Anstruther lies on the south-east coast of Fife. It has historically been a fishing and port town divided into Easter and Wester by the Dreel Burn, at the mouth of which is a natural harbour. Anstruther likely takes its name from Scottish Gaelic á(i)n meaning driving or aon meaning one while the second part Sruthair means burn or stream.
Legend has it that the Norman William de Candela was granted the lands by the king of Scotland in the twelfth century, and that his descendants adopted the name Anstruther. It seems a family of the same name did hold Anstruther from at least the thirteenth century, governing from a castle at the mouth of the Dreel Burn.
Henry Anstruther is said to have accompanied King Louis IX of France on Crusade, and either he or his son paid homage to King Edward I of England in 1296. Andrew Anstruther fought with King James IV at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, where the king along with the flower of the Scottish nobility were killed or captured.
Another Andrew Anstruther was among those killed at the Battle of Pinkie in September 1547, when a Scottish army was heavily defeated by the English. The Anstruther family were in high favour with King James VI, who made Anstruther a Burgh of Barony and granted the town Royal Burgh status. Sir James Anstruther was appointed Hereditary Carver and Master of the Royal Household in Scotland, while his son, Sir William, was a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to the king and accompanied him when he claimed the throne of England.
The Anstruthers remained loyal to the Crown during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Sir Philip Anstruther hosted King Charles II at Anstruther in 1651 following his Scottish coronation, and fought for him at the Battle of Worcester later that year. The Anstruthers of that Ilk continued to be important in Scottish and British politics. Sir William Anstruther was an MP and a Lord of Session. His son Sir John Anstruther was created Baronet of Nova Scotia in 1700 and served as an MP first in the Parliament of Scotland and then at Westminster.
Sir John Anstruther of Anstruther and Elie, Baronet, was a lawyer, agricultural improver and MP. He was a supporter of the administration of Lord North and took a leading role in the impeachment of Warren Hastings of the East India Company. His son John Anstruther of Anstruther, Baronet was also an MP rising to become Solicitor General to the Prince of Wales, Chief Justice of Bengal and a Privy Councillor. Sir Windham Carmichael-Anstruther, Baronet, was an officer of the Coldstream Guards and fought in the Peninsular War. Shortly thereafter, the Anstruther barony passed to the Baird family, and ultimately to the Pannell family, who hold the barony today.
