Anstruther ( sco, Ainster or Enster ; gd, Ànsruthair) is a small coastal resort town in
Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, situated on the north-shore of the
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south.
Name
''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...
and south-southeast of
St Andrews
St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...
. The town comprises two settlements, Anstruther Easter and Anstruther Wester,
which are divided by a stream, the Dreel Burn. With a population of 3,500, it is the largest community on the Firth of Forth's north-shore coastline known as the
East Neuk
The East Neuk () or East Neuk of Fife is an area of the coast of Fife, Scotland.
"Neuk" is the Scots word for nook or corner, and the East Neuk is generally accepted to comprise the fishing villages of the most northerly part of the Firth of ...
. To the east, it merges with the village of
Cellardyke
Cellardyke is a village in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The village is to the immediate east of Anstruther (the two effectively being conjoined) and is to the south of Kilrenny.
History
Cellardyke was formerly known as Nether Kilrenny ( S ...
.
Description
Founded as a fishing village, Anstruther is home to the
Scottish Fisheries Museum
The Scottish Fisheries Museum is a museum in Anstruther, Fife, that records the history of the Scottish fishing industry and its people from earliest times to the present day.
Opened in 1969, the museum is situated on the harbour front in Anstr ...
. Recreational vessels are now moored in the harbour, and a
golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
is situated near the town. Anstruther Pleasure Cruises operate sightseeing/wildlife cruises from the harbour to the
Isle of May
The Isle of May is located in the north of the outer Firth of Forth, approximately off the coast of mainland Scotland. It is about long and wide. The island is owned and managed by NatureScot as a national nature reserve. There are now no ...
, the UK's primary puffin location, on board the vessel the ''May Princess'' from April to October. An abundance of other wildlife, including seal colonies, also inhabit the island.
The
Waid Academy
The Waid Academy is a public secondary school in Anstruther, Fife. The school's catchment area extends to as far as Elie and Colinsburgh to the west and Crail to the east (the East Neuk boundaries) but accepts pupils from towns such as Leven, Up ...
, the local state comprehensive school, is a focus of the community and through its secondary role as a community centre. Anstruther has a parish church at its centre that is on a small hill. This structure incorporates a tower/spire feature rare to Britain, but common to the area.
Anstruther War Memorial is located in the cemetery, somewhat further inland. It is of an unusual war memorial form, being totally flat to the ground, in the centre of a landscaped roundel, broadly adopting the shape of a
celtic cross
The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses er ...
.
![Dreel Halls (geograph 6166154)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Dreel_Halls_%28geograph_6166154%29.jpg)
The town has several
fish and chip
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
shops. The
Anstruther Fish Bar
The Anstruther Fish Bar is a fish and chip shop in Anstruther, a fishing village in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. History
The Bar is situated on Shore Street, the harbour front in Anstruther, and is particularly popular with tourists. It sel ...
, which won Fish and Chip shop of the year in 2001–2002, was awarded the same prize once again by the Sea Fish Organisation in 2009.
Anstruther is home to Scotland's only true-scale model Solar System. The model, which shows the Sun and planets and the distances between them all at the same scale of 1 to ten thousand million, is located mostly in the town centre. It stretches almost 600 m from the Sun to Pluto.
Anstruther is close to the
Caves of Caiplie
The Caves of Caiplie, Caplawchy or Caiplie Coves, known locally as ''The Coves'' are a cave system on the Fife Coastal path between Anstruther and Crail in Scotland. The caves were used by farmers to house livestock and as a doocot, around 17 ...
situated on the coastal path to
Crail
Crail (); gd, Cathair Aile) is a former royal burgh, parish and community council area (Royal Burgh of Crail and District) in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland.
The locality has an estimated population of 1,630 (2018).
Etymology
The name ''C ...
.
![Secret Bunker Image 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Secret_Bunker_Image_2.JPG)
Following the end of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, one of Anstruther's best-kept secrets has become a major tourist attraction. A secret
nuclear bunker
A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. ...
, built in 1951 and operational until 1993, is located on the
B940 near the village. During its operational life, it looked like an ordinary domestic dwelling, but has been renovated and is now open to the public as a museum. The bunker was a subsidiary
Regional Seat of Government in time of possible nuclear emergency and would have been occupied by the
UK Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, su ...
,
UKWMO
The United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (UKWMO) was a British civilian organisation operating to provide UK military and civilian authorities with data on nuclear explosions and forecasts of fallout across the country in the event ...
,
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was a civil defence organisation intended for the visual detection, identification, tracking and reporting of aircraft over Great Britain. It operated in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December ...
and other
Civil Service
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
personnel.
Somewhat out from the town centre, in Anstruther Wester, stands the Dreel Tavern, taking its name from the adjacent
burn
A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...
