ST.ANDREWS PARISH

HEALTH:-From a report in manuscript drawn up in 1827 by one of the physicians established in the city, the following excerpts will afford an idea of the state of the city, so far as the health of its citizens is concerned : " The great width of the streets, and the extensive gardens interspersed, afford the fullest ventilation; and, except in some of the narrow closes, there is no obstacle to the admission of pure air into the houses of the inhabitants. There are no common sewers for the reception of rain water in the streets, the whole being conducted in open gutters. I notice this, as several authors of topographical sketches reckon the stagnation of the putrid water in these sewers as the cause of unhealthiness in many large cities. We have no table of the ages to which the inhabitants live, but I am persuaded that the average of years is greater than in most other towns. In 1814, there were alive, within twenty doors of each other, not fewer than six persons, the youngest of whom was above ninety. Epidemic diseases are scarcely known in the city. During a residence of nearly twenty years, I have not known typhus fever epidemic within it, though it has prevailed in the neighbouring districts. In 1810, it was very prevalent in the parish, particularly in the western division, where, in one small village,

I had at one time nearly 70 patients, while in the city there were few or none. The same took place in 1818, when St Andrews seemed to be the only place in the united kingdom which was not visited by that epidemic. Intermittents are rare, but I have seen several cases; all, however, from a distance. The exanthemata have been occasionally prevalent, but seldom have proved very fatal. In 1816, there were about 120 cases of well-marked scarlet fever, of which only 8 or 9 died; and, though measles and hooping-cough prevailed the same year, the number of deaths that year was not beyond the average. In 1826, measles were very prevalent, and the mortality was much greater, the number of deaths being nearly 40 above the usual average. Measles had not appeared in St Andrews during the preceding 9 years and a great number of children were affected, many of whom fell victims to the secondary symptoms. Inflammatory complaints, especially of the chest, are of frequent occurrence, but do not appear to be more severe than in other parts of Scotland. Rheumatism, in the acute form, is a frequent complaint. I think that the number of cases of hoemoptysis and of phthisis is smaller than in the neighbouring districts, owing, perhaps, to the want of manufactures. Catarrh is a frequent complaint, and I have often seen it contagious. The amusement of golf, which is general with all ranks, is the best prophylactic in preventing dyspepsia and hypochondriasis, which occasionally occur"

PAROCHIAL REGISTERS:- The oldest volume of the kirk-session records commences with the year,1559, and comprehends the transactions of that body down to the year 1600. It presents many curious and interesting detail, relative to the administration of church discipline, and other parochial arrangements, at that early period of the history of the Reformed Church. The volume containing the proceedings from 1600 to 1638 has been lost, but from the latter of these dates, down to the present time, the minutes have been preserved. The existing register of births and baptisms begins with the year 1626, and has been continued to the present time, with the exception of the entries from 1738 to 1742, which have been lost. The register of contracts, proclamations, and marriages, begins with the year 1770, and that of deaths with 1740, and both have been continued to the present day. The keeper of these records, however, states, that they are defective to a very considerable extent, as, not withstanding all the means that are employed by him to ensure the registration of the births, many of the parents neglect this part of their duty. And when the dead are buried in other cemeteries, there is no return of the interment made to him, and no entry in his books.

It is much to be regretted that the keepers of the ecclesiastical records in Scotland have been so negligent, that in many of the parishes they are not to be found of an older date than a century, or a century and a half. It is probable that many of the volumes of these records, which are supposed to be lost or destroyed, might still be recovered, were the ministers of the parishes to institute a diligent inquiry respecting them. A number of years ago, the writer of this article discovered, in the course of an investigation, the minutes of the Diocaesan Synod of St Andrews, commencing with the year 1611, and containing the proceedings of that court for above twenty years, which he was enabled to place in the custody of the clerk of the synod of Fife. And within these few years, he accidentally discovered the volume containing the Proceedings of the presbytery of St Andrews from October 1586 to December 1605. This is a highly interesting record, as it furnishes many details relative to the proceedings of Andrew Melvill, and his associates, that are not to be found in any printed work. This volume does not appear to have been in the hands of the presbytery clerks for more than a century. During the first six years of the period which it embraces, the presbytery of St Andrews comprehended also the parishes which now form the presbytery of Cupar, the first erection of the latter presbytery not taking place until October 1592. This volume has not yet been put into the hands of the presbytery clerk, but it is hoped that this will ere long be effected ; and if this expectation should not be realized, a transcript of it which has been made will be lodged with the other records.

