33-639: Elie and Earlsferry is a coastal town and former royal burgh in Fife , and parish, Scotland, situated within the East Neuk beside Chapel Ness on the north coast of the Firth of Forth , eight miles east of Leven . The burgh comprised the linked villages of Elie ( / ˈ iː l i / EE -lee ) to the east and to the west Earlsferry , which were formally merged in 1930 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 . To
66-458: A royal charter . Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by the Crown , or upgraded from another status, such as burgh of barony . As discrete classes of burgh emerged, the royal burghs—originally distinctive because they were on royal lands—acquired a monopoly of foreign trade. An important document for each burgh
99-425: A community council for a former Royal burgh is not able to use the words "Royal Burgh" in its title; and what scope there is for the continuance of historical titles under the present organisation of local authorities." In reply, McElhone stated: "The title which may be used by a community council is a matter for the district council to decide when drawing up the scheme for community councils in its area. Section 23 of
132-455: A flavour of their historical identities. In recent decades, the town has become a very popular destination for wealthy residents of Glasgow and Edinburgh . In the summer months the town's population is several times higher than it is during the winter. A survey in 2018 found that half of the houses in the town were not the owners first residences. Attractions include the beach, golf, restaurants, surfing and sailing. Elie won an award as one of
165-491: A short game practice area with 2 bunkers and a 50-yard pitching fairway. There are also 5 full size tennis courts and 4 short tennis courts along with a Bowling Green and Club Elie has a cricket club who are based in The Ship Inn pub on the beachfront. The team arrange all their home fixtures in line with the tides and play them on the beach when the tide is out. Elie's harbour was expanded in 1850. The nearby railway, part of
198-608: A time when Newcastle was under Scottish rule. A mid-twelfth century date corresponds to the reigns of two Scottish kings: David I (1124-1153) and William I (1165-1214). In 1609, the publisher of the Laws of the Burghs stated that burgh laws were begun by David I, but this was called into question in 1807 by George Chalmers, who pointed out that David I never held Newcastle. At any rate, Whyte notes that medieval Scottish burghs, when compared to their English counterparts, were more uniform and, by
231-458: A vaulted chamber at sea level as a changing room. It is said that Lady Anstruther would bathe in the nearby waters, a servant ringing a bell all the while to ensure locals stayed away. The daughter of Provost Charles Fall of Dunbar , she was mentioned by Thomas Carlyle as Jenny Faa ("Faa" being purportedly the Fall family's ancient name) "a coquette and a beauty". She caused the hamlet of Balclevie, to
264-533: Is in a Category C listed building . Elie and Earlsferry Town Hall was completed in 1873 but contains elements of an earlier town house. After the Scottish Reformation , pilgrimages and other traffic waned in Earlsferry. Elie and Earlsferry are about ten miles due south of St Andrews. Golf is believed to have been played on Earlsferry Links as early as the 15th century, and the layout evolved over time into
297-487: The Fife Coast Railway , was built in 1857, and extended through Elie to Anstruther in 1863. The villages opened up to the affluent tourist trade of Victorian times in the 1870s, which saw regular steamers from North Berwick and Leith . The explosion of modern communications saw the nature of the local economy change. Coal mining dwindled after the railway came to the area. Cotton weavers abandoned their trade after
330-498: The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , and the above-mentioned Article XXI, which was thus rendered redundant, was deemed by Her Majesty's Government to be abrogated by the 1973 act. The towns are now sometimes referred to officially as "former royal burghs", for instance by the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland . The issue of the future status of royal burghs was discussed during debate on
363-516: The Elie Chain Walk passes down the cliff faces to the tidal beaches. The route, which should only be used during low tides, has chains fixed to the cliffs and rocks of the shore to assist progress, and is sometimes referred to as Scotland's secret via ferrata (Iron path). The chains were first installed in the 1920s, and were replaced in 2010. The film The Winter Guest , starring Emma Thompson and Phyllida Law , directed by Alan Rickman ,
