Beath is an inland parish in the west of Fife. It is bounded by the parishes of Cleish, Ballingry, Auchtertool, Aberdour, Dalgety, and Dunfermline. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Blairadam, Cowdenbeath, Hill of Beath, Kelty, Lassodie, Oakfield
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The church of Beath belonged to the Abbey of Inchcolm. It is mentioned as a parish in 1574. The church was rebuilt in 1640, chiefly through the exertions of Alexander Colvill of Blair.
Disjoined Quoad Sacra Parishes:
Cowdenbeath. A Mission was begun here in 1894, and in 1896 a church was built, and a chapel-of-ease constitution was obtained. On 9 July 1915 the parish of Cowdenbeath was disjoined from Beath and Auchtertool.
Kelty. A mission station was opened here in 1894. The parish was disjoined from Beath in 1925.
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
Beath (QO)
Cowdenbeath (QS)
Kelty (QS)
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1643-1854 | Beath | 410 | OPR |
| 1855-1910 | Beath | 410 | RD |
| 1911-1971 | Cowdenbeath | 410-1 | RD |
| 1911-1971 | Kelty | 410-2 | RD |
| 1972-2008 | Cowdenbeath | 430 | RD |
| 1972-2008 | Kelty | 428 | RD |
| 2009 | Fife, Cowdenbeath | 430 | RD |
| 2009 | Fife, Kelty | 428 | RD |
| 2026 | (Beath) Fife Council; Hill of Beath Community Council | ||
| 2026 | (Kelty) Fife Council; Kelty Community Council | ||
| 2026 | (Cowdenbeath) Fife Council; Cowdenbeath Community Council | ||
(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)
Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Beveridge, Brown, Burt, Campbell, Hodge, Hunter, Paterson, Penman, Thomson, Wilson
Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.
By the Reverend Mr James Reid.
"The parish contains about 100 families, which, allowing somewhat more than four to a family, may amount in all to 400 to 500 souls."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 3, p. 233
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 9, Section I, p. 174
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