POPULATION:- No enumeration of the population of the parish has been discovered of an older date than that of Dr Webster in 1755, when the amount was 4590

Of the last of these dates, 2520 were males, and 3101 females. The feuing of a considerable portion of ground at the village of Strathkinness, for the purposes of erecting houses, has contributed materially to the increase of population in the country district of the parish. The city has also considerably enlarged its boundaries, by modern erections at its south-east and northwest extremities, and by the filling up of a number of blanks in the streets and lanes. The number of families who resort to St Andrews for the purpose of education, or as a place where they may enjoy agreeable society and the necessaries of life at a moderate expense, has also materially increased.

Illegitimate births in the course of the last three years, 28.

No individual of noble rank resides within the parish. There are about 40 families resident in the city, whose income arises from Their Private resources, and not from any official or professional employment; and in the country there are 8 families of independent fortune. The number of proprietors of land of the yearly value of L. 50 and upwards is from 35 to 40.

The number of families in the parish is - 1296

inhabited houses, - - 863

uninhabited or building, do. 14

There seems to be no peculiarity in the strength, size, complexion, or other personal qualities of the inhabitants, to distinguish them from their neighbours. The number of insane and fatuous persons is 13, of blind 5, of deaf and dumb 4.

The language which is generally employed by the labouring classes, is the Fifan dialect. Among the higher classes, the English language is spoken. There is no popular custom that can be said to be peculiar to the district; but there is a game of skill, which has for centuries formed a favourite amusement at St Andrews, viz. the game of Golf. For the prosecution of this amusement, a considerable range of ground is requisite, with a short herbage. Both these requisites, the links or downs to the north-west of the city supply. And the inequalities of surface which the course presents, instead of being regarded as disadvantageous, tends materially to increase the interest of the game, and to promote the developement of the skill of the several competitors. The course for this game is divided into a number of stages from 200 to 500 yards distant from each other. At the termination of each, a hole, about five inches in diameter and several inches deep, is formed, and the object of the competitors is to drive the ball they employ from station to station, landing it ultimately in the holes, with the fewest number of strokes. For this purpose, clubs of a variety of shapes are employed, according to the nature of the position in which the ball may be found after the several strokes. Nearly eighty years ago, a number of gentlemen in St Andrews and its vicinity formed themselves into an association for the purpose of promoting the cultivation of this very interesting and healthy amusement. This club has now a muster roll of from 300 to 400 members. King William IV., who, before his accession to the Crown, was Duke of St Andrews, has signified his acceptance of the office of patron of the club, and has lately sent a splendid Gold medal, to be competed for annually, and to be held for the year by the winner.

The majority of the people appear, on the whole, to enjoy in a reasonable degree the comforts and advantages of society. But there are many individuals and families who have both the ability and the inclination to exert themselves, but who, in consequence of existing circumstances, cannot obtain an adequate remuneration for their labour. Many females who formerly had their dependence on the produce of the spinning-wheel, have, in consequence of the very extensive introduction of spinning machinery, and the low rate of wages for spinning, been thrown in a great measure idle. The very reduced remuneration, also, which, for a number of years, the manufacturers received for the produce of their labours, has reduced many of them who have families to a state bordering upon destitution. In such circumstances, it can scarcely be regarded as matter of surprise, that many are far from being content with their situation, and that they are anxious for chances by which their condition may be improved.

The bulk of the parishioners are characterized by their regard for the interests of morality, and by their attachment to the cause of religion. And if there are individuals of an opposite character, their number does not seem to exceed the average of individuals of a corresponding description in other districts of the country.