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#1732858553351396-551: The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 governs any change of name of region, islands or district councils. There is no statutory ban to the continuance of historic titles for other purposes." Accordingly, some community councils established since 1975 have the term "Royal Burgh" incorporated in their title. Lord Lyon has permitted the armorial bearings of a number of royal burghs to be rematriculated by community councils. Elie Primary School Elie Primary School
429-656: The Local Government Bill. In the Commons on 4 December 1972 Ronald Murray , the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh, Leith , stated "Most of the well-known cities and towns of Scotland became royal burghs by Charter. The Bill does not say that those Charters are removed or are of no legal effect, but Schedule 24 repeals the legislation upon which they appear to stand. I hope that the Government do not intend to abolish entirely
462-653: The Scottish kingdom. Rosemarkie , Dingwall and Cromarty were also burghs by the Scottish Wars of Independence . The date of the initial establishment of burghs in Scotland is obscure. Historian Ian D. Whyte points to the Leges Burgorum ( Laws of the Burghs ) as the best known compilation of medieval burgh laws, saying that most of the laws therein “were modelled on the mid-twelfth century customs of Newcastle upon Tyne ” at
495-606: The ancient rights of royal burghs, at least to be royal burghs." In June 1973, David Steel (MP for Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles ), unsuccessfully introduced an amendment that "the title of "Provost" shall attach to the chairman of any community council which is based on any existing burgh .. to .. carry forward a title which appears, for example, in the Royal Charters of those burghs". In 1977, Alick Buchanan-Smith (MP for North Angus and Mearns ) asked Frank McElhone , Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland : "Why
528-561: The best managed beaches in Scotland in 2018. The railway line fell under the Beeching Axe in the 1960s and the station and tracks were subsequently closed and dismantled, leaving Elie with only road and sea transport links. The Times included Elie and Earlsferry as one of the best places to live in the UK in 2020. On the coast, 1 km west of Earlsferry, beneath the Fife Coastal Path ,
561-582: The church. It is approached on axis from the High Street, increasing the drama of its architecture, and surrounded by a churchyard burial ground. Elie House is an interesting Scots vernacular extended tower house, standing close to the waterline. It dates back to 1697 with additions in 1770. In the 1770s the Lady's Tower was built in Ruby Bay, on the east side of Elie Ness, for Janet, Lady Anstruther. It incorporated
594-560: The current magnificent 18-hole course which has remained largely unchanged since 1895. There has been a formal golf club here in Elie and Earlsferry since 1832. The current club, the Golf House Club , was founded in 1875 with the building of the clubhouse. An unusual feature is the periscope from the submarine HMS Excalibur . It was installed in the starter's hut after the submarine was scrapped in 1968; players and visitors may use it to view
627-609: The dozen. The list is based on the following references. The rights of the royal burghs were preserved (if not guaranteed) by Article XXI of the Treaty of Union between Scotland and England of 1707, which states "That the Rights and Privileges of the Royal Boroughs in Scotland as they now are Do Remain entire after the Union and notwithstanding thereof". Royal burghs were abolished in 1975 by
660-516: The election of the town councils that governed royal burghs. Those qualified to vote in parliamentary elections under the Reform Act 1832 were now entitled to elect burgh councillors. Before the reign of David I Scotland had no towns. The closest thing to towns were the larger than average population concentrations around large monasteries, such as Dunkeld and St Andrews , and regionally significant fortifications. Scotland, outside Lothian at least,
693-490: The establishment of burghs at Elgin and Forres . Before David was dead, St Andrews, Montrose , and Aberdeen were also burghs. In the reigns of Máel Coluim IV and William, burghs were added at Inverness , Banff , Cullen , Auldearn , Nairn , Inverurie , Kintore , Brechin , Forfar , Arbroath , Dundee , Lanark , Dumfries and (uniquely for the west coast) Ayr . New Lothian burghs also came into existence, at Haddington and Peebles . By 1210, there were 40 burghs in
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#1732858553351726-522: The fourteenth century, more politically active. Because of Scottish trading patterns, Scottish burghs came to be populated by foreigners, notably Flemings, French, and English. The burgh's vocabulary was composed totally of either Germanic terms (not necessarily or even predominantly English) such as croft , rood , gild , gait and wynd , or French ones such as provost , bailie , vennel , port and ferme . The councils that governed individual burghs were individually known as lie doussane , meaning
