Records of Falkland Kirk Session

Minutes, 1643-1661, 1667-1681, 1691-1706 and 1772-1952; Cash disbursements, 1643-1644; Testimonials, 1656-1663; Minutes and accounts, 1702-1750 and 1755-1770; Proclamations and marriages, 1856-1955; Copy of some parochial census statistics, 1801; Accounts, 1772-1864; Baptisms, 1862-1863 and 1878-1945; Parish electoral roll, 1898; Communion roll, 1856-1937.

The church of Falkland, which was known of old as Kilgour, belonged prior to the reformation of 1560 to the Priory of St Andrews and the kirk session records ministry from 1565, in the person of Alexander Mure. In 1431 the parish church was rebuilt by the Prior of St Andrews, the preceding building having been destroyed by fire in around the year 1425, and in the early years of the 16th century a new church termed, 'the new church of Falkland', was erected. The old church survived until 1825 when its foundation stones were dug up to be used for alternative purposes and 'the new church of Falkland' was in turn replaced by the present day building in 1850. In 1981, the kirk session of Falkland, which sat within the Presbytery of Cupar until the restructuring of the Presbyteries in 1976 when it became part of the Presbytery of St Andrews, established a link with Freuchie.

Each congregation of the Church of Scotland has a Kirk Session, which comprises the minister(s) and the ruling elders, all members of the Session (including the minister) being elders. The elders' duty is care for the spiritual needs of the congregation; each of them has a district of the parish assigned to him/her. The Kirk Session determines the number of elders. The minister is moderator of the Session, and there is a clerk who has custody of all the Session's records. There may also be a treasurer, and an officer or beadle. The Session must have maintained a communion roll, containing the names and addresses of the communicant church members within the parish.

The Kirk Session's duties are to maintain good order amongst its congregation (including administering discipline and superintending the moral and religious condition of the parish), and to implement the Acts of the General Assembly. The Kirk Session is at the base of the pyramid of church courts, and it is subject to the review of the Presbytery in which it is situated, and to the superior courts of the Church. Each Kirk Session elects one of its number to represent it at the Presbytery (and formerly at the Synod).

Into the 19th century, there used to be weekly collections made for the support of the poor, but as the state began to assume responsibility for their support (by means of taxation) so funds collected from communicants might be directed to special schemes (eg support of missionaries), more recently through a weekly freewill offering scheme. Seat or pew rents were also quite common (money paid for a fixed seat in a church), but declined rapidly from the 1950s. Many congregations now have a congregational board, which monitors income and expenditure. Former Free Church congregations often had Deacons' Courts, which had responsibility for the whole property of the congregation, and had to apply spiritual principles in the conduct of their affairs.

Sources: Hew Scott and others (ed.), Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, vols. 5 and 8-11 (Edinburgh, 1915-2000).

By appointment with the Archivist. Access to unpublished records less than 30 years old and other records containing confidential information may be restricted. Special conditions apply to photographs.

Held under charge and superintendence of the Keeper of Records for Scotland.

Description compiled by Rachel Hart, Archives Hub Project, based on description created by Lesley Doig and modified by Alan Borthwick, Scottish Archive Network project.

Typescript catalogue available in St Andrews University Library Department of Special Collections and in National Archives of Scotland search rooms.

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