Ceres, Fife

Ceres is a village in Fife, Scotland, located in a small glen approximately 2 miles (3 km) over the Ceres Moor from Cupar and 7 mi (11 km) from St Andrews. The former parish of that name included the settlements of Baldinnie, Chance Inn, Craigrothie, Pitscottie and Tarvit Mill. Village Ceres is one of a few Scottish villages to have a village green. It is known as the "Bow Butts" since its use as an archery practice ground in medieval times. The Ceres Burn runs through the village and alongside the green. An old packhorse bridge, known as the "Bishop's Bridge" has spanned the burn since the 17th century and still stands close to a more modern road bridge. The village is dominated by the Parish Church. It has what is possibly the shortest High Street in Scotland – just a few houses on each side. In a prominent position by the Bow Butts is a monument commemorating the men of Ceres who fought in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. It was erected on the six hundredth anniversary of the battle, in 1914. The Italian balloonist Vincenzo Lunardi landed in the parish after his first flight in Scotland in 1785. Fetched from a field near Pitscottie, he was greeted in the village where his flag was carried in procession and the church bell rung in his honour. While agriculture remains important to the local economy, many local residents now commute to work in nearby towns and cities such as Perth, Cupar, Dundee, St. Andrews and Glenrothes. A pottery in the village has revived the manufacture of traditional Fife Wemyss Ware. Folk Museum The Fife Folk Museum is located in the village in a range of buildings including the old weigh-house where grain was weighed at a tron on market days. The building also served as a tolbooth for locking up minor offenders and the village jougs are still attached. The museum commemorates rural life of a bygone era. The museum began in 1968 in the renovation and conversion of the former weigh-house and adjoining cottages through an initiative by Cupar & North Fife Preservation Society. A fundraising campaign in 2003-4 enabled a £395,000 project to renovate the Museum. Origin of the name The village name signifies "place to the west" from the Scottish Gaelic Siar meaning 'west', probably in relation to St Andrews. Locational endings in -es are common in East Fife. Suggestions that the name originated from an early dedication of the local kirk, such as to "Saint Siris", Saint Cyrus or Saint Cyricus are now discounted. Ceres was the name of the Roman goddess of agriculture and grain. The name has led to contact with Ceres, Italy (visited by the local pipe band in the 1970s) and Ceres, Western Cape, South Africa (with which gifts were exchanged in the 1990s). The parish of Ceres has some biblical place names: Babylon near Muirhead, south of Craigrothie, and Sodom and Gomorrah (locally pronounced Gemorrie) and Purgatory on the road to Pitscottie. There are now no dwellings at these locations. On the other hand, there is a place called Paradise, which is now inhabited, just over the boundary in Cults parish. Ceres Games The Ceres Games are said to have been held every year since 1314 after Robert the Bruce granted the village permission to hold them in commemoration of its men's participation in the Battle of Bannockburn. Now staged in the form of Highland games, they are the oldest free games in Scotland. Craighall Craighall lies about 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) south-east of the village; it was the historic seat of the Clan Hope. Parish church The current parish church was built in 1806 to a design by Alexander Leslie, replacing a medieval building. A tower and octagonal spire were added in the 1850s. Apart from the addition of electric lighting and two early 20th-century stained glass windows (either side of the central pulpit), the interior is substantially unaltered from when first built and retains the gallery and original wooden box pews. These can be converted into two long tables for communion, a feature which was once a common feature in churches in Scotland, but is now only found in Ceres. Within the vestibule of the church a late medieval effigy of a knight which was originally in the ancient church is preserved on a modern stand. It is extremely well preserved and shows interesting details of 15th-century armour. There is a mausoleum in the cemetery which was established by the widow of Robert 9th Lord Lindsay and is called "Lady Boyd's House" as she subsequently married the 6th Lord Boyd of Kilmarnock. However, the vault contains the grave of John Lindsay, 20th Earl of Crawford (1702–1749). Ceres Church is within the Church of Scotland Presbytery of Fife. In 1983, the parish of Ceres was linked (and later united) with the neighbouring parish of Springfield. This united parish was further united with Kemback in 2005, and is now known as Ceres Kemback & Springfield Parish Church. The parish was in 2026 linked with the neighbouring East Fife Rural Parish There is usually a service in Ceres every other Sunday (alternating with Springfield) at 10:30am except on Remembrance Sunday (Ceres at 10:45am). Occasional services are held in Kemback Hall. Plans were under consideration for the church building to become a pilgrim centre on the Fife Pilgrim Way and to be converted for community use. However, it was announced in January 2026 that the Kirk Session had decided that the church building be offered for sale, while the neighbouring Session House would be retained. The present Minister is the Rev Jane Barron. Two serving past ministers of Ceres have been Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland: Thomas Buchanan (1588) and Rev Robert Arnot (1794). The Provost Thomas Buchanan (related to the 17th-century theologian George Buchanan), who became the last church provost of Ceres in 1578, was at one time said to be the subject of "The Provost" sculpture, in the village centre. However, the sculpture is an amalgam of parts: the upper section is a Toby Jug and therefore cannot pre-date 1760; the word PROVOST has been added by a different hand and appears to be a joke aimed at a 19th century self-appointed leader of the local community. The overall frame is 16th or early 17th century and contains a worn but interesting hunting scene. Notable persons Patrick Adamson (1537–1592), Archbishop of St Andrews Rev. Robert Arnot (1744–1808), Professor of Divinity and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Thomas Buchanan (d. 1599) minister of Ceres 1578 to 1599, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1588 Sir William Dalgleish (1832–1913), businessman and benefactor Jenny Gilruth MSP (born 1984), Deputy First Minister since May 2026 Robert Fleming Gourlay (1788–1863), polemicist and author of the "Statistical Account of Upper Canada", 1822 Rev. Thomas Halyburton (1674–1712), divine Sir Thomas Hope, 1st Baronet, (1573–1646), Lord Advocate Andrew Lemoncello (born 1982), long distance runner Sir Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie (c. 1532–1580), chronicler Jimmy Methven, (1868–1953), Derby County FC player and manager Rev. Matthew Ross (born 1967), parish minister Sir John Scott of Scotstarvet (1585–1670), lawyer, statesman and author of The Staggering State of Scots Statesmen William Montgomery Watt (1909–2006), Islamicist James Wilson (1742–1798), signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence References External links History of Ceres, Fife