Eventually the house was converted into a boarding house, with several rooms available, including a few on the attic floor. This was likely done in 1929, as the Fife Free Press of 4 May that year reported that Lindisfarne was to be taken over by "Mr and Mrs Mitchell, of the Lundin Golf Club, as a boarding house". The advert above dates from the 1930s and emphasises the proximity to the golf course. David Mitchell, familiarly known as "Biff", who was also clubmaster at Lundin Golf Club, died in 1935. Soon afterwards, Lindisfarne Boarding House was taken over by Mrs Janet Gillespie. During World War Two, Polish soldiers were billeted at Lindisfarne and Mrs Gillespie's daughter married one of them. Soon after the war, Lindisfarne ceased to be a boarding house and was later converted into two separate dwellings - the ground floor flat retaining the name of Lindisfarne, with access from Links Road (see photograph below). The upper floors comprised a second dwelling, with access from Crescent Road - named 'Glenartney'.
Lindisfarne was another house built during the late 1890s feuing of the west of Lundin Links. This house followed soon after the completion of the first feu (Westhall). The large plot had been reserved in the name of 'Whyte' and occupied the easterly corner of Crescent Road and Station Road. This may have been John Whyte who retired from the farming of Lundin Mill Farm in 1896, however, he had moved to Cupar by 1898. A number of different families lived in the house in its early years.
Eventually the house was converted into a boarding house, with several rooms available, including a few on the attic floor. This was likely done in 1929, as the Fife Free Press of 4 May that year reported that Lindisfarne was to be taken over by "Mr and Mrs Mitchell, of the Lundin Golf Club, as a boarding house". The advert above dates from the 1930s and emphasises the proximity to the golf course. David Mitchell, familiarly known as "Biff", who was also clubmaster at Lundin Golf Club, died in 1935. Soon afterwards, Lindisfarne Boarding House was taken over by Mrs Janet Gillespie. During World War Two, Polish soldiers were billeted at Lindisfarne and Mrs Gillespie's daughter married one of them. Soon after the war, Lindisfarne ceased to be a boarding house and was later converted into two separate dwellings - the ground floor flat retaining the name of Lindisfarne, with access from Links Road (see photograph below). The upper floors comprised a second dwelling, with access from Crescent Road - named 'Glenartney'.
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The notion of a Temperance Hotel arose from the temperance movement, which had gathered momentum from the 1830s. The traveller who preferred to avoid alcoholic drink could be supplied with 'harmless' beverages such as milk, tea, coffee or water and be accommodated in a 'respectable' house. The idea grew that 'temperate persons' needed beds and stabling in establishments other than the traditional inns. Temperance Hotels sprung up across the country, and Lundin Mill was no exception. The above advert was in the 1866 Westwood's Directory and describes the establishment that would go on to be known as the Temperance Hotel, as the 'Temperance Refreshment Rooms'. In fact, at that date there were two such ventures in Lundin Mill - one run by David McEwan (who was also a General Dealer) and the other by Alex Pattie. The latter may have been short-lived, as I can find no other reference to it and have no idea where it was located. A little more is, however, known about David McEwan's business. He moved to Lundin Mill from Auchtermuchty in the mid-1860s. In the 1871 census, David was recorded as 'General Dealer and Temperance Hotel Keeper' in the village, assisted by his wife and the eldest of his children. As the 1871 census did not record addresses in any detail, it is difficult to pin-point the location of the Temperance Hotel. It appears to have been somewhere along Largo Road. Potential sites are either at Bridge House (A), where he had a shop, or up-hill close to the junction with the Cupar Road (B) at a house with attached stabling. The annotated photograph below marks these two sites. Many temperance hotels were conversions of existing buildings, rather than purpose-built facilities. As well as offering food and refreshment, accommodation and stabling, many temperance hotels provided reading rooms with newspapers, journals and temperance tracts, while some offered meeting rooms. In September 1876, David McEwan "removed his business to the "Buckie House", West Anstruther" which would also "be carried on as a Temperance Hotel" (according to the East Fife Record of 29th Sept). At that time he also advertised the let of the "shop and house at The Bridge, lately occupied by him". As the advert below from the 1877 Worrall's Directory of the North-Easterm Counties of Scotland shows, the Lundin Mill Temperance Hotel was taken over by Newburn-born William Davidson. This advert emphasises that horses and carriages are also for hire and the overall description of Lundin Mill in Worrall's also mentions the hotel specifically. It seems that Davidson continued the venture, in some shape or form for over a decade, as he had a string of 'boarders' at his premises in the 1891 census. So, all in all, the Lundin Mill Temperance Hotel seems to have been in existence for around three decades. Surprisingly, given its longevity, there is little recorded about it. If you know anything of its history or can verify its location, please do leave a comment.
By way of a follow-up to the previous post showing a view from Manderlea boarding house, here is a panorama covering the stretch from Lundin Links Station, on the left of centre, along to Manderlea on the right. Below are a couple of 'blown-up' images from the above photograph. The Old Manor Hotel (formerly Aithernie House and then the Beach Hotel) sits on the high ground behind the station. In the image at the foot of the post you can see Elmwood and Ravenswood boarding houses in the centre and the home of David Patrick the golf club maker sitting just behind the golf course further right. Manderlea is further right still, with the pair of curves (in shadow) on its gable end. The road between the station and the houses would have been a well-worn path and the scene of much coming and going of summer visitors.
Manderlea was built as a boarding house in the early years of the twentieth century to meet the demand for accommodation for visitors to Lundin Links. Handily situated between the railway station and the centre of the village, on Links Road, the house also boasted fantastic sea views from its elevated position. Plus, as this photograph illustrates, it was an ideal location for visiting golfers. This picture was captured in 1949 by Mrs Helen Muir, from a window of Manderlea. It shows the railway line running along the foot of the gardens, and, on the other side, the golf club house, car park and golf shop originally belonging to Alex Patrick. Residents staying here would have had plenty to look at out their windows - the sea, the trains, the golfers. Nowadays, the building is divided into flats and is known as 'Manderlea Court' - the view still as lovely but not so good for train spotting any more. Many thanks to Mrs Muir for the glimpse back in time!
Moving forward a few years from the previous post, this circa 1960 image seems to have been taken from the upper window of Peacehaven. The house on the left is 'Westhall', the garden next to it (with the circular arrangement) closer to the camera is that of 'Beffens', while the garden in the left foreground belongs to 'The Gables' (unplanted in the previous post's picture).
On the right of the view is the side of Elmwood Boarding House and in front of that the gardens now known as 'Mrs Nisbet's