An old fermtoun village in NE Fife, situated by the A914 3 miles (5 km) north of Cupar. Dr Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), church leader and first moderator of the Free Church after the Disruption of 1843, was minister (1803-15) of Kilmany Parish church which dates from 1768. The church was originally a rectory of St Salvator's College in St Andrews and in its churchyard lies buried the Earl of Melville who supported William and Mary's claim to the throne in 1689. To the east stands the tower of Kinnear which lies on land occupied by the Kinnear family for over 700 years.

"This parish is bounded on the north by Forgan and Balmerino, on the south by Cupar and Logie, on the east by Forgan and on the west by Creich and Moonzie. The Eden river separates it from Leuchars. It is 6 miles from east to west and 2 miles north to south. Its area is 4700 acres; 3550 Scotch acres are under cultivation and 250 are under wood. The west part of the parish consists of softly swelling hills and pleasant valleys. The parish is divided at different places by small ridges, the highest not exceeding 400 feet above sea level. The soil varies but generally is very fertile. Rent of land averages £2-5-0 per acre. Within the last 75 years more than 200 acres of morass have been drained. A good deal of cattle of the Fife breed are raised and sold fat; a great number of sheep are annually fed on turnips for the butcher. There are 17 thrashing mills, besides 3 corn mills and 1 saw mill. There is no coal in the parish, it being brought from Ceres or Cameron. Apart from the sawmill and about a dozen of weavers, there is no industry in the parish. The parish school is at Rathillet, with 2 female schools, one at Hazleton and one at Kilmany.There are 2 public houses. There is no village but 2 hamlets - Kilmany, half way between Cupar and Newport, where the parish church is situated; and Rathillet which is a mile to the west. The late celebrated Dr Chalmers was minister of Kilmany from 1803 to 1815." - edited from A descriptive & historic gazeteer of the counties of Fife, Kinross & Clackmannan, M Barbieri, published in 1857.