Ely
Elie is a parish on the south coast of Fife. It is bounded by the Firth of Forth, which here forms the bay of Elie, and by the parishes of St Monans, Kilconquhar, and Newburn. The greater proportion of the parish originally formed what was called the Barony of Ardross. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Elie, Liberty, Williamsburgh
The parish of Elie had a detached part situated to the north-west of the main portion of the parish, and lying naturally in to the parish of Kilconquhar. This detached part was transferred to the parish of Kilconquhar, and in return all the coast district of Kilconquhar south of the railway line and of the Cocklemill Burn was transferred to the parish of Elie. See affected properties and landholders. (1892: Boundary of counties and parishes in Scotland as settled by the Boundary Commissioners under the Local Government Act, 1889, by Hay Shennan)
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
A church was built and endowed here by William Scott of Ardross, trustee of his father, Sir William Scott of Elie. It was opened on 17 April 1639. The parish of Elie was disjoined from Kilconquhar on 11 September 1641. At Earlsferry, within the bounds, a fair of St Nicholas was held. (1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
(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 |
| 1639-1854 | Elie | 427 | OPR |
| 1855-1967 | Elie | 427 | RD |
| 2009 | Fife, East Neuk | 414 | RD |
| 2026 | Fife Council; Elie and Royal Burgh of Earlsferry 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
Bell, Currie, Gibbon, Given, Paterson, Pearson, Sime, Smith, 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 William Pairman, Minister.
"The number of families in this parish is 152; of souls 620. The incumbent took an accurate list of the inhabitants about the year 1790, which may be relied on. There are 8 fishermen belonging to this parish. They have houses, rent free, from Sir John Anstruther, superior of this place, on condition of their supplying the town of Ely with fish, at least three times a week."
(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 17, p. 537
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 9, Section I, p. 278
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
