Carnbee

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

This edition is copyright © The Editors of the Gazetteer for Scotland, 2002-2022.

It has taken much time and money to make the six-volumes of Groome's text freely accessible. Please help us continue and develop by making a donation. If only one out of every ten people who view this page gave £5 or $10, the project would be self-sustaining. Sadly less than one in thirty-thousand contribute, so please give what you can.

Use the tabs on the right of this page to see other parts of this entry

Carnbee, a hamlet and a parish in the East Neuk of Fife. The hamlet lies 3 miles NNW of Pittenweem station, and has a post office under Pittenweem. The parish, containing also the village of Arncroach, is bounded N by Cameron, NE by Dunino and Crail, E by Kilrenny, S by Anstruther-Wester, Pittenweem, and Abercrombie, SW and W by Kilconquhar. Its greatest length from E to W is 5¹/₈ miles; its breadth, from N to S, varies between 2 and 4³/₈ miles; and its area is 8395¾ acres. The surface has a north-westerly rise, from less than 100 feet above sea-level in the extreme S to 500 feet on Kellie Law and 600 at Cassingray-heights that command an extensive view from the Grampians to the Lammermuir Hills. The section to the N of Kellie Law is chiefly pastoral, but the section southward to the southern boundary, 1¼ mile from the Firth of Forth, is a rich expanse of cultivated land. Trap rocks prevail in the centre and the N; and carboniferous rocks, with extensive coal mines, sandstone quarries, and excellent limestone, predominate over the S. The soil, in the central and northern parts, is poor; but elsewhere is mostly a stiff fructiferous clay. Archibald Constable (1775-1824), Scott's publisher, was a native. The principal mansions, all separately noticed, are Balcaskie, Pitcorthie, and Kellie Castle; and 10 proprietors hold each an annual value of £500 and upwards, 4 of between £100 and £500, and 3 of less than £100. Carnbee is in the presbytery of St Andrews and synod of Fife, a small portion of it being included in Largoward quoad sacra parish; its living is worth £407. The parish church, erected at the hamlet in 1793, contains 500 sittings. There is also a Free church; and 2 public schools, Arncroach and Carnbee, with respective accommodation for 99 and 90 children, had (1880) an average attendance of 46 and 78, and grants of £32,1s. and £64,3s. Valuation (1881) £14,816,1s- 1d. Pop. (1801) 1083, (1841) 1043, (1861) 1157, (1871) 1088, (1881) 1058.—Ord. Sur., sh. 41,1857.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer