Elie and Earlsferry is a coastal town and former royal burgh 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 ...

, and parish, Scotland, situated within the East Neuk beside

Chapel Ness A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

on the north coast 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 ...

, eight miles east of Leven. 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. To the north is the village of Kilconquhar and Kilconquhar Loch. 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 ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

. 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. By the middle of the 12th century, the

Earls of Fife The Earl of Fife or Mormaer of Fife was the ruler of the province of Fife in medieval Scotland, which encompassed the modern counties of Fife and Kinross. Due to their royal ancestry, the earls of Fife were the highest ranking nobles in the r ...

had instituted a ferry for the use of pilgrims en route to the shrine of

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

the Apostle at

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 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. King Robert II made Earlsferry a royal burgh in 1373 but its original

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

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. 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 h ...

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 ''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 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, 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 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 Elie Primary School is a school in Elie, Fife, Scotland. It is located partly in a Category C listed building dating from 1858. The architect of the relevant north block was Elie native John Currie.listed building. Elie and Earlsferry Town Hall was completed in 1873 but contains elements of an earlier town house.

Post-Reformation

After the Scottish Reformation, 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,

Bob Peebles Robert Brown Peebles (23 September 1882 – 18 March 1959) was a Scottish professional golfer who played in the early 20th century. He had one top-ten finish in a golf major championship when he finished tied for seventh place in the 1909 U.S. ...

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 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, was built in 1857, and extended through Elie to

Anstruther Anstruther ( sco, Ainster or Enster ; gd, Ànsruthair) is a small coastal resort town in Fife, Scotland, situated on the north-shore of the Firth of Forth and south-southeast of St Andrews. The town comprises two settlements, 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 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 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 the best managed beaches in Scotland in 2018. The railway line fell under the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...

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 Fife Coastal Path is a Scottish long distance footpath that runs from Kincardine to Newburgh along the coastline of Fife. The path was created in 2002, originally running from North Queensferry to Tayport. It was extended in 2011 with a n ...

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

Notable events

The film '' The Winter Guest'', starring

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she has received numerous accolades throughout her four-decade-long career, including two Academy Awards, two British A ...

and Phyllida Law, directed by Alan Rickman, was filmed here.

Notable residents

* James Braid, Scottish professional golfer, five-time winner of The Open Championship and renowned golf course architect, was born in Earlsferry in 1870. *

Catherine Calderwood Catherine Jane Calderwood FRCOG FRCPE (born 26 December 1968) is Northern-Irish born Scottish consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, who has served as the National Clinical Director for Sustainable Delivery at the Golden Jubilee University ...

FRCOG, FRCPE, Northern Irish consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, and Chief Medical Officer for Scotland from 2015 to 2020. * David Cunningham Greig

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

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 The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It was founded by Roger Williams. It was an English colony from 1636 until 1 ...

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. *

James Horsburgh James Horsburgh (28 September 176214 May 1836) was a Scottish hydrographer. He worked for the British East India Company, (EIC) and mapped many seaways around Singapore in the late 18th century and early 19th century. Life Born at Elie, Fife, Hor ...

hydrographer Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary p ...

. *

William Quarrier Kennedy William Quarrier Kennedy FRS FRSE FGS (1903–1979) was a Scottish geologist. He specialised in the geology of Scotland and Africa. In authorship he is usually referred to as W. Q. Kennedy. Early life and education Kennedy was born on 30 Novemb ...

FRS,

, FGS, Scottish Geologist, resided in Elie between 1967 and 1977. *

, Scottish-American professional golfer was born here circa 1883. *

Jean Redpath Jean Redpath MBE (28 April 1937 – 21 August 2014) was a Scottish folk singer, educator and musician. Career Jean Redpath was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to musical parents. Her mother knew many Scots songs and passed them on to Jean and her ...

MBE, eminent interpreter of Scots song. *

Walter W. Robertson Walter Wood Robertson (1845–1907) was a 19th-century Scottish architect. From 1877 he was Principal Architect and Surveyor for Scotland for public buildings, specialising in large urban post offices. Life He was born Walter Wybrown Robertson ...

, architect. * Robert Traill, author and prisoner on the Bass Rock.

Clock

The famous " Floral clock" in Edinburgh's

Princes Street Gardens Princes Street Gardens are two adjacent public parks in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Gardens were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and building of the New Town, ...

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.