Ceres is a village in
Fife
Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
, Scotland, located in a small glen approximately over the Ceres Moor from
Cupar
Cupar ( ; ) 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 Fife, and the ...
and from
St Andrews
St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ 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 fourth-largest settleme ...
. The former parish of that name included the settlements of Baldinnie, Chance Inn, Craigrothie, Pitscottie and Tarvit Mill.
Village
Ceres is one of a few Scottish villages to have a
village green
A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...
. It is known as the "Bow Butts" since its use as an archery practice ground in medieval times. The Ceres Burn runs through the village and alongside the green. An old packhorse bridge, known as the "Bishop's Bridge" has spanned the
burn
A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...
since the 17th century and still stands close to a more modern road bridge.
The village is dominated by the Parish Church. It has what is possibly the shortest High Street in
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
- just a few houses on each side. In a prominent position by the Bow Butts is a monument commemorating the men of Ceres who fought in the
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn ( or ) was fought on 23–24 June 1314, between the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the army of King Edward II of England, during the First War of Scottish Independence. It was a decisive victory for Ro ...
in 1314. It was erected on the six hundredth anniversary of the battle, in 1914.
The Italian balloonist
Vincenzo Lunardi landed in the parish after his first flight in Scotland in 1785. Fetched from a field near Pitscottie, he was greeted in the village where his flag was carried in procession and the church bell rung in his honour.
While agriculture remains important to the local economy, many local residents now
commute to work in nearby towns and cities such as
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
,
Cupar
Cupar ( ; ) 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 Fife, and the ...
,
Dundee
Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
,
St. Andrews and
Glenrothes. A pottery in the village has revived the manufacture of traditional
Fife
Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
Wemyss Ware.
Folk Museum
The Fife Folk Museum is located in the village in a range of buildings including the old weigh-house where grain was weighed at a
tron
''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer ...
on market days. The building also served as a
tolbooth
A tolbooth or town house was the main municipal building of a Scotland, Scottish burgh, from medieval times until the 19th century. The tolbooth usually provided a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail. The tolbooth was one of th ...
for locking up minor offenders and the village
jougs
The jougs, juggs, or joggs (, from Latin , a yoke) is a metal collar formerly used as an instrument of punishment in Scotland, the Netherlands and other countries. When the soldiers of Oliver Cromwell's army occupied Scotland, they were horrified ...
are still attached. The museum commemorates rural life of a bygone era. The museum began in 1968 in the renovation and conversion of the former weigh-house and adjoining cottages through an initiative by Cupar & North Fife Preservation Society. A fundraising campaign in 2003-4 enabled a £395,000 project to renovate the Museum.
Origin of the name
The village name signifies "place to the west" from the
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
''Siar'' meaning "west", probably in relation to
St Andrews
St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ 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 fourth-largest settleme ...
. Locational endings in ''-es'' are common in East Fife. Suggestions that the name originated from an early dedication of the local kirk, such as to "Saint Siris",
Saint Cyrus or
Saint Cyricus are now discounted.
Ceres was the name of the Roman goddess of agriculture and grain. The name has led to contact with
Ceres, Italy (visited by the local pipe band in the 1970s) and
Ceres, Western Cape,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
(with which gifts were exchanged in the 1990s).

The parish of Ceres has some biblical place names:
Babylon
Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...
near Muirhead, south of Craigrothie, and
Sodom and Gomorrah
In the Abrahamic religions, Sodom and Gomorrah () were two cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Sodom and Gomorrah are repeatedly invoked throughout the Hebrew Bible, Deuterocanonical texts, and the New Testament as symbols of sin, di ...
(locally pronounced ''Gemorrie'') and
Purgatory
In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...
on the road to
Pitscottie. There are now no dwellings at these locations. On the other hand, there is a place called
Paradise
In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...
, which is now inhabited, just over the boundary in Cults parish.
Ceres Games
The Ceres Games are said to have been held every year since 1314 after
Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...
granted the village permission to hold them in commemoration of its men's participation in the
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn ( or ) was fought on 23–24 June 1314, between the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the army of King Edward II of England, during the First War of Scottish Independence. It was a decisive victory for Ro ...
. Now staged in the form of
Highland games, they are the oldest free games in Scotland.
Craighall
Craighall lies about south-east of the village; it was the
historic seat of the
Clan Hope.
