Anstruther
- There is also a P. G. Wodehouse character named Mr. Anstruther.
Anstruther (Enster in Scots, Eanstar in Scottish Gaelic) is a small town in Fife, Scotland. It comprises the royal and police burghs of Anstruther Easter, Anstruther Wester and Kilrenny, and lies 9 miles south-southeast of St Andrews; the two Anstruthers are divided only by a small stream called Dreel Burn. It is the largest community on the stretch of coastline on the north shore of the Firth of Forth known as the East Neuk, with a population of about 3,500 people.
It is believed to be of ancient origins, with archaeological and other evidence providing links to the Picts and the early Christian church.
It was originally a fishing village, and is home to the Scottish Fisheries Museum, but its main industry is now tourism. Pleasure craft now moor in the harbour, and there is a golf course. A new leisure complex is planned.
It has an award-winning fish and chips shop, and is the home of BBC Radio 1 DJ Edith Bowman.
Little more than a mile to the west lies the royal and police burgh of Pittenweem (Gaelic, "the hollow of the cave"), a quaint old fishing town, with the remains of a priory. About 2 miles still farther westwards is the fishing town of St Monans or Abercromby, with a fine old Gothic church, picturesquely perched on the rocky shore. These fisher towns on the eastern and south-eastern coasts of Fifeshire furnish artists with endless subjects.
James Melville (1556-1614), nephew of the more celebrated reformer, Andrew Melville, who was minister of Kilrenny, has given in his Diary a graphic account of the arrival at Anstruther of a weatherbound ship of the Armada, and the tradition of the intermixture of Spanish and Fifeshire blood still prevails in the district. Anstruther fair supplied William Tennant (1784-1848), who was born and buried in the town, with the subject of his poem of "Anster Fair." Sir James Lumsden, a soldier of fortune under Gustavus Adolphus, who distinguished himself in the Thirty Years' War, was born in the parish of Kilrenny about 1598. David Martin (1737-1798), the painter and engraver; Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), the great divine; and John Goodsir (1814-1867), the anatomist, were natives of Anstruther. Archibald Constable (1774-1827), Sir Walter Scott's publisher, was born in the parish of Carnbee, about 3 miles to the north of Pittenweem.
The two Anstruthers, Kilrenny and Pittenweem unite with St Andrews, Cupar and Crail, in sending one member to parliament.
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)
- External links