| Abdie | |
|---|---|
  Abdie Location within Fife | |
| Population | 421 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | NO2567416666 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CUPAR |
| Postcode district | KY14 |
| Dialling code | 01337 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Abdie is a parish in north-west Fife, Scotland, lying on the south shore of the Firth of Tay on the eastern outskirts of Newburgh, extending about 3 miles eastwards to the boundary of Dunbog parish,[1] with which it is now united ecclesiastically[2] and for the Community Council.[3] It is also bounded by Collessie on the south and has a small border with the parish of Moonzie in the south-east.[1][4]
The civil parish had a population of 421 at the 2011 Census[5] and its area is 4850 acres.[6]
The parish contains the hamlet of Lindores on the north side of Lindores Loch, which is 4 miles in circumference and lies near the centre of the parish.[1]
The present church was built in 1826/27, to a design by William Burn,[7] replacing the pre-reformation church, St Magridin's, which stands as a ruin nearby. That church was consecrated by Bishop David de Bernham in 1242 and in pre-Reformation days was controlled by Lindores Abbey, whose remains lie just outside Newburgh.[2][8] Abdie and Dunbog parishes became a united charge under one minister from December 1965, with the church building in Dunbog closing in 1983 upon the ecclesiastical parish of Abdie and Dunbog being linked with Newburgh.[2]
The parish seems originally to have had the name Lindores.[2][9] However, when Lindores Abbey was granted a charter in 1178, the monks kept the old name and thereafter called the parish Abdie (or Abden), from the Gaelic, apainn, meaning "church land; abbey land; abbacy".[2][10]
The parish was originally wider in extent and included the parish of Newburgh, but this was disjoined in 1633. Further in 1891 a detached portion of Abdie in the west was annexed to Newburgh, while another detached portion in the east was united with Dunbog, leaving the main portion as the present parish.[1]
In September 1598 James VI came to Abdie to arrest John Arnot, Goodman of Woodmill, for the murder of John Murray, a servant of Lord Lindores.[11]