Friday, March 23, 2012

Ferry Port on Craig, Fife, Scotland.......... another of my ancestral homelands


Also known as Tayport, this village sits on the north eastern tip of Fife.  There is a lot of information on the web about this town.  I always check out google.com, one of my fav's, for a overall picture of what is available to me from home in the States. 

http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/sct/FIF/parishes/FerryportOnCraig/index.htm

"Ferryport-on-Craig parish, or South Ferry, is 5 miles in length by from half a mile to 1 mile in breadth - stretching along the sea at the mouth of the Tay, where the land rises into a hilly range, extending westwards. The village is 3 miles from Dundee, seated at the base of the hills opposite to Broughty Ferry. The Edinburgh & Dundee railway terminates here, and passengers are forwarded by steam-boat to Dundee and Broughty Ferry - both on the north bank of the River Tay. For facilitating the shipping of goods, the railway company have constructed a dock and thrown out a pier; the latter can be approached by the steamers at all states of the tide. A great part of the village is composed of new houses, some of which are suited to the accommodation of visitors, who resort hither from the inland parts of the country for the benefit of sea-bathing - the beach here being naturally well-formed for the purpose: but the chief support of the inhabitants is derived from the weaving of course linens, and from the salmon fishery, which is coextensive with the parish along the coast; the fish captured here are mostly sent to the London market. The Glasgow & Edinburgh Bank have opened a bank here. The places of worship are the parish church, a free church, and baptist and presbyterian chapels." from Slater's Directory published 1852.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tayport  Gives us this to ponder:

A ferry service across the Tay was already well established when these lands were granted to the newly formed Arbroath Abbey about 1180. The abbey constructed shelter and lodgings for pilgrims making the trip between St Andrews and Arbroath via the ferry and this formed the core of a settlement that steadily grew over the centuries.
At the time a chapel was built in the early 13th century, the settlement was called Partan Craig, Gaelic for "Crab Rock." Possibly more of an abbey than chapel. The site was excavated in the 30's or earlier.
Over the following two hundred years English usage eroded many Gaelic place names in eastern Scotland and Partan Craig had become known as Portincragge by 1415 and as Port-in-Craige by the end of the 15th century. In 1598 the settlement received is burgh charter in the name of Ferry-Port on Craig.

Familysearch.org gives you a great picture of what films are available to lease through there library system, which is great for those of us on this side of the pond.