CUPAR, a parish and burgh and market-town, in the district of Cupar, county of
Fife; including the villages of Gladney and Springfield, and containing 6758 inhabitants,
of whom 3567 are within the burgh, 9 miles (W.) from St. Andrew's, and
32 (N. by E.) from Edinburgh. This place is of considerable
antiquity, and was noted at an early period for
the strength of its castle, erected at the extremity of a
high mound extending along the bank of the Ladyburn
rivulet. During their invasion of Scotland in the reign
of Edward Baliol, this castle was taken by the English,
who retained possession of it till, having exhausted their
provisions, and being unable to procure supplies, they
were compelled to abandon it, and to return to their
own country. There are no remains of the castle, but
the site of it is still called Castle Hill. Under this hill
was a Dominican convent, the founder of which is not
known, and which, after subsisting for a long time as a
cell to the monastery of that order on the island of
May, was granted to the abbey of St. Andrew's. No
vestiges of the building remain, and the site is now
occupied by an episcopal chapel. Few events of historical
importance are recorded in connexion with the
place: the town was erected into a royal burgh by
David n., in 1363, and in the Magna Britannia is designated
by Camden the Eurgiis Inslgnis, which character
it still retains as the county town.
The TOWN is situated on the high road from Edinburgh,
through Fife, to Dundee, and has a station on
the Dundee line of the Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee
railway. It stands at the confluence of the river Eden
and the Ladyburn, over the former of which are three
handsome bridges, facilitating the intercourse between
the north and south portions. From its situation, it is
the great thoroughfare between the ferries of the Forth
and the Tay, and consequently, in addition to its trade
and well-frequented markets, derives much traffic from
the frequent influx of strangers. It is well built, and
consists of several principal streets, some of which are
of recent formation, originating in the modern improvements
of the town, and of several smaller streets; they
are cleansed, paved, and watched from the common
funds of the corporation, and lighted with gas by assessment
upon the inhabitants under the Police act. The
town has been considerably enlarged by the addition of
the suburbs of Brae-Heads, Newtown, and Lebanon;
and the whole has a cheerful and very respectable appearance.
A public library has long been established,
and is supported by subscription; it contains more
than 6000 well-chosen volumes, among which are many
scarce and valuable books selected by Dr. Gray, who
bequeathed his library to the subscribers. There is also
a public reading-room, well supplied with periodicals.
A pack of fox-hounds for the Fifeshire hunt is kept
here, as the chief place of the meeting of its members;
the environs are pleasant, and afford much interest to
the sportsman. The principal manufacture is that of
linen, which gives employment to about 900 persons in
the town and parish, who vvork with hand-looms at their
own dwellings. The linen made is of various qualities,
and is mostly exported to the East and West Indies, to
the continent, and to America. Connected with this
manufacture are three mills in the parish, two of which
are for spinning flax, and one for thread. Of the former,
one is set in motion by water, and the other partly by
water and partly by steam, and the latter mill entirely
by steam; they employ in the aggregate nearly 240 persons.
There are two mills for grinding oatmeal and
barley, and two flour-mills, all of which were held under
the corporation until lately, when the feu-duty was sold.
There are also a fulling-mill and two tanneries in constant
use, to the latter of which has been added a manufacture
of glue; three public breweries have been established,
and there is an extensive manufactory of coarse
earthenware, the clay found in the parish being well
adapted for making it, and also for bricks and tiles, of
which great numbers are made. The market is on
Thursday; it is a large market for corn (sold by sample),
emd is numerously attended by dealers from the neighbouring
districts. A number of fairs are also held, for
the sale of live stock, of agricultural implements, and
various other articles.
The inhabitants received their first charter of incorporation
from David II. It bestowed many privileges,
which were extended by Robert II., who also granted
the burgesses considerable property in lands; and all
the gifts were confirmed by subsequent charters down
to the reign of James VI., who conferred upon the burgesses
additional immunities, and the lands of the burgh
at a fee-farm rent, by charter dated at Edinburgh in
159n. By these charters the government was vested in
a provost, three bailies, a dean of guild, treasurer, and a
council of thirteen, a convener, and seven deacons of
trades, assisted by a town-clerk, and other officers;
but the present town-council, composed of twenty-si.x
members, is elected in accordance with the provisions of
the Municipal act of 1833. The provost and bailies,
and ail other officers, are chosen by the council; the
town-clerk alone holds office for life. There are eight
guilds of trade, the hammermen, wrights, weavers,
tailors, shoemakers, waulkers, bakers, and butchers,
who hold their exclusive privileges under a modifying
charter of Queen Anne; each of these guilds elects its
own deacon, and the deacons make one of their number
convener, to preside over all the guilds. The freedom
is inherited by patrimony, by marriage with a freeman's
daughter, by apprenticeship, or by purchase, the amount
of which varies in the different guilds from £"20 to £50.
The magistrates hold burgh courts for the determination
of pleas to any amount, but the sherilf's courts for
small debts have nearly superseded the practice, and
their criminal jurisdiction, also, though by charter extending
to all offences not capital, is by custom limited
to misdemeanors and cases of petty assaults, all graver
offences being referred to the county magistrates. By
the act of the 2nd and 3rd of William IV., the burgh
unites with St. Andrew's, Crail, the two Anstruthers,
Kilrenny, and Pittenweem, in returning a member to
the imperial parliament. The right of election is vested
in the householders of the annual value of £10 and upwards,
resident within the limits of the parliamentary
boundary, which is more extensive than the municipal.