Parish church

The current parish church was built in 1806 to a design by
Alexander Leslie
Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven (4 April 1661) was a Scottish army officer. Born illegitimate and raised as a foster child, he subsequently advanced to the rank of field marshal in Swedish Army, and in Scotland became Lord General in comma ...
, replacing a medieval building. A tower and octagonal
spire
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...
were added in the 1850s. Apart from the addition of electric lighting and two early 20th-century
stained glass windows (either side of the central
pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...
), the interior is substantially unaltered from when first built and retains the gallery and original wooden
box pew
A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries.
History in England
Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in c ...
s. These can be converted into two long tables for communion, a feature which was once a common feature in churches in Scotland, but is now only found in Ceres.
Within the vestibule of the church a late medieval effigy of a knight which was originally in the ancient church is preserved on a modern stand. It is extremely well preserved and shows interesting details of 15th-century armour.
There is a
mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...
in the cemetery which was established by the widow of
Robert 9th Lord Lindsay and is called "Lady Boyd's House" as she subsequently married the 6th Lord Boyd of Kilmarnock. However, the vault contains the grave of
John Lindsay, 20th Earl of Crawford (1702–1749).
Ceres Church is within the
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
Presbytery of Fife. In 1983, the parish of Ceres was linked (and later united) with the neighbouring parish of
Springfield. This united parish was further united with
Kemback
Kemback (Scottish Gaelic: ''Ceann Bac'') is a village and parish in Fife, Scotland, located east of Cupar. The present village was developed in the 19th century to house those working the flax mills on the nearby Ceres Burn. From 1681 the minis ...
in 2005. There is usually a service in Ceres every other Sunday (alternating with Springfield) at 10:30 am except on Remembrance Sunday (10:45am).
The present Minister is the Rev Jane Barron.
Two serving past
ministers of Ceres have been
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...
:
Thomas Buchanan (1588) and
Robert Arnot (1794).
The Provost
Thomas Buchanan (related to the 17th-century theologian
George Buchanan
George Buchanan (; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth-century Scotland produced." His ideology of re ...
), who became the last church provost of Ceres in 1578, was at one time said to be the subject of "The
Provost" sculpture, in the village centre. However, the sculpture is an amalgam of parts: the upper section is a
Toby Jug and therefore cannot pre-date 1760; the word ''PROVOST'' has been added by a different hand and appears to be a joke aimed at a 19th century self-appointed leader of the local community.
[ Marion Wood, quoted by Edward Robinson ''The Parish and Village of Ceres Fife, Scotland'' (self-published 2016 and printed by Sea to Sea Printing & Publishing, Darien, California USA)] The overall frame is 16th or early 17th century and contains a worn but interesting hunting scene.
Notable persons
*
Patrick Adamson (1537–1592),
Archbishop of St Andrews
The Bishop of St. Andrews (, ) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews in the Catholic Church and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews (), the Archdiocese of St Andrews.
The name St Andrews is not the town ...
* Rev.
Robert Arnot (1744–1808), Professor of Divinity and
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...
*
Rev Thomas Buchanan (d. 1599) minister of Ceres 1578 to 1599,
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...
in 1588
*
Sir William Dalgleish (1832–1913), businessman and benefactor
*
Jenny Gilruth
Jennifer Madeleine Gilruth (born 1984) is a Scottish politician who has served as the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills since 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP ...
MSP (born 1984), Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills since 2023
*
Robert Fleming Gourlay (1788–1863), polemicist and author of the "Statistical Account of Upper Canada", 1822
* Rev.
Thomas Halyburton (1674–1712), divine
*
Sir Thomas Hope, 1st Baronet, (1573–1646),
Lord Advocate
His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish P ...
*
Andrew Lemoncello (born 1982), long distance runner
* Sir
Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie (c. 1532–1580), chronicler
*
Jimmy Methven, (1868–1953),
Derby County FC player and manager
* Rev.
Matthew Ross (born 1967), parish minister
*
Sir John Scott of Scotstarvet (1585–1670), lawyer, statesman and author of ''The Staggering State of Scots Statesmen''
*
William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt (14 March 1909 – 24 October 2006) was a Scottish historian and orientalist. An Anglican priest, Watt served as Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh from 1964 to 1979 and was also a prom ...
(1909–2006), Islamicist
*
James Wilson (1742–1798), signatory to the
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...
References
External links
History of Ceres, Fife
{{authority control
Villages in Fife
Parishes in Fife