“British Restaurants” in Cupar
Hello again from the Archives Revealed project “Hidden Burgh: restoring Cupar’s place at the heart of Fife”. It has been a busy time with the project, with the appointment of two volunteers who started this week cleaning and flattening our Cupar Burgh collection. I have also had the pleasure of meeting some representatives from the Cupar Development Trust, Cupar Heritage Society, and Fife Family History Society as well as the Local Studies Officer from Fife Cultural Trust. I am looking forward to working with these and other community groups in the coming months to raise the profile of Cupar and spread the word of how the Burgh records can be of interest to everybody.
I know everyone is busy at this time of the year and so I thought I would share with you a couple of items on just one interesting subject I have found while browsing through the collection. We have a box of minor warrants and accompanying plans for alterations to different properties. One of them relates to the Second World War era when the British Government set up food centres called “British Restaurants” for those people who had had their homes bombed, leaving them without anything, or for those who had no ration coupons left. The images below relate to a planning application submitted by Fife County Council to the Royal Burgh of Cupar in 1942 for altering a building at Crossgate, Cupar for this purpose. Do you know the building involved, I wonder?
Perhaps some of you may remember the time when these alterations took place or visiting the British Restaurant? Do get in touch if you can give us any information ([email protected]).
Well, I’ll sign off now. All that remains is for me to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Christine Wood
Project Archivist (Archives Revealed)