CUPAR-FIFE, so called to distinguish it from Coupar-Angus in Perthshire, is a royal and parliamentary burgh of Scotland, and the principal town of the county of Fife. It stands on the left bank of the Eden, in the centre of the Howe or Hollow of Fifeshire, about 6 miles from the sea, and is about 32 miles distant by railway and ferry from Edinburgh. The town-hall, the county hall, and the cornexchange are the chief public buildings, and the principal educational establishment is the Madras Academy, originally founded in 1823 by a joint-stock company, but extended and modified in keeping with the will of Dr Bell, the well-known originator of the “Madras System,” who left it a valuable endowment. The staple trade of Cupar has long been the manufacture of linen; and it also possesses breweries, corn-mills, and tan-yards. There are several collieries in the neighbourhood; and a stone quarry and a considerable pottery exist at Cupar Muir, about a mile and a half to the west of the town. The parliamentary burgh is a member of the St Andrews district; its population in 1871 was 5105. Cupar received its municipal freedom about 1356 by charter from David II. It was early remarkable for its castle, which occupied the height to the east of the town now crowned by the academy buildings, and was one of the principal strongholds of the Macduffs, the earls or thanes of Fife. Being situated between Falkland and St Andrews, the town was frequently visited by the Scottish kings; and in 1583 it was for a time the residence of the court of James VI. The estate of Sir David Lindsay of the Mount was within three miles of Cupar; and on a green esplanade in front of Macduff Castle, still called the Play-field, the satirical drama of the Three Estates and the Tragedy of the Cardinal were ...