Anstruther
| |
|---|---|
 Anstruther seafront | |
  Anstruther Location withinFife | |
| Population | 3,950 (2020)[4] |
| OS grid reference | NO564035 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Anstruther |
| Postcode district | KY10 |
| Dialling code | 01333 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| 56°13′24″N2°42′10″W / 56.22344°N 2.70274°W /56.22344; -2.70274 | |
Anstruther/ˈænstrəðər/ ⓘ (Scots:Ainster or Enster[5]/ˈeɪnstər/ ⓘ;[6][7]Scottish Gaelic:Ànsruthair) is a coastal town inFife,Scotland, situated on the north-shore of theFirth of Forth[8] and 9 mi (14 km) south-southeast ofSt Andrews. The town comprises two settlements, Anstruther Easter and Anstruther Wester,[8] 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 theEast Neuk. To the east, it merges with the village ofCellardyke.[8]
Founded as a fishing village, Anstruther is home to theScottish Fisheries Museum. Recreational vessels are now moored in the harbour, and agolf course is situated near the town. Anstruther Pleasure Cruises operate sightseeing/wildlife cruises from the harbour to theIsle of May, the UK's primary puffin location, on board the vessel theMay Princess from April to October. An abundance of other wildlife, including seal colonies, also inhabit the island.
TheWaid Academy, 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 aceltic cross.
.jpg)
The town has severalfish and chip shops. TheAnstruther Fish Bar, 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.[9] 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.[10]
Anstruther is close to theCaves of Caiplie situated on the coastal path toCrail.
Following the end of theCold War, one of Anstruther's best-kept secrets has become a major tourist attraction. A secretnuclear bunker, built in 1951 and operational until 1993, is located on theB940 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.[11] The bunker was a subsidiaryregional seat of government in time of possible nuclear emergency and would have been occupied by theUK Armed Forces,UKWMO,Royal Observer Corps and otherCivil Service personnel.
Somewhat out from the town centre, in Anstruther Wester, stands the Dreel Tavern, taking its name from the adjacentburn. 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.[12] Its exterior was restored in 2010.[13]
The name of Anstruther derives fromScottish Gaelic. The second element issruthair ('burn, stream'), but the first element less certain: it is possibly Gaelicá(i)n ('driving') oraon ('one'), thus meaning either 'driving current or burn' or '(place of or on) one burn'.[14] The name of Anstruther Easter derives from Scotseaster ('eastern'), since the village lies to the east of Anstruther, and Anstruther Wester correspondingly from Scotswester ('western').[15]
Anstruther-Easter and Anstruther-Wester are separated by a small stream called Dreel Burn.[7]
Local tradition states that early in the 12th century,Alexander I of Scotland 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 thatWilliam the Conqueror 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.[16] William de Candela's son, another William, was said to be a benefactor to the monks ofBalmerino Abbey. 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.[16]
In 1225, it took the intervention ofPope Honorius III to settle a teinds dispute between the monks ofDryburgh Abbey and the fishermen of Anstruther, suggesting that the fishing was sufficiently good to warrant arguing over.[17] In December 1583,James VI of Scotland gave the town the status of a Royal Burgh and trading rights, recognizing the importance of the port, called thedraucht 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 theKylrynnie march road.[18]
James Melville's diary provides a graphic account of the arrival of a ship from theSpanish Armada to Anstruther. Local tradition has long held that some of the survivors remained and intermarried with the locals.[7] In the 18th and 19th centuries, the town was home toThe Beggar's Benison, a gentleman's club devoted to "the convivial celebration of male sexuality".[19][20]
By the 19th century, Anstruther-Easter, Anstruther-Wester, and Kilrenny were all separate royal and parliamentaryboroughs. Anstruther-Easter heldtanning,shipbuilding, andfish-curing establishments, as well as a coasting trade.[21] In 1871, the royal burgh of Anstruther-Easter had a population of 1169;[21] the parliamentary burgh, 1289. Anstruther-Wester held 484.[22] The Board of Fisheries constructed a new harbour in the 1870s,[21] completed by 1877 at a cost of£80,000.[7] By theFirst World War, the communities were connected toSt Andrews by theNorth British Railway.[7]
TheDreel Halls complex incorporates the former Anstruther Wester Town Hall, which dates from 1795,[23] whileAnstruther Easter Town Hall was completed in 1872.[24]
Herring 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.[17] At one time, the town was well served by trains on theFife Coast Railway. The line was closed to passengers in 1965.[25]
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.[26][27]
Anstruther has beentwinned withBapaume, France since October 1991.[28]
Stagecoach East Scotland operates two primary bus services which run via Anstruther. These are:[29]
Traditionally, the two Anstruthers returned a singleMember of Parliament (MP) together withKilrenny,Pittenweem,St Andrews,Cupar andCrail.[21]
Currently, Anstruther is in theNorth East Fife UK Parliament constituency. The sitting member isWendy Chamberlain of theScottish Liberal Democrats. In the2017 General Election, then-MP Stephen Gethins of theSNP 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 theNorth East Fife Scottish Parliament constituency. The MSP is currentlyWillie Rennie, who won back the seat for the Liberal Democrats fromRoderick Campbell of the SNP in the2016 Scottish Parliament election and retained it in2021. For the purposes of theadditional member system used to elect MSPs to the Scottish Parliament, Anstruther is in theMid Scotland and Fife electoral region. In local politics, the ward of East Neuk and Landward (of which Anstruther is part) elects three councillors toFife Council under thesingle transferable vote system.
Prior toBrexit in 2020, Anstruther was part of theScotland European Parliament constituency.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
