Kilrenny and Anstruther Burgh Collection

Kilrenny and Anstruther Burgh Collection Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Kilrenny and Anstruther Burgh Collection, Nonprofit Organization, East Neuk Centre, Ladywalk, Anstruther.

The Burgh Collection is a local heritage society and community archive - we collect, store, publish and exhibit material related to Anstruther, Cellardyke and Kilrenny, past and present.

Today is the 35th anniversary of the blaze which destroyed Chalmers Church. So many photographs in our collection can be...
01/05/2026

Today is the 35th anniversary of the blaze which destroyed Chalmers Church. So many photographs in our collection can be roughly dated as to whether the Anstruther skyline is dominated by the massive building and spire. Almost nothing from the interior could be saved (although we do have a gas bracket!). The stained glass roundels had been removed and installed in St Ayle/ St Adrians East Neuk Church.

We were pleased to share our resources and recollection of the Regal cinema with Isabella and Willa, students in the Dep...
13/04/2026

We were pleased to share our resources and recollection of the Regal cinema with Isabella and Willa, students in the Dept. of Film Studies , Univ. of St. Andrews. One thing we were strangely hazy about was whether smoking was allowed and if the kiosk sold ci******es?
(PS the red item in the foreground is not a royal robe but the curtains rescued from the Empire Cinema !)

Mary Latto, Robert Moncrieff's wife had her photo taken with her two surviving children, Euphemia and William (who is A...
09/04/2026

Mary Latto, Robert Moncrieff's wife had her photo taken with her two surviving children, Euphemia and William (who is Alex Watson's. grandfather) at J.S. Ireland's studio on Shore Street. The bill for '9 small photos' was 5/-, which was paid on 4 Nov. 1893.

(See previous posts about J.S Ireland, who operated from the studio from 1889 until it burnt down in 1906.)

Alex Watson found a stash of old bills and invoices, from Cellardyke and Anstruther businesses, in the bottom of his Mon...
09/04/2026

Alex Watson found a stash of old bills and invoices, from Cellardyke and Anstruther businesses, in the bottom of his Moncrieff family's grandfather clock This one, from J. Butters , 7-11 John Street, Cellardyke covering the period Sept-Dec 1904 is typical, detailing each item and giving confirmation that the bill is paid. This was done by the shopkeeper signing over a penny stamp (in this case with the image of Edward VII , which first went on sale in 1902, after he succeeded Queen Victoria. Note that the bill is made out to Robert Moncrieff Latto - Mary Latto was his wife, and the use of a maiden name was used to distinguish between other customers of the same name.

Spent a fascinating hour with Alex Watson going through a collection of family photos and documents. His great - grandfa...
09/04/2026

Spent a fascinating hour with Alex Watson going through a collection of family photos and documents. His great - grandfather was Robert Moncrieff, Skipper of the White Queen. (Robert is 5th from left below ) . The boat was originally built as a yacht in 1897 for Mr J Gordon Stewart, Calcutta. It is thought that the name refers to the Scottish missionary Mary Slessor who was sometimes referred to as the 'White Queen of Calabar' (or 'of Okoyong')

We have dozens of photographs of local folk taken more than a century ago by J.S Ireland. But who was he? A bit of inte...
30/03/2026

We have dozens of photographs of local folk taken more than a century ago by J.S Ireland. But who was he? A bit of intense research shows that James Scott Ireland arrived in Anstruther in 1889 as a 29 year old, taking over a photographic studio in 30 Shore Street from William Wright. (He was following in his father's footsteps who had a photography studio in Perth from the mid 1800s. )James lived in School Green and joined the golf club, winning competitions at Billowness and Earlsferry Links. In 1906 disaster struck when his studio caught fire. The local Fire Brigade focussed their efforts on saving the adjacent building and the studio burnt to the ground. He left Fife setting up in Princes St. Perth and then in Monifieth. He never married and died in Queen Street, Broughty Ferry on 10 March 1942 aged 82. (Within days of the fire the Pittenweem photographer CFS Burrows announced that he was to take up the tenancy of a new studio being erected at the 30 Shore St site. We have dozens of his photos too in the Burgh Collection.)

Following on from Kathryn Shearer's recollection of living opposite Robert Kilpatrick and seeing the easel in his garde...
25/03/2026

Following on from Kathryn Shearer's recollection of living opposite Robert Kilpatrick and seeing the easel in his garden, here is an East Fife Mail photo I found of him in 1967 with a painting of Scott's Discovery. displayed on that easel! He called these 'sacrifice paintings' as they stayed out in all -weathers. (turning down an offer £200 for this one - equivalent to £3000 today)

Judy Jones has another Kilrenny related item - a familiar aspect painted by Robert Kilpatrick, who painted many East Neu...
24/03/2026

Judy Jones has another Kilrenny related item - a familiar aspect painted by Robert Kilpatrick, who painted many East Neuk scenes.He studied at Paisley School.of Art and latterly lived in Viewforth Place Pittenweem, where he used to have large paintings displayed outside in all weathers.

Our previous post about the piece of Kilrenny ceramic has brought to light another fine example . And this mustard pot s...
24/03/2026

Our previous post about the piece of Kilrenny ceramic has brought to light another fine example . And this mustard pot shows the full surname spelling is 'Downey,'. Thanks very much to Judy Jones for sending the photos.

This lovely wooden bowl was typical of the souvenirs brought back from the Baltic by East Neuk fishermen. They were know...
23/03/2026

This lovely wooden bowl was typical of the souvenirs brought back from the Baltic by East Neuk fishermen. They were known locally as Riga bowls although they are Russian in origin. This one was gifted to our collection by Christine Keay. Are there any other examples/ designs out there?

Address

East Neuk Centre, Ladywalk
Anstruther
KY103EX

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Kilrenny and Anstruther Burgh Collection posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to Kilrenny and Anstruther Burgh Collection:

Shortcuts

Share

Category