Cupar’s ‘grotesques’ to be given names

Nominated monikers now being whittled down as part of library’s 150th anniversary celebrations

A pair of monstrous-looking characters, who have been surveying the historic town of Cupar and its surroundings for the past 150 years, are finally about to be named.

Staff at Cupar Library have decided to mark the building’s century and a half this year by giving monikers to the two “grotesques’”which are positioned high above the streets below.

Locals voted on the library’s Facebook page throughout August, and the contest has now been narrowed down to three pairs of names.

“Craig and Charlie”, a tribute to Fife’s own musical talents The Proclaimers, are currently the frontrunners.

The other contenders are “Nickety and Nackety”, from the famous song about The Wee Cooper O’ Fife, and “Dewey and Decimal”, after the world renowned library classification system.

Andrea McMillan, local studies supervisor, said it was high time the pair were given recognition.

“Since the Duncan Institute (now Cupar Library) was built 150 years ago, the two grotesques – gargoyles who don’t spit water – have guarded the building,” she said.

“They are perched either side of a large window on the tower, looking down on Kirk Wynd, and staff thought, as a 150th birthday present, we should give them names.

“We are asking people to vote for their favourites so that our stony pair can spend the next 150 years with their own names.”

A raft of nominations have been whittled down in recent weeks, broken down into three categories, namely library and literary related; local; and celebrity.

Jack and Victor, Donald and Boris, Fred and Doris, Shuggie and Duggie, Tik and Tok and Gary McGargyface and David Attenborough were all edged out in the celebrity category, while Smaug and Toothless, Liz and Dunc, Dunc and Ann, Quasi and Modo, Read and

Browse, Peace and Quiet, and Paige and Turner missed out in the library-related field.

Discarded from the local category were Haudit ‘n’ Daudit, Haud and

Wheesht, Coo and Parr, and Etta and Rab. Anyone who wants to have their say can do so on Cupar Library’s Facebook page.

Picture: Steve Brown. The pair perched high above the streets.