. This building dates from the 17th century. Nearby is Buckie House, built in the late 17th century and restored in 1968 by W Murray Jack. The east gable was decorated with scallop shells and whelks or 'buckies' by the slater Andrew Batchelor in the mid 19th century. Its exterior was restored in 2010.
History
The name of Anstruther derives from
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
. The second element is ''sruthair'' ('burn, stream'), but the first element less certain: it is possibly Gaelic ''á(i)n'' ('driving') or ''aon'' ('one'), thus meaning either 'driving current or burn' or '(place of or on) one burn'. The name of Anstruther Easter derives from Scots ''easter'' ('eastern'), since the village lies to the east of Anstruther, and Anstruther Wester correspondingly from Scots ''wester'' ('western').
Anstruther-Easter and Anstruther-Wester are separated by a small stream called Dreel Burn.
Local tradition states that early in the 12th century,
Alexander I of Scotland
Alexander I (medieval Gaelic: ''Alaxandair mac Maíl Coluim''; modern Gaelic: ''Alasdair mac Mhaol Chaluim''; c. 1078 – 23 April 1124), posthumously nicknamed The Fierce, was the King of Scotland from 1107 to his death. He succeeded his brothe ...
granted the lands of Anstruther to a William de Candela. However, no records survive of this original grant, and the earliest recorded lord of Anstruther was mentioned in a charter of 1225. There have been several theories as to the origin of the, possibly mythical, William, but recent research has suggested he may have been a Norman from Italy. There is evidence that
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
sought assistance from William, Count of Candela. He sent his son (or possibly his grandson). It may be this was the William de Candela, who received the grant of land from Alexander.
William de Candela's son, another William, was said to be a benefactor to the monks of
Balmerino Abbey
Balmerino Abbey, or St Edward's Abbey, in Balmerino, Fife, Scotland, was a Cistercian monastic community which has been ruinous since the 16th century.
History
It was founded from 1227 to 1229 by monks from Melrose Abbey with the patronage ...
. Balmerino was founded in 1229, long after the likely lifetime of this William. Land in Anstruther Easter, on which a chapel was built and now occupied by the Scottish Fisheries Museum, was gifted to Balmerino by another William, sometime in the 1280s. Both this suggestion, and the Italian origin theory are inaccurate. The de Candela family actually came from Dorset, coming to England probably from Normandy in or around 1066. The de Candela name was dropped by a later generation, in a charter confirming a grant of land to Dryburgh Abbey in 1225, Henry is described as 'Henricus de Aynstrother dominus ejusdem'. His son, also called Henry, was a companion of Louis IX in his crusades to the Holy Land and also swore fealty to Edward I in 1292 and again in 1296.
In 1225, it took the intervention of
Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of importa ...
to settle a teinds dispute between the monks of
Dryburgh Abbey
Dryburgh Abbey, near Dryburgh on the banks of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, was nominally founded on 10 November (Martinmas) 1150 in an agreement between Hugh de Morville, Constable of Scotland, and the Premonstratensian canons regu ...
and the fishermen of Anstruther, suggesting that, even then, the fishing was sufficiently good to warrant arguing over.
[.] In December 1583,
James VI of Scotland
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...
gave the town the status of a Royal Burgh and trading rights, recognizing the importance of the port, called the ''draucht of Anstruther''. The bounds of the new Burgh were the "Silver Dyke" on the east, the low water line on the south, the Anstruther burn to the west, and the
Kylrynnie march road.
James Melville's diary provides a graphic account of the arrival of a ship from the
Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...
to Anstruther. Local tradition has long held that some of the survivors remained and intermarried with the locals. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the town was home to
The Beggar's Benison
The Beggar's Benison was a Scottish gentlemen's club devoted to "the convivial celebration of male sexuality". It was founded in 1732 in the town of Anstruther on the Firth of ForthJonathan Margolis, ''O: The Intimate History of the Orgasm'', 2 ...
, a gentleman's club devoted to "the convivial celebration of male sexuality".
By the 19th century, Anstruther-Easter, Anstruther-Wester, and Kilrenny were all separate royal and parliamentary
boroughs
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
. Anstruther-Easter held
tanning
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
,
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...
, and
fish-curing establishments, as well as a coasting trade. In 1871, the royal burgh of Anstruther-Easter had a population of 1169; the parliamentary burgh, 1289. Anstruther-Wester held 484. The Board of Fisheries constructed a new harbour in the 1870s, completed by 1877 at a cost of
£80,000. By the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the communities were connected to
St Andrews
St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...
by the
North British Railway
The North British Railway was a British railway company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, and from the outset the company followe ...
.
The
Dreel Halls
Dreel Halls is a municipal complex in Elizabeth Place, Anstruther Wester, Fife, Scotland. The complex, which is used as a community events venue, consists of the former St Nicholas's Parish Church, which is a Category A listed building, and the ...
complex incorporates the former Anstruther Wester Town Hall, which dates from 1795, while
Anstruther Easter Town Hall was completed in 1872.