Poaching in game is practised to a limited extent. Smuggling was formerly carried on on an extensive scale ; but for many years past, the severity of the laws against this species of traffic, and the strictness of the precautions which are employed to guard against its prevalence, have almost completely put an end to the demoralizing practice. Pawnbroking is unknown in this district of the country.

MANUFACTURES:--No large manufacturing establishment exists In the parish. The labour of the tradesmen is chiefly required for articles of home consumption. The weaving of linen is carried or, to a considerable extent, indeed, in detached premises; but this is dependent not on the resources of manufacturers resident in the locality, but on the capital of the Kirkland establishment near Leven; or on the commercial enterprise of Dundee. The manufacture of golf balls has long been carried on here, to a considerable extent. Above 10,000 are made annually A good workman can make from 50 to 60 a week. Nearly one half of the product is required for the use of the cultivators of the amusement in St Andrews. A market for the remainder is found in other places. Some have been sent as far as Calcutta and Madras. When trade is flourishing the several branches afford a fair remuneration to such as are employed in them; but there have been times of depression, when even with the strictest economy, the craftsmen could scarcely secure, from the fruits of their industry, the necessaries of life for themselves and their families; and when it was necessary for the more favoured classes to come forward to their assistance.

MARKETS ETC. :- St Andrews is the only market-town in the parish. It has three fairs annually, besides a weekly market for the sale of grain, which is held on Monday, and a market twice a-week, viz. Wednesday and Saturday, for butter, poultry, eggs, vegetables, etc. There is a post-office in the city, which has a daily communication with Dundee and Edinburgh. The length of the turnpike roads in the parish is about twenty miles, and of the roads supported by the statute labour, six to eight miles. The bridges are kept in a good state of repair. The only one deserving of particular notice is the Guard or Gair Bridge, which affords a passage across the Eden, at the point where the roads from Dundee and Cupar to St Andrews meet. It was constructed four centuries ago, by Bishop Wardlaw, the founder of the University. It consists of six arches, and the only inconvenience attending it is its narrowness, which is such as not to admit of two carriages passing each other. There are no canals nor railroads in the parish.

ECCLESIASTICAL STATE:- The parish church is in a central situation,being nearly at an equal distance between the two extremities of the parish. But there is a population of nearly 1000 individuals in the western division, who are situated between two and a half and five miles from the parish church, and for whose accommodation, it would be highly desirable to have a church and a minister.* And in the eastern division, there is a population of nearly 200, most of whom are four miles from the parish church, while they are not more than the half of that distance from the church of Kingsbarns.

The parish church, which was originally erected about the commencement of the twelfth century, obtained a thorough repair in 1798, and is at present in a good condition. It is seated for about 2200. There are, however, no free sittings, the whole having been divided by the Sheriff of the county, under the sanction of the Court of Session, between the city and the landed proprietors. A considerable proportion of the city's allotment was disposed of to the several corporate bodies within its limits, for the accommodation of the members of these corporations and their families. And the remainder was let every third year, by the city functionaries, to such of the inhabitants as required church accommodation, and the revenue thus obtained was added to the city funds. Several of the corporate trades have lately sold their allotments of the seating, which now belong to private individuals. The size and form of the church render it very unfavourable both for the speaker and for many of the hearers. It has been ascertained that there are nearly 500 sitthigs so situate, that the occupants cannot distinctly hear what is uttered in the pulpit by any ordinary speaker, and that in many of them they cannot even see the officiating minister. Hence, these pews are in general but thinly occupied, and many of them stand almost perpetually empty. A plan has been suggested of secluding a number of them from the church by partitions, which would greatly improve it, with but little detriment to any individual. And it has been also suggested, that further curtailments should be made upon the church, and that, to meet the wants of the population, an additional church should be erected within the city, which might either be supplied by the ministers alternately, or by one of them officiating regularly to the new congregation. It seems to be not improbable, that this suggestion may ere long be realized, as urgent applications are frequently made for church accommodation, by persons who are anxious to obtain it, but who are in general under the necessity of waiting for a considerable period, before they can secure it in an eligible situation. And numbers, who have been unable to obtain such accommodation, have been induced to apply for it, either in the church of St Leonards or in the dissenting chapels, where it could be obtained.

