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By Gill Paterson of Burntisland Heritage Trust
In 2018, Burntisland solicitors Brown and Gilmour closed their doors after around a century of business. Retired solicitor Ian Gordon kindly donated a box of old deeds to Burntisland Heritage Trust. The box contained almost 300 documents dating from 1657 to 1973. Most involved land transactions e.g. sasines, dispositions and assignations, searches for incumbrances, details of roups, bonds, and similar deeds. There were also a small number of testaments and retours (documents confirming identity for inheritance). A full index of the documents can be seen by clicking here (PDF file, opens in a new tab or window).
Above left: the deed box. Above right: one of the more legible documents.
During the 2020 lockdown, Trust volunteer Gill Paterson read and indexed the deeds, transcribing parts of selected documents. The majority are handwritten, some are fragile or torn, but all but a few are legible. Most documents contain repetitive legal sections which were not transcribed. Some provide a rich seam of evidence for family historians. Others provide information about buildings in the older areas of town; a few still standing but others long gone. Gill chose 3 areas to look into in more detail: James Park, the Lochies, and the Sugar House near the Harbour. Transcriptions and research notes have been added.
Please follow these links to see the information on the individual locations (PDF files; open in new windows):
James Park (details)
James Park (notes)
The Lochies (details)
The Lochies (notes)
The Sugar House (details)
The Sugar House (notes)
As the Heritage Trust lacks suitable storage facilities, the original box has been donated to Fife Archives in Glenrothes. For details see website https://www.onfife.com/libraries-archives/archives.
Researchers can access the documents by appointment via archive.enquiries@onfife.com or telephone 01592 583352. Please quote reference number A/ATE/ plus the index number. For example:
A/ATE/1. " single. 1762. 8.Decreet of Adjunct & Assignation thereof Elisabeth Thomson & George Thomson”
A/ATE/2/1. “bundle of 14. 1689. Decreet of Adjunct against Andrew Lessels Margaret Richardsone and her sonnes."
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