St. Andrew's is the returning burgh. The county-hall
is very spacious, and affords suitable accommodation
for the county meetings, the sheriff and justice-of-peace
courts, and for keeping the public records of the county:
it contains a portrait of General John, Earl of Hopetoun,
finely painted by Raeburn, and one of Thomas,
Earl of Kcllie, lord lieutenant of the county, by Wilkie.
There is also a town-hall. The old town and county
gaol, situated on the opposite side of the river Eden,
was badly arranged, and has been superseded by a large
county prison built to the north-east of the town, under
the Prison act of the year 1839.
In 161S, the parish of Cupar was augmented by the
union of that of Tarvit on the opposite bank of the Eden.
At present it extends five miles in length, and nearly
the same in breadth; it comprises 5545 acres, all of
which, with the exception of a moderate proportion of
woodland and pasture, are arable land in the highest
state of cultivation. The surface is in some parts gently
undulating, in others rising into hills of moderate elevation,
and, near the banks of the rivers by which it is
intersected, forming extended plains; the scenery is
enriched with woods of natural growth, and thriving
plantations. Of the two streams, the river Eden, which
rises in West Lomond, about fifteen miles distant, flows
through the parish from west to east, in the centre of a
broad and fertile vale; and the Ladyburn, which intersects
the parish from north-west to southeast, flows
into the Eden at the eastern extremity of the town.
The soil is various, in some parts a light sand, in others
a stiff clay, and in the valleys rich and fertile; but even
the poorer soils are rendered abundantly productive by
diligent cultivation, and a liberal use of manure, which
is plentiful. The system of husbandry is in the most
improved state; the crops are oats, barley, wheat,
potatoes, of which large quantities are grown for the
London market, and turnips, with the other usual green
crops. Much attention is also paid to the rearing of
live stock: the oxen are mostly of the old Fifeshire
breed, and at the great cattle-shows have obtained
prizes awarded by the agricultural societies; some of
the Teeswater breed have been introduced, but they are
not generally approved. The substratum of the soil is
various. White sandstone is prevalent along the banks
of the Eden: on those of the Ladyburn, a conglomerate
sandstone is found, in which are embedded quartz and
flint; and at a short distance from the confluence of
the two streams, is an extensive mound consisting of
gravel. Greenstone, trap-rock, and clinkstone are likewise
found, above the gravel and sandstone along the
banks of the Eden, and are quarried, as is also the white
sandstone, for road-making and for building. The annual
value of real property in the parish is £18,715.
The ancient mansion of Carslogie, for many ages the
family seat of the Clephanes, was erected about four centuries
since, and, with the grounds, is still kept up.
Wemyss Hall was built about the commencement of the
last century, and has been lately enlarged. Kilmarou
is a modern mansion in the castellated style, after a design
by Gillespie. Tarvit, Springfield, Dalyell, Hilton,
Carnie Lodge, Pitblado, Preston Hall, Middlefield, Balas,
Ferrybank, Bellfield, Blalowne, and Westfield are also
within the parish, and are neat residences, pleasantly
situated.
Ecclesiastically the parish is in the presbytery of
Cupar, synod of Fife, and in the patronage of the Crown.
There are two benefices: the minister of the first charge
has a stipend of £259, with a manse, and a glebe valued
at £21 per annum; the minister of the second charge
has the same amount, but neither manse nor glebe.
Cupar church was erected in 1785, and has been altered
and enlarged from time to time. Another church,
called St. Michael's, was lately built, at an expense of
about £1800, partly raised by transferable shares, which
entitle each subscriber to the choice of a seat. There is
an episcopal chapel, a very handsome building; also
places of worship for members of the Free Church, the
United Presbyterian Synod, Old Light Burghers, Baptists,
and Glassites. The grammar and English schools
formerly supported by the burgh have been discontinued,
and an academy, for which an appropriate building
has been erected on the Castle Hill, has been substituted
in their place, the patronage and management
being vested in the trustees of the late Dr. Andrew Bell,
of Madras, who bequeathed some property called Eggmore,
in Dumfriesshire, worth between £400 and £500
per annum, for the purposes of education in the town.
The late Dr. Gray, of Middlesex, bequeathed £500 for
the establishment of a female sghool here, the management
of which is vested in the provost, clergy, and
schoolmaster of Cupar. An almshouse for ten or twelve
poor persons is under the management of the Kirk
Session; it is of very ancient date, and the origin of its
foundation is not distinctly known. There is also an
asylum for females above fifty years of age, erected under
a legacy of £3000 bequeathed by David Knox, Esq., of
London, for its foundation and endowment. The poor
likewise have the interest of £450 left by Dr. Gray for
their benefit. On the bank of the Eden, on the Tarvit
side of that river, is a small conical eminence, anciently
the site of the parish church of St. Michael, Tarvit,
which ceased to exist long previously to the union of
Cupar and Tarvit; and in making some improvements
in the road near the spot, many of the graves were
thrown open, and the remains of the dead exposed to
view. Upon the summit of a hill near Wemyss Hall,
are the remains of the cross of Cupar, which, on its removal
from its ancient site in the town, in order to the
formation of a new street, was set up in its present situation
by the late Col. Wemyss. It consists of a circular
shaft, placed on a massive pedestal hewn from the rock
on which it stands; and above the capital are the ancient
arms of the town. Lord Campbell, lord chief
justice of the court of queen's bench, is the second son
of the late Dr. George Campbell, minister of Cupar.