sheets 55 and 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 1899/1904 1-inch maps).
  • OldMaps sell paper copies of all their on-line maps.
  • Ordnance Survey 1-inch, 7th series (1950s-1960s) sheets 55 and 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) sheets 65 - Falkirk & Linlithgow, 66 - Edinburgh
  • Ordnance Survey Explorer (larger scale 1:25000 -  about 2 and a half inches to 1 mile) sheet 367 - Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy & Glenrothes south

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference NT228869 (Lat/Lon: 56.068554, -3.240934), Burntisland 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.

At the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• B/9
  Burntisland burgh records
  Hammermen's guild minute book, 1648-1741; Papers re Incorporation of Weavers, 1618-1864.

• GD1/654
  Prime Gilt Society of Burntisland
  Records of the Prime Gilt Society of Burntisland, 1600-1944, including: Accounts, 1600-1725; Minutes, 1725-1917; Clerk and Treasurer's account book, 1877-1946; Rules, 1836-1936; Correspondence, 1770-1944; Vouchers, 1659-1915; Legal documents, 1488-1828; Bond, 1754-1769.
  The Prime Gilt Society of Burntisland, was active 1600-1944. The organisation levied a form of tax on merchants and ship owners using the harbour and the money raised was generally used for charitable support of the sailors and their families and for improvements and repairs to the harbour.

A list of Burntisland hammermen, 1648 - 1835, extracted from the records of the Burntisland Hammermen Craft Minute Book, held by the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library and Kirkcaldy Central Library, has been published by the Fife Family History Society in Publication 13 - Trade Incorporation Records and is also available on the Records pages of their website.

Also available on the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website are transcriptions of Burntisland Wrights (1648-1835), Weavers (1685-1866), Tailors (1685-1835), Shoemakers (1685-1835), Fleshers (1685-1835) and Bakers (1685-1835).

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.

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.

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

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 Burntisland 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). From 1960, it has been conducted at Kirkcaldy (SC23) Sheriff Court.

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

Local sources worth searching for deeds include St Andrews Commissary Court, Cupar Sheriff Court and Burntisland Burgh Register of Deeds.

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

At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Kirkcaldy:

• FCC/6/11
  Burntisland Parochial Board / Parish Council
  Minute books, 1855-1930.

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

At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Kirkcaldy:

• Burntisland Episcopal School
  Log books, 1891-1907.

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. An additional part is at Google Books here.
• 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
  Burntisland Royal Burgh

See also the Early Taxation Records page.

Towns were usually referred to as Burghs in Scotland.

The oldest burgh records are held by the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh. They include Protocol Books (from 1581), Sasines Registers (from 1681) and Registers of Deeds (from 1757). Court records include some 17th century harbour dues, a burgess roll, guildry records, council minutes (from 1672) and burgh charters.

The more recent archives of the former Burgh of Burntisland are held by Fife Council Archives. They include Council and Police Commissioners Minutes from 1835, Accounts from 1764, and cemetery records from 1885.

At the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• B/9
  Burntisland Burgh Records
  Burntisland burgh records, 1565-1942, including: Protocol books, 1581-1676; Register of sasines, 1678-1942; Register of sasines minute books, 1823-1941; Presentment book, 1897-1941; Style books, 1653-1660, c 1776; Register of deeds, 1754-1896; Minutes of sasines, obligations, arrestments etc, 1620-1646; Court and council records, 1595-1612; Court books, 1581-1854; Council minutes, 1602-1872; Guild Council book, 1617-1791; Hammermen's guild minute book, 1648-1741; Burgh charters and miscellaneous writs, 1573-1688; Documents re burgh affairs, 1710, nd; Papers re Burntisland, 1565-1702; Papers re Kircaldy, 1638-1662; Miscellaneous papers, 1589-1703; Papers re Incorporation of Weavers, 1618-1864.

On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is an index to Burntisland Burgh Register of Deeds (1731-1874).

At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Kirkcaldy:

• B/Bl
  Burntisland Burgh records
  Town Council minutes, 1873-1975; Police Commission minutes and accounts, 1835-1925; Gas Commission minutes and letter books, 1878-1930; Dean of Guild records, 1798-1960; licensing registers, 1863-1962 (with gaps); correspondence and town council agenda papers, 1874-1957; Burgh Court register of cases, 1958-1975; account books, 1764-1972 (with gaps); Watson's Mortification charity records, 1689-1971; title deeds and correspondence relating to Rossend Castle, 1772-1974; plans of town council housing schemes, 1919-1972.

There is an itemised listing of the records held by the Fife Council Archives at Burntisland Online (click on 'Sources').

There are Voters' Rolls at Ancestry.co.uk for Burntisland burgh for 1864 and 1894.