Abercrombie, St Monance
Abercrombie, or St Monance, is a small parish on the southern border of Fife. It is bounded by the Firth of Forth, and by the parishes of Pittenweem, Carnbee, Kilconquhar, and Elie. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson)
Abercromie, Craigiewells, Newark, Stenton, St Monance or St Monans
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The church of Abercrombie was dedicated to St Margaret. It belonged to the Priory of St Andrews. Of old this was a very small parish, but on 21 October 1646, the Synod of Fife disjoined St Monans church and the barony of that name from the parish of Kilconquhar, and added these subjects to Abercrombie. At the same time, St Monans church was made the church of this parish. It was of old the church of a little priory of the Black Friars dedicated to St Monan, which King David II erected in or about 1369. (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 |
| 1628-1854 | St Monance | 454 | OPR |
| 1855-1967 | St Monans | 454 | RD |
| 2009 | Fife, East Neuk | 414 | RD |
| 2026 | Fife Council; St Monans, Abercrombie and District | ||
(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
Allan, Duncan, Hutt, Innes, Lyall, Mathers, Reekie, Scott, Smith, 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 Archibald Gillies.
"The population of the parish in 1790 was 832. All the inhabitants are farmers, and cottagers employed by them; except in the village of Abercrombie, there are 1 wright, 1 smith, and 3 weavers. Besides these, in the town of St Monance there are 4 bakers, 3 brewers, 2 smiths, 4 merchants, 1 wright, and 1 boat builder, 2 masons, 2 sieve-makers, 2 flax-dressers, 1 shoemaker, 5 tailors, 6 weavers, and 1 gardener. The rest of the inhabitants are composed of fishers and sailors, land labourers and day labourers, and such as are employed about the coast and salt works."
(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 9, p. 334
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 9, Section I, p. 337
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
