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Features: Scottish Parishes » Historic Shires » Fife » Dunino

Dunino Parish Church by James Allan
Dunino Parish Church, Fife © 2015, James Allan

DUNINO PARISH

TABLE OF CONTENTS


ALTERNATE NAMES AND SPELLING:

Denino


LOCATION

Location Description:

Dunino is a parish in the east of Fife. It is bounded by Cameron, St Andrews, Kingsbarns, Crail, and Carnbee. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).

Shire, District, and Region Timeline:

  • Shire: Fife (Before 1707)
  • County: Fife (After 1707)
  • District: St Andrews (Before 1930)
  • Landward District: St Andrews (1930-1975)
  • Region: Fife (1975-1996)
  • District: North East Fife (1975-1996)

Cities, Towns, Villages, and Hamlets:

Bannafield, Beley, Beleybridge, Chesters, Dunino, High Beley, Limelands, Pathhead, Primrose, South Kinaldy, Stravithie, Tosh, Woodend

Estates:

Balcaithly or Balkaithly


BOUNDARY & NAME CHANGES

The parish of Dunino was represented on the Ordnance Survey maps as having a detached part lying to the south of the main portion of the parish, and surrounded by the parish of Crail. The authorities of the two parishes, however, concurred in stating that the parish boundary as recognised in practice lay to the south of that shown on the map, and really included within the parish of Dunino not only the part marked on the maps as detached, but also a considerable portion of what was shown as belonging to the parish of Crail. The following subjects were included in the area marked on the maps as belong to the parish of Crail, and now declared to form part of the parish of Dunino. 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)


PARISH TIMELINE

PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:

  • Diocese: St Andrews
  • Deanery: Fife

POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:

  • Synod: Fife
  • Presbytery: St Andrews

PAROCHIAL OVERVIEW:

The rectory of Dunino belonged to the college of St Salvator at St Andrews. (1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND CLERGY:

Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.

  • David Guild, 1564
  • James Martin, 1570
  • Thomas Brown, 1574
  • John Rutherfurd, 1578
  • David Monypenny, 1579
  • David Martin, 1591
  • William Erskine, 1597
  • George Halyburton, 1633
  • David Forret, 1638
  • James Wood, 1640
  • John Heart, 1646
  • Alexander Edward, 1652
  • William Moore, 1663
  • John Barclay, 1664
  • Paul Methven, 1667
  • Andrew Auchinleck, 1672
  • William Wood, 1683
  • James Knox, 1697
  • John Tod, 1741
  • Alexander Brodie, 1773
  • John Braid, 1782
  • Henry David Hill, 1786
  • James Brown, 1790
  • James Hunter, 1796
  • James Roger, 1805
  • John Burns, 1850
  • John Birrell, 1864
  • James Ewan, 1873
  • Alexander MacDonald, 1911

(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)


RECORDS

Parochial Registers:

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.

  • (1) B. and M. 1643-1771; D. 1750-71
  • (2) B. M. and D. 1771-1819
  • (3) B. M. and D. 1820-54

OPR and RD Numbers
Date RangeNameNumberType
1643-1854Dunino425OPR
1855-1965Dunino425RD
2009Fife, St Andrews413RD
2026Fife Council; Boarhills and Dunino 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)

Population:

Statistics from informal and official censuses

  • 1755: 598
  • 1800: 326
  • 1805: 320
  • 1811: 307
  • 1821: 352
  • 1831: 383
  • 1841: 471
  • 1851: 289
  • 1861: 370
  • 1881: 302
  • 1901: 359
  • 1911: 353

RESIDENTS


Common Surnames:

Dalrymple, Grandison, Mitchell, Niven, Oliphant, Ramsay, Robertson, Ross, Smith, Webster

Land-owners, teachers, and other professionals:

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.

  • Walter IRVINE, of Balkaithly

Other land-owners:

  • CLEGHORN, of Stravithy
  • DOUGLAS, of Dunino and Balcaithly
  • HANNAH, of Kingsmuir
  • MOUAT, of Pittairthy
  • PURVES, of Kinaldy

Other residents:

By the Mr William West, Session Clerk and Schoolmaster.
"The total amount of souls, according to a very recent and exact calculation are 230 inhabitants in Denino, 153 in Kings Muir. The number of males in Denino 107, females 123. There are about 38 inhabited houses, and 6 houses uninhabited. There are 151 members of the Established Church, 11 Burgher Seceders, and 3 Relief Seceders. 144 persons were born out of the parish. There are 12 farmers, 3 shopkeepers, 1 innkeeper, 1 smith, 2 carpenters, 4 weavers, 3 tailors, 4 millers, 24 male servants, 11 female servants, 1 flax-dresser, and 2 day-labourers. The inhabitants, though commonly healthy, and many of them long-lived, furnish no instances of remarkable longevity.

Of the inhabitants of this parish it may justly be asserted, that industry and hospitality, sincerity and an obliging behaviour, are their general characteristics. They are also noted for moderation and sobriety, generosity, and candour. From these virtues there may be, however, as is but too natural, not a few deviations. The bulk of the people, though poor, are contented and resigned. The minority, whose circumstances are more affluent, appear to indulge as much in the luxuries of the table, and of dress, as the superiority of their fortunes can well countenance. The inferior classes seem to be uncommonly fond of personal decoration; and rather than (as they imagine) disgrace the back, they will often starve its supporter. This remark is, perhaps, not more applicable to the one sex than to the other; or to this district more than to other parishes."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)


NOTES:

Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 11, p. 352
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 9, Section I, p. 356

See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.


Photo credits: (Featured) Dunino Parish Church, Fife, © 2015 James Allan, used under Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 2.0, (Related Resources) Fife Locator Map, © 2024, Brythones, used under Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related Resources
Map of Scotland with Fife highlighted
Location of Fife
See more maps at Wikimedia Commons
Glossary
  • Burghs:
  • Royal - Towns on royal lands
  • Regality - Towns granted to noblemen/landowners
  • Barony - Towns granted to tenant-in-chief (laird)
  • Police - Towns with elected officials
  • Small - Population under 20,000
  • Large - Population over 20,000
  •  
  • Chapel-of-Ease: Small church for those living far from the main church
  • Collegiate church: See What is a Collegiate Church?
  • Commune kirk: Owned by a larger church
  • Court of Teinds: Controlled funds for support of clergy
  •  
  • Friars:
  • Black - Dominican
  • Grey - Franciscan
  • Red - Trinitarian
  • White - Carmelite
  •  
  • Iron chapel: Building made of corrugated galvanized iron
  •  
  • Landward District: Rural part of a district
  •  
  • Mensal: Source of income to support clergy member (Roman Catholic)
  •  
  • OPR: Old Parochial Register
  •  
  • Pre-Reformation: Before 1560
  • Prebend: Source of income to support a clergy member
  •  
  • QO: Quoad Omnia - Civil and church control
  • QS: Quoad Sacra - Church control only
  •  
  • RD: Registration District - Civil control
  •  
  • Tryst: Large-scale market or fair, particularly for livestock
  •  
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