Newburn

Newburn (anc. Drumeldrie), a coast parish of SE Fife, containing Drumeldrie village, 1¼ mile E by S of Upper Largo. It is bounded- NE and E by Kilconquhar, SE by Elie (detached), S by the Firth of Forth, and W and NW by Largo. Its utmost length, from N by W to S by E, is 3⁷/₈ miles; its breadth varies between ½ and 1⁷/₈ mile; and its area is 3222½ acres, of which 178¾ are foreshore. The shore, extending 1¾ mile along the eastern curve of Largo Bay, is flat and sandy; and from it the surface rises northward, until at the western border it attains a maximum altitude of 785 feet on the eastern slope of green conical Largo Law (965 feet). The general -landscape, at once within itself and in views beyond, is a brilliant assemblage of hill and dale, of wood and water. The rocks are partly carboniferous, but chiefly eruptive; and the soil, though various, is generally fertile. About five-sixths of the entire area are in tillage; nearly 140 acres are under wood; and the rest of the land is pastoral. Gilston House, 3½ miles NNE of Largo, and Lahill, 1¼ mile ENE, are the seats of John Henry Baxter, Esq., and Major Robert Rintoul, who hold respectively 1094 and 754 acres, valued at £l960 and £1666 per annum. Another estate, noticed separately, is Balchristie; and, in all, 6 proprietors hold each an annual value of £500 and upwards, 6 of between £100 and £500, and 7 of from £20 to £50. Newburn is in the presbytery of St Andrews and the synod of Fife; the living is worth £250. The parish church, a little way ENE of Drumeldrie, was built in 1815, and is amply commodious. The public school, with accommodation for 75 children, had (1883) an average attendance of 58, and a grant of £53, 14s. Valuation (1865) £5443, 1s. 5d., (1884) £5248, 10s. 6d. Pop. (1801) 412, (1841) 419, (1861) 374, (1871) 362, (1881) 344.—Ord. Sur., sh. 41, 1857.