759-562: The golf course. Golfers, clubmakers and course designers James Braid , Archie Simpson , Bob Peebles and Isaac Mackie were born in Earlsferry. Neighbouring the Golf House Club is the Elie Sports' Club which encompasses a multi-sports facility available 7 days of the week, 364 days of the year. Its facilities include a 9-hole golf course (2080 yards long), a putting course, a driving range with covered bays and outdoor hitting areas and
792-526: The north is the village of Kilconquhar and Kilconquhar Loch . The civil parish has a population of 861 (in 2011). Earlsferry, the older of the two villages, was first settled in time immemorial . It is said that MacDuff , the Earl of Fife, crossed the Forth here in 1054 while fleeing from King Macbeth . In particular the legend tells of his escape being aided by local fishermen, an act which may have led directly to
825-520: The north of Elie House, to be razed ostensibly "to improve the view" but widely thought to be because the tinker inhabitants reminded her of her own family's origins. This may have been Walter Scott 's inspiration for a similar incident in Guy Mannering . A curse is said to have been placed on the Anstruther family by an old woman whose house had been demolished. Elie Primary School dates to 1858 and
858-406: The place. There are the remains of a small chapel on Chapel Ness, built for the use of these pilgrims. King Robert II made Earlsferry a royal burgh in 1373 but its original charter was destroyed in a fire. Earlsferry became a trading port for merchants and remained so until the 18th century, and was also an important calling point on the pilgrims' route from the south to St Andrews. A new charter
891-508: The switch to linen made from imported flax. Fishing gradually declined. The growing tourist trade caused a local building boom, which would have provided work for stonemasons. There were also golf club makers in the village for many years. Various support trades existed in the villages over the years and persisted until the advent of modern road transport around 1970. Elie and Earlsferry were formally merged in 1930. The modern villages now largely share shops and other facilities, but they do retain
924-548: The village being promoted to royal burgh status due to MacDuff's later influence over Malcolm III . By the middle of the 12th century, the Earls of Fife had instituted a ferry for the use of pilgrims en route to the shrine of Saint Andrew the Apostle at St Andrews . The ferry crossed the Firth of Forth to North Berwick , a distance of 7 miles, and it is this ferry that led to the naming of
957-477: Was filmed here. The two main bus services are provided by Stagecoach East Scotland. These are: The famous " Floral clock " in Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens was originally constructed (1903) using the clock mechanism salvaged from Elie Parish Church. Royal burgh A royal burgh ( / ˈ b ʌ r ə / BURR -ə ) was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted,
990-450: Was granted in 1589 by James VI . In 1871 Earlsferry had a population of 406. Little is known of the foundation of Elie, but in 1599 it was made a burgh of barony by King James VI and it had become sufficiently important to merit the building of Elie Parish Church in 1639. Its harbour was more sheltered than that of Earlsferry, it began to poach trade away from Earlsferry and after a great storm in 1766 filled it with sand, Earlsferry harbour
1023-496: Was its burgh charter , creating the burgh or confirming the rights of the burgh as laid down (perhaps orally) by a previous monarch. Each royal burgh (with the exception of four 'inactive burghs') was represented in the Parliament of Scotland and could appoint bailies with wide powers in civil and criminal justice . By 1707 there were 70 royal burghs. The Royal Burghs (Scotland) Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. 4 . c. 76) reformed
Elie and Earlsferry - Misplaced Pages Continue
1056-458: Was no longer used. The etymology of the name Elie is unclear. The name may derive from the Scottish Gaelic ealadh which means 'tomb', or èaladh which means 'a passage for boats between two rocks', or ail plus the suffix in which means 'rock-place'. Elie has an unusual parish church, dating from 1639. It has a tall octagonal tower, topped with a belvedere detail, centrally located on
1089-633: Was populated by scattered hamlets, and outside that area, lacked the continental style nucleated village. David I established the first burghs in Scotland, initially only in Middle-English -speaking Lothian (note: Tain claims a charter dating from 1066 under Malcolm III). The earliest burghs, founded by 1124, were Berwick and Roxburgh . However, by 1130, David had established burghs in Gaelic areas: Stirling , Dunfermline , Perth and Scone , as well as Edinburgh . The conquest of Moray in that same year led to
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