10 fascinating facts about… St Andrews and the East Neuk

The kingdom of Fife has many beautiful towns and villages, and a host of fascinating facts have emerged from them. 

Here we present 10 things you probably never knew about St Andrews and the East Neuk.

Saint Andrew, the town’s namesake, has a tomb in the Church of St Andrew in Patras, Greece.

In 1705 a 16-year-old boy named Patrick Morton began a witch hunt in Pittenweem, which led to the death of three ‘witches’.

Like the Fife town, St Andrews in Nova Scotia does not have an apostrophe, but St Andrew’s in Newfoundland does.

Buckie House in Anstruther is known as ‘shell house’ because it was decorated with shells. The owner also charged people to see his shell-encased coffin.

Daniel Defoe’s classic characters, Robinson Crusoe, and his companion Friday

Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, was born in Lower Largo.

In 1650 Pittenweem had 30 breweries and was the 14th richest town in the UK.

An early seafood product from East Neuk was the ‘Crail Capon’ – sun-dried haddock.

A small Pictish dwelling near Earlsferry was discovered in 1923 when a tractor fell through its roof.

In the 1750s Lady Janet Anstruther had a bell-ringer to warn residents that she was going for a skinny dip in Ruby Bay, Elie.

St Andrews is supposedly haunted by Archbishop James Sharp, who was murdered in 1679.

• Click HERE to read 10 fascinating facts about Perth.