Herring
Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae.
Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...
fishing remained a feature of the area until the mid-20th century when, after a record catch in 1936, the shoals mysteriously declined until the industry effectively disappeared by 1947.
At one time, the town was well served by trains on the
Fife Coast Railway
The Fife Coast Railway was a railway line running round the southern and eastern part of the county of Fife, in Scotland. It was built in stages by four railway companies:
* the Leven Railway opened the section from a junction at Thornton, Fif ...
. The line was closed to passengers in 1965.
In the summer of 2018 a decision by Fife Council to build a new care home facility on the town's Bankie Park was reversed after a campaign by residents.
Twinning
Anstruther is
twinned with:
*
Bapaume
Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France.
The inhabitants of this commune are known as ''Bapalmois'' or ''Bapalmoises''.
Geography
Bapaume is a farmi ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
(since October 1991)
Notable inhabitants
*
James Anstruther
Sir James Anstruther of Anstruther (died 1606), was a Scottish landowner and courtier.
He was a son of John Anstruther and Margaret Clephane, daughter of George Clephane of Carslogie. His second wife was Margaret Learmonth, daughter of James Lea ...
(d. 1606) was a laird of Anstruther and a courtier, and his son
Robert Anstruther was a diplomat during the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
. Sir James Lumsden, a soldier of fortune under
Gustavus Adolphus
Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...
was born in the parish of
Kilrenny
Kilrenny ( gd, Cill Reithnidh) is a village in Fife, Scotland. Part of the East Neuk, it lies immediately to the north of (but inland and separate from) Anstruther on the south Fife coast.
The first element of the name is from the Scottish Ga ...
about 1598.
*
William Tennant's poem "Anster Fair" concerns the town's celebration.
*
Thomas Chalmers
Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest nine ...
, co-founder of the
Free Church of Scotland, was born and raised in Anstruther-Easter, where his house has been preserved.
* The Goodsir brothers were born and brought up in Anstruther. They were
John Goodsir
John Goodsir (20 March 1814 – 6 March 1867) was a Scottish anatomist and a pioneer in the formulation of cell theory.
Early life
Goodsir was born on 20 March 1814 in Anstruther, Fife, the son of Elizabeth Dunbar Taylor and John Goods ...
(1814–1867), the anatomist;
Harry Goodsir
Henry ″Harry″ Duncan Spens Goodsir (3 November 1819 – ) was a Scottish physician and naturalist who contributed to the pioneering work on cell theory done by his brother John Goodsir. He served as surgeon and naturalist on the ill-fat ...
, surgeon on the ill-fated
Franklin expedition
Franklin's lost expedition was a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845 aboard two ships, and , and was assigned to traverse the last unnavigated sect ...
,
Robert Anstruther Goodsir who travelled to the Arctic searching for him, and
Joseph Taylor Goodsir
Joseph Taylor Goodsir (16 September 1815 – 27 April 1893) was a Scottish minister and theological author. He resigned from the ministry after only seven years expressing doubts about the doctrine and teaching of the Church of Scotland. ...
, who became a minister and theologian.
*
David Martin David or Dave Martin may refer to:
Entertainment
*David Martin (artist) (1737–1797), Scottish painter and engraver
*David Stone Martin (1913–1992), American artist
*David Martin (poet) (1915–1997), Hungarian-Australian poet and novelist
*Dav ...
(1737–1798), the painter and engraver was a native of Anstruther.
* Author
Jessie Kerr Lawson (1838-1917) lived for a time in the town, and her sons
Andrew Cowper Lawson
Andrew Cowper Lawson (July 25, 1861 – June 16, 1952) was a Scots-Canadian geologist who became professor of geology at the University of California, Berkeley. He was the editor and co-author of the 1908 report on the 1906 San Francisco earthq ...
(1861-1952), geologist, and James Kerr Lawson (1862-1939), painter, were born there. Andrew discovered and named the
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly through California. It forms the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and its motion is Fault (geology)#Strike-slip fau ...
and the mineral
Lawsonite
Lawsonite is a hydrous calcium aluminium sorosilicate mineral with formula CaAl2Si2O7(OH)2·H2O. Lawsonite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system in prismatic, often tabular crystals. Crystal twinning is common. It forms transparent to transluce ...
is named after him. The family emigrated to Canada where another son,
Abercrombie Anstruther Lawson (1870-1927), founding professor of botany at the University of Sydney, was born.
* Princess Titaua Marama, Chiefess of Haapiti in Polynesia lived in Anstruther from 1892 until she died there in 1898, aged 55. A blue plaque marks the house in which she lived. A book has been written about her life by the British-American author, Fiona J Mackintosh.
