Elie and Earlsferry

"Elie" redirects here. For other uses, see Elie (disambiguation).
Elie and Earlsferry
Elie and Earlsferry
 Elie and Earlsferry shown within Fife
Population 940 (2004)
OS grid referenceNO4900
Council areaFife
Lieutenancy areaFife
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Leven
Postcode district KY9
Dialling code 01333
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK ParliamentNorth East Fife
Scottish ParliamentNorth East Fife
List of places
UK
Scotland

Coordinates: 56°11′24″N 2°49′24″W / 56.18988°N 2.82334°W / 56.18988; -2.82334

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 twin villages of Elie and Earlsferry, which were formally merged in 1930 by the Local Government Act of 1929. To the north is the village of Kilconquhar and Loch of Kilconquhar.

The civil parish has a population of 861 (in 2011).[1]

Ancient times

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 the village being promoted to royal burgh status due to MacDuff's later influence over Malcolm III.[2]

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 the place. There are the remains of a small chapel on Chapel Ness, built for the use of these pilgrims.

Earlsferry High Street
Elie Lighthouse in black and white
Elie Lighthouse

The exact date of Earlsferry being made a Royal Burgh is unclear as its original charter was destroyed in a fire. It 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 was granted in 1589.[2] Little is known of the foundation of Elie, but it had become sufficiently important to merit the building of Elie Parish Church in 1639. Its harbour was more sheltered than that of Earlsferry and it began to poach trade away from Earlsferry.

Buildings

Elie has an unusual parish church with a tall hexagonal tower, topped with a belvedere detail, centrally located on the church. It is approached on axis from the High Street, increasing the drama of its architecture, and surrounded by a churchyard burial ground.

On the outer corner of the churchyard wall, where the main road makes a right angle, stands the village war memorial. This is of particularly poignant composition, as each name listed also states their trade before the war and their battalion number and regiment. This therefore highlights a number of "ploughmen" and a high ratio of "chauffeurs". It may be speculated that the latter were in service on the several large country estates encircling the village.

'Elie Castle' is an interesting Scots vernacular extended tower house, standing close to the waterline. Superficially it dates largely from the early 17th century but contains older elements possibly from the 15th century. The High Street nearby contains several good 17th century houses with curious doorpieces.

'Muircambus House' is a Scottish baronial mansion on the north west side of Elie.

Post-Reformation

After the Scottish Reformation, pilgrimages and other traffic waned in Earlsferry;[3] so much so that when Earlsferry harbour was filled with sand by a severe storm in 1766, the remaining trade moved to Elie. In the 1770s the Lady's Tower was built in Ruby Bay, on the east side of Elie Ness, as a changing room for the Lady Anstruther. It is said that Lady Anstruther would bathe in the waters next to Lady's Tower, a servant ringing a bell all the while to ensure locals stayed away.[4]

Golf

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 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 the golf course.[5]

Golfers, clubmakers and course designers James Braid, Archie Simpson, and Isaac Mackie were born in Earlsferry.[6][7]

Modern times

Elie's harbour was expanded in 1850. The nearby railway, part of the Fife Coast Railway,was built in 1857, and extended through Elie to Anstruther in 1863.[2] The villages opened up to the affluent tourist trade of Victorian times in the 1870s, which saw regular steamers from North Berwick and Leith.[8]

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 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.[2]

Elie and Earlsferry were formally merged in 1930. The modern villages now largely share shops and other facilities, but they do retain 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. Attractions include the beach, golf, restaurants, surfing and sailing.

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.

Notable events

The film The Winter Guest, starring Emma Thompson and Phyllida Law, directed by Alan Rickman, was filmed here.[9]

Trivia

The famous "Floral clock" in Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens was originally constructed (1903) using the clock mechanism salvaged from Elie Parish Church.[10]

Notes

  1. ↑ Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by National Records of Scotland. Web site http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ retrieved March 2016. See “Standard Outputs”, Table KS101SC, Area type: Civil Parish 1930
  2. 1 2 3 4 "A Potted History of Earlsferry". Elie and Earlsferry Online.
  3. ↑ "A Walk Around Earlsferry". Elie and Earlsferry Online.
  4. ↑ Mackintyre, Lorn (2008). Portrait of the East Neuk. Alvie. p. 124. ISBN 9780951180051.
  5. ↑ Ronnie Leask (12 October 2008). "NO4800 : Periscope in starters hut Elie Golf Course". www.geograph.org. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  6. ↑ "The Golf House Club History". The Golf House Club, Elie.
  7. ↑ "Archie Simpson". Antiquegolfscotland.com. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  8. ↑ The Scottish tourist and itinerary; or, A guide to the scenery and antiquities of Scotland and the western islands: with a description of the principal steam-boat tours. Stirling & Kenney. 1831. p. 361.
  9. ↑ http://www.scotlandthemovie.com/movies/fguest.html
  10. ↑ Monuments and Statues of Edinburgh, Michael T.R.B. Turnbull (Chambers) p.5

Other references

Wilkinson, M. and Tittley, I. 1979. The marine algae of Elie, Scotland: a Re-assessment. Botanica Marina 22: 249 - 256.

External links

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