No manse has been erected for the use of either of the ministers. It seems to be understood, however, that the first minister would be found entitled to a manse and offices, were he to apply for them in a regular form. He already possesses a glebe, consisting of four acres, in the immediate vicinity of the city, which is let to a tenant for a rent of L. 23 a year ; and connected with it he has a small garden. The second charge was established in 1589. The incumbent has no manse nor glebe.

No chapel of ease nor Government church exists at present in the parish, and no missionary nor catechist was employed within its precincts until 1834, when an experienced licentiate of the Church of Scotland was engaged to act as a preacher, to conduct public worship at one or other of the villages of Strathkinness, Boarhills, or Kincaple, on the Sundays, and also to act as a catechist, in the city and villages, both on Sundays and ordinary week days. His salary of L. 52, 12s. a year, was afforded him the first year by the first minister ; and since that period, the latter has contributed the half only of the salary, and certain of the heritors and parishioners the remainder.

There are four Dissenting chapels in the parish, three of which are in the city, and one at the village of Strathkinness, one of the former being Episcopalian. The ministers of these chapels derive their incomes from the seat rents, and from the collections which are made at their doors, when the several congregations assemble for public worship. It is understood that they vary in amount from L. 70 to L. 100 Sterling a year. Between an eighth and a ninth part of the population of the parish are dissenters from the Established Church of Scotland, and have connected themselves with these chapels. The remaining part of the population, the few excepted who have no religious profession, adhere to the Established Church. One family of Roman Catholics only resides in the parish; the father is in the preventive service, and was stationed here only about a year and a half ago. There are two other individuals of that persuasion in the parish, and the whole, are natives of Ireland. Divine service, both in the parish church and in the chapels, is generally well attended. The average number of communicants at the dispensation of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper in the parish church for the last ten or twelve years is about 2030. But from an investigation which took place in 1836, it appeared that there were 2490 individuals in the parish who were in communion with the establishment, although, in consequence of age and infirmities, the great distance of many of them from the church, and the necessity of having a proper person to watch over many of the families on the communion Sabbath, nearly a fifth of the whole were absent when that service was performed. It was at the same time ascertained, that the number of the parishioners who were in communion with the various denominations of Dissenters amounted to 344, while the whole number of Dissenters was 697. Of this number 328 were in connection With the United Associate Synod, 150 with the Original Burgher, 108 with the Episcopalians, and 111 with the Independents.

A Bible Society and a Missionary Society have been established in the city for many years. The annual amount of their contributions is about L. 30, and the annual average of church collections for religious purposes is nearly to the same amount.

* A handsome preaching station, which serves also for a school-house, has lately been erected in the village of Strathkinness, which is central for this district of the parish.

EDUCATION:.-Prior to the year 1834, there were in the parish seventeen schools, but strictly speaking no parochial school existed among the number, its place being supplied by the burgh school, so that the heritors of the parish were not burdened with the payment of a schoolmaster's salary. Two of the schools in the city, viz. the English and grammar schools, had hitherto been supported in part by endowment from the common funds of the city. And two of the schools in the country districts have each a small house, garden, and salary attached to them, and one of them viz. that of Strathkinness, has, in addition to these, six acres of arable ground, which were allotted to it many years ago, on the division of a commonty among the conterminous heritors. The others were dependent entirely on the school-fees. In some of them, the reading of English was the only branch taught, in others there were combined with it writing and arithmetic. In the grammar-school, the master confined himself to the teaching of Latin and Greek. The school fees varied considerably in the different schools. In some, they were as low as 2s. a quarter. In the burgh English school, the highest charge did not exceed L. 1 a year; and in the grammar-school it was fixed at L. 2, 2s.

POOR and FUNDS for their support under the MANAGEMENT of the KIRK-SESSION: -The average number of persons receiving parochial aid, during the last seven years, was 103 per annum, and their allowances varied from 6d. to 2s. 6d. weekly, according to their exigencies. The funds for their support were, average collections at the church doors, L. 218, 4s. 2d. ; rent and feu-duties of lands, L. 73, 16s. 7d.; interest of a debt due by the city, L. 40; collected by Saturday's box, L. 44, 4s.; rent of a legacy, L. 5; total annual average, L. 381, 4s. 9d.; total average expenditure, L. 417, 0s. 4 1/2d.