*
Archibald Constable
Archibald David Constable (24 February 1774 – 21 July 1827) was a Scottish publisher, bookseller and stationer.
Life
Constable was born at Carnbee, Fife, son of the land steward to the Earl of Kellie.
In 1788 Archibald was apprenticed to Pe ...
,
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
's publisher, was born in the parish of
Carnbee, about three miles to the north of
Pittenweem
Pittenweem ( ) is a fishing village and civil parish in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,747.
Etymology
The name derives from Pictish and Scottish Gaelic. "Pit-" represents Pictish ''pett'' 'pl ...
.
*
Sir Robert Hamilton Bruce Lockhart (1887–1970), director-general of the
Political Warfare Executive
During World War II, the Political Warfare Executive (PWE) was a British clandestine body created to produce and disseminate both white and black propaganda, with the aim of damaging enemy morale and sustaining the morale of countries occupied ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, was also born in Anstruther.
*
Belle Patrick (1895-1972), missionary was born in the twon.
* Sports writer
Graham Spiers hails from Anstruther. It was the childhood home of
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
DJ Edith Bowman
Edith Eleanor Smith (born January 1974) is a Scottish radio DJ and television presenter. She hosted '' Colin and Edith'', weekday afternoons, weekend breakfast, and ''The Radio 1 Review'' on BBC Radio 1 until 2014 and has presented a variety of ...
. Anstruther has become known as the base for the
Fence Collective
Fence Records is a Scottish independent record label based in Anstruther and Crail, Fife, Scotland, founded by musician King Creosote. Fence Records released records by James Yorkston, Rozi Plain, Lone Pigeon, U.N.P.O.C., Kid Canaveral, eagleow ...
, a network of
nu-folk
Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelia that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of folk, but adds musical elements common to psychedelic music.
Charac ...
musicians.
Politics
Traditionally, the two Anstruthers returned a single
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) together with
Kilrenny
Kilrenny ( gd, Cill Reithnidh) is a village in Fife, Scotland. Part of the East Neuk, it lies immediately to the north of (but inland and separate from) Anstruther on the south Fife coast.
The first element of the name is from the Scottish Ga ...
,
Pittenweem
Pittenweem ( ) is a fishing village and civil parish in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,747.
Etymology
The name derives from Pictish and Scottish Gaelic. "Pit-" represents Pictish ''pett'' 'pl ...
,
St Andrews
St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...
,
Cupar
Cupar ( ; gd, Cùbar) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fif ...
and
Crail
Crail (); gd, Cathair Aile) is a former royal burgh, parish and community council area (Royal Burgh of Crail and District) in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland.
The locality has an estimated population of 1,630 (2018).
Etymology
The name ''C ...
.
Currently, Anstruther is in the
North East Fife UK Parliament constituency. The sitting member is
Wendy Chamberlain
Wendy Anne Chamberlain (born 20 December 1976) is a Scottish politician serving as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats since 2021. She was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Fife at the 2019 General Election.
As of ...
of the
Scottish Liberal Democrats
The Scottish Liberal Democrats ( gd, Pàrtaidh Libearal Deamocratach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Leeberal Democrats) is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, a part of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats. The party currently holds 4 o ...
. In the
2017 General Election, then-MP Stephen Gethins of the
SNP retained his seat by a majority of only two votes, narrowly defeating the Liberal Democrat candidate Elizabeth Riches, a resident of Anstruther and former local councillor, after three recounts.
Anstruther is in the
North East Fife Scottish Parliament constituency. The MSP is currently
Willie Rennie
William Cowan Rennie (born 27 September 1967), commonly known as Willie Rennie, is a Scottish politician who served as the Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2011 to 2021. He has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MS ...
, who won back the seat for the Liberal Democrats from
Roderick Campbell
Roderick Alexander McRobie Campbell (born 15 June 1953) is a retired Scottish National Party politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the North East Fife constituency from 2011 to 2016.
Early life
Campbell was born o ...
of the SNP in the
2016 Scottish Parliament election
The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary electi ...
and retained it in
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
. For the purposes of the
additional member system used to elect MSPs to the Scottish Parliament, Anstruther is in the
Mid Scotland and Fife electoral region. In local politics, the ward of East Neuk and Landward (of which Anstruther is part) elects three councillors to
Fife Council
Fife Council is the local authority for the Fife area of Scotland and is the third largest Scottish council, with 75 elected council members.
Councillors are generally elected every five years. At the 2012 election there were 78 councillors ele ...
under the
single transferable vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
system.
Prior to
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
in 2020, Anstruther was part of the
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
European Parliament constituency.
See also
*
List of places in Fife
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
Anstruther Community WebsiteAnstruther on FifeDirect
{{Authority control
Anstruther
Towns in Fife
Parishes in Fife
Populated coastal places in Scotland