Ceres, Fife
Encyclopedia
Ceres is a village in Fife
, Scotland
, located in a small glen approximately 2 miles over the Ceres Moor from Cupar
and 7 miles from St Andrews
. The former parish of that name included the settlements of Baldinnie, Chance Inn, Craigrothie, Pitscottie and Tarvit Mill.
It is one of the most historic and picturesque villages in Scotland and one of the few Scottish villages to have a village green
. Its most memorable feature is possibly the 18th century statue of "The Provost
" at the Cross, which is in the form of a toby jug and is probably satirical.
The village is dominated by the Parish Church. It has what is possibly the shortest High Street in Scotland
- just a few houses on each side. In a prominent position by the village green is a monument commemorating the men of Ceres who fought in the Battle of Bannockburn
in 1314. It was erected on the six hundredth anniversary of the battle, in 1914.
The Fife Folk Museum is located in the village and commemorates rural life of a bygone era. Agriculture remains important to the local economy, but many local residents now commute
to work in nearby towns and cities such as Perth
, Cupar
, Dundee
, St. Andrews
and Glenrothes
. A pottery in the village has revived the manufacture of traditional Fife
Wemyss Ware
.
. 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.
The name has led to contact with Ceres, Italy (visited by the local pipe band in the 1970s) and Ceres, Western Cape
, South Africa
(with which gifts were exchanged in the 1990s).
The parish of Ceres has some biblical place names: Babylon
(near Muirhead, south of Craigrothie), Sodom and Gomorrah
(on the road to Pitscottie). There are now no dwellings at these locations. On the other hand, there is a place called Paradise
, which is inhabited, just over the boundary in Cults parish.
are said to have been held every year since Bannockburn
in 1314, and are the oldest free Highland Games in Scotland.
.
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
), the interior is substantially unaltered from when first built and retains the gallery and original wooden box pew
s. There is a service every Sunday morning at 11.00 am.
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
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.
Ceres Church is within the Church of Scotland
Presbytery of St Andrews. 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
in 2005, although the three church buildings are retained. One serving past minister of Ceres has been Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
: the Rev Thomas Buchanan
in 1588.
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, located in a small glen approximately 2 miles over the Ceres Moor from Cupar
Cupar
Cupar is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland. The town is situated between Dundee and the New Town of Glenrothes.According to a recent population estimate , Cupar had a population around 8,980 making the town the ninth largest settlement in Fife.-History:The town is believed to have...
and 7 miles from St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
. The former parish of that name included the settlements of Baldinnie, Chance Inn, Craigrothie, Pitscottie and Tarvit Mill.
The village
Village green
A village green is a common open area which is a part of a settlement. Traditionally, such an area was often common grass land at the centre of a small agricultural settlement, used for grazing and sometimes for community events...
. Its most memorable feature is possibly the 18th century statue of "The Provost
Provost (civil)
A provost is the ceremonial head of many Scottish local authorities, and under the name prévôt was a governmental position of varying importance in Ancien Regime France.-History:...
" at the Cross, which is in the form of a toby jug and is probably satirical.
The village is dominated by the Parish Church. It has what is possibly the shortest High Street in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
- just a few houses on each side. In a prominent position by the village green is a monument commemorating the men of Ceres who fought in the Battle of Bannockburn
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn was a significant Scottish victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence...
in 1314. It was erected on the six hundredth anniversary of the battle, in 1914.
The Fife Folk Museum is located in the village and commemorates rural life of a bygone era. Agriculture remains important to the local economy, but many local residents now commute
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...
to work in nearby towns and cities such as Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
, Cupar
Cupar
Cupar is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland. The town is situated between Dundee and the New Town of Glenrothes.According to a recent population estimate , Cupar had a population around 8,980 making the town the ninth largest settlement in Fife.-History:The town is believed to have...
, Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, St. Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
and Glenrothes
Glenrothes
Glenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...
. A pottery in the village has revived the manufacture of traditional Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
Wemyss Ware
Wemyss Ware
Wemyss Ware is the brand name of the Griselda Hill Pottery, which is situated in the village of Ceres, Fife, Scotland.It was established in 1985 to produce colourful pottery based on the local Wemyss Ware that was made in Sinclairtown in the 19th century...
.
Origin of the name
"Place to the west". Siar (Gaelic) = west, probably in relation to St AndrewsSt Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
. 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.
The name has led to contact with Ceres, Italy (visited by the local pipe band in the 1970s) and Ceres, Western Cape
Ceres, Western Cape
Ceres is a town with 46,251 inhabitants in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. It is the administrative centre and largest town of the Witzenberg Local Municipality. Ceres serves as a regional centre for the surrounding towns of Wolseley, Tulbagh, Op-die-Berg and Prince Alfred Hamlet...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
(with which gifts were exchanged in the 1990s).
The parish of Ceres has some biblical place names: Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
(near Muirhead, south of Craigrothie), Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
(on the road to Pitscottie). There are now no dwellings at these locations. On the other hand, there is a place called Paradise
Paradise
Paradise is a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and...
, which is inhabited, just over the boundary in Cults parish.
Ceres Games
The GamesHighland games
Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &(-è_çà in Scotland and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage, especially that of the Scottish Highlands. Certain...
are said to have been held every year since Bannockburn
Bannockburn
Bannockburn is a village immediately south of the city of Stirling in Scotland. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a burn running through the village before flowing into the River Forth.-History:...
in 1314, and are the oldest free Highland Games in Scotland.
Craighall
Craighall lies about 3/4 mi south-east of the village; it was the historic seat of the Clan HopeClan Hope
-Origins of the clan:Hope is a native Scottish name. However, in middle English it means 'small valley'. Another suggestion is that it derives from 'oublon', which is French for 'hop' and could be from the family de H'oublons of Picardy....
.
Parish Church
The current Parish Church was built in 1806 to a design by Alexander Leslie, replacing a medieval building. A tower and octagonal spireSpire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
were added in the 1850s. Apart from the addition of electric lighting and two early 20th century stained glass windows
Stained Glass Windows
Stained Glass Windows was an early broadcast television program, broadcast on early Sunday evenings on the ABC network. The program was a religious broadcast, hosted by the Reverend Everett Parker....
(either side of the central pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
), the interior is substantially unaltered from when first built and retains the gallery and original wooden box pew
Box pew
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 century.-History in England:...
s. There is a service every Sunday morning at 11.00 am.
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
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
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.
Ceres Church is within the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
Presbytery of St Andrews. In 1983, the parish of Ceres was linked (and later united) with the neighbouring parish of Springfield
Springfield, Fife
The small village of Springfield lies at the edge of the Howe of Fife, to the south of the town of Cupar, Fife, Scotland. The origin of the community is thought to be from the linen industry in the 19th century. The Church of Scotland parish church was built in 1861...
. This united parish was further united with Kemback
Kemback
Kemback is a village 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 minister for the parish was Alexander Edward, until 1689 when he was deprived as a non-juror...
in 2005, although the three church buildings are retained. One serving past minister of Ceres has been Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The Moderator of the General Assembly of Church of Scotland is a Minister, Elder or Deacon of the Church of Scotland chosen to "moderate" the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every May....
: the Rev Thomas Buchanan
Thomas Buchanan
Thomas Buchanan is the name of:*Thomas Buchanan , Scottish Liberal politician, Under-Secretary of State for India*Thomas Buchanan , Northern Ireland politician...
in 1588.