Elie and Earlsferry is a coastal town and former

royal burgh A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, 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 ...

in Fife, and parish, Scotland, situated within 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 ...

beside Chapel Ness on the north coast of the Firth of Forth, eight miles east of

Leven Leven may refer to: People * Leven (name), list of people with the name Nobility * Earl of Leven a title in the Peerage of Scotland Placenames * Leven, Fife Leven ( gd, Inbhir Lìobhann) is a seaside town in Fife, set in the east Central ...

. The burgh comprised the linked villages of Elie ( ) to the east and to the west Earlsferry, which were formally merged in 1930 by the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo 5 c. 25) reorganised local government in Scotland from 1930, introducing joint county councils, large and small burghs and district councils. The Act also abolished the Scottish poor law syst ...

. To the north is the village of

Kilconquhar Kilconquhar ( or ; sco, also Kinneuchar, from the gd, Cill Dhúnchadha or gd, Cill Chonchaidh, Church of (St) Duncan or Conchad) is a village and parish in Fife in Scotland. It includes the small hamlet of Barnyards. It is bounded by the paris ...

and

Kilconquhar Loch Kilconquhar Loch is a Scottish freshwater loch. This small shallow loch is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is located beside the village of the same name in the east of Fife, within a mile to the north of the coastal village ...

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

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 Malcolm III ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Dhonnchaidh; died 13 November 1093) was King of Scotland from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" ("ceann mòr", Gaelic, literally "big hea ...

. 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 An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

at St Andrews. The ferry crossed the Firth of Forth to

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable ...

, 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. 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 was granted in 1589 by

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

. 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 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 ...

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 was no longer used. The etymology of the name Elie is unclear. The name may derive from the

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 ...

''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'.

Buildings

High Street, Earlsferry (geograph 6110976) (cropped)

277265 d9540149-EarlsferryHighStreet(JohnSTurner)Jun2003

Elie has an unusual parish church, dating from 1639. It has a tall octagonal 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.

Elie House Elie House is a country house in Elie, Fife, Scotland. It is a Category A listed building. The house, built in 1697 and incorporating an earlier structure, is south facing, constructed in stone in 3 storeys, 2 bays deep with a 5-bay frontage. L ...

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 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 Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ecc ...

, she was mentioned by

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...

as Jenny Faa ("Faa" being purportedly the Fall family's ancient name) "a coquette and a beauty". She caused the hamlet of Balclevie, to 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 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 inspiration for a similar incident in

Guy Mannering ''Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer'' is the second of the Waverley novels by Walter Scott, published anonymously in 1815. According to an introduction that Scott wrote in 1829, he had originally intended to write a story of the supernatural, ...

. 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 is in a Category C

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Elie and Earlsferry Town Hall Elie and Earlsferry Town Hall is a former municipal structure in High Street in Elie and Earlsferry, Scotland. The structure, which is currently used as an events venue, is Category B listed. History The first building on the site was an earlie ...

was completed in 1873 but contains elements of an earlier town house.

Post-Reformation

After the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Scotland broke with the Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterian in its outlook. It was part of the wider European Protestant Refor ...

, pilgrimages and other traffic waned in Earlsferry.

Sport

Golf and Tennis

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. Golfers, clubmakers and course designers James Braid,

Archie Simpson Archibald Simpson (14 March 1866 – January 1955) was an American professional golfer. He was also a golf course designer and a golf club maker. He was runner-up in The Open Championship in 1885 (won by Bob Martin), and 1890 (won by John Ball). ...

, Bob Peebles and

Isaac Mackie Isaac S. Mackie (23 September 1880 – 22 June 1963) was a Scottish-American professional golfer who played in the late 19th and early 20th century. He apprenticed as a club maker under George Forrester. Following his brother Jack—who had emig ...

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 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

Cricket

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.

Modern times

Elie's harbour was expanded in 1850. The nearby railway, part of 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 on ...

, 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

and

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

. 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. 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 Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. 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 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.

Elie Chain Walk

On the coast, 1 km west of Earlsferry, beneath the Fife Coastal Path, the Elie Chain Walk passes down the cliff faces to the tidal beaches.Fife gov, Fife Coastal Path, Elie Chain Walk, March 2022
/ref> 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 A via ferrata ( Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other locations. The term "via ferrata" is used in most countries and languages except ...

(Iron path). The chains were first installed in the 1920s, and were replaced in 2010.

Notable events

The film ''

The Winter Guest ''The Winter Guest'' is a 1997 drama film directed by Alan Rickman and starring Phyllida Law and Emma Thompson. Plot Set in Scotland on one wintry day, the film focuses on eight people; a mother and daughter, Elspeth (Phyllida Law) and Fra ...

'', starring Emma Thompson and

Phyllida Law Phyllida Ann Law (born 8 May 1932) is a British actress, known for her numerous roles in film and television. Early life Law was born in Glasgow, the daughter of Meg "Mego" and William Law, a journalist. Prior to the Second World War, her fath ...

, directed by

Alan Rickman Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his deep, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespe ...

, was filmed here.

Notable residents

* James Braid, Scottish professional golfer, five-time winner of

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later t ...

and renowned golf course architect, was born in Earlsferry in 1870. * Catherine Calderwood FRCOG,

FRCPE The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...

, Northern Irish consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, and

Chief Medical Officer for Scotland In the United Kingdom, a Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is the most senior government advisor on matter relating to health. There are four CMOs in the United Kingdom who are appointed to advise their respective governments: * Government of the Uni ...

from 2015 to 2020. *

David Cunningham Greig David Cunningham Greig FRSE FGS (1922-1999) was a British geologist and cartographer. He was Principal Geologist for HM Geological Survey from 1958 to 1982. He was a keen hill-walker and mountaineer. Life He was born in Glasgow on 16 February 19 ...

FRSE geologist, retired to Elie and died there. * John Currie, architect and builder * William Dudingston, Rear Admiral, Royal Navy. Dudingston was commander of the schooner HMS ''Gaspee'', which after interfering with smugglers in the Colony of Rhode Island was led aground and burned by American patriots in June 1772. This is referred to as America's "First Blow for Freedom" and a spark to the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. * James Horsburgh, hydrographer. * William Quarrier Kennedy FRS, FRSE, FGS, Scottish Geologist, resided in Elie between 1967 and 1977. * Bob Peebles, Scottish-American professional golfer was born here circa 1883. * Jean Redpath

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

, eminent interpreter of Scots song. * Walter W. Robertson, architect. * Robert Traill, author and prisoner on the

Bass Rock The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), ( gd, Creag nam Bathais or gd, Am Bas) is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volca ...

Clock

The famous "

Floral clock A floral clock, or flower clock, is a large decorative clock with the clock face formed by carpet bedding, usually found in a park or other public recreation area. Most have the mechanism set in the ground under the flowerbed, which is then pla ...

" in Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens was originally constructed (1903) using the clock mechanism salvaged from Elie Parish Church.Monuments and Statues of Edinburgh, Michael T.R.B. Turnbull (Chambers) p.5

References

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