The poor's funds have for many years been burdened with a heavy expense in supporting and confining indigent lunatics. The kirk-session has, in consequence, found it requisite to apply, though at distant periods, to the heritors, citizens, tenantry, etc. for voluntary contributions to enable them to meet this expenditure, and hitherto they have contributed liberally for this object. There is now unquestionably less delicacy among the poor relative to application for parochial relief than in former times, and there are many who account it no degradation to receive an allowance from this source. But there are also individuals who can only be compelled by the most urgent necessity to have recourse to parochial relief.

PRISONS:-There is a prison in the city, in which the average number confined during the year is about 20, for theft, drunkenness, and riotous behaviour. It is strong and well secured. Particular attention is paid in it to the health, diet, and lodging of the prisoners. Its superintendence is vested in the magistrates, who have a jailor acting under their direction.

FAIRS:.-Three fairs are held in the city annually, on days which are still regulated by the old style of computation, viz. the second Thursday of April, the 1st day of August, and the 30th November. The first of the three was what Martine denominates, " the renouned faire of St Andrews, called the Senzie Mercat, held and kept for fifteen dayes, and beginning the second week after Easter, whereunto resorted merchants from most of the then trading kingdomes in Europe; trade in this kingdome being then in its infancie." At that period, according to tradition, from 200 to 300 vessels might have been seen in the bay and harbour of St Andrews, conveying to it the produce of foreign countries. The fair is now confined to a single day, and the business transacted in it is to a very limited amount. The fair in August has of late been much frequented by the farm-servants of the eastern districts of the county, many of them in the market-place forming engagements with new masters. The third fair is held on St Andrew's day old style, and is usually but thinly attended.

INNS ETC.:.-The number of inns, alehouses, etc. within the parish is 48, viz. 39 in the city, and 9 in the country districts. This is unquestionably a much greater number than the exigencies of the population require; and it were much to be wished that some effectual expedient were adopted, not here only, but throughout the country at large, for checking an evil which has so demoralizing an influence.

MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS.

Since the publication of the Statistical Account of the parish, by the Iate Dr Adamson, in 1794, considerable alterations and improvements have taken place. Portions of the waste and uncultivated lands have been brought into a state of tillage. The mode of farming has been also materially altered for the better; a much greater quantity of grain being now raised, than under the former system of agriculture. But the expense attendant on farniing operations, and the rent of land, have also materially increased, though for a number of years the latter has been on the decline ; so that the farmer of the present day does not derive from his skill and capital so high a remuneration as he then enjoyed. Tracts of soil, too, whose culture would not have afforded a remuneration for the expense attendant upon it,, have been planted by the proprietors ; and the young plantations, while, in process of time, they will prove a source of revenue, will tend also materially to the embellishment of the country. Strathkinness, which then consisted of but a few straggling houses, now forms a village with a population little short of 500 inhabitants. Within the city, great improvements are also visible. The pavement of the streets and lanes, which was then in a very bad condition, has been everywhere amended, though there is still a great deficiency of smooth pavement at the sides. Until within these twenty years, the streets were not lighted during the winter, but this defect has since been supplied; first, by oil, and ultimately, by gas: a joint stock company having during the course of the season, 1835, established the manufacture of that commodity for the supply of the city. Many of the houses which were old and ruinous have been pulled down, and have been replaced by others of a more commodious and ornamental description ; and a number of the blank spaces which presented themselves in the streets and lanes have been filled up with appropriate buildings. Regarded as a bathing station, the city has been furnished with a handsome erection in the immediate vicinity of the castle, and overhanging the sea, containing suitable accommodation for hot and cold baths, which may be obtained at a moderate expense. The sea-beach, in the vicinity of the city, is well-adapted for bathing, but it is still destitute of what many would regard as a very appropriate convenience, for such a locality, viz., one or two bathing-machines, which it is supposed would amply remunerate the proprietor for the expense incurred by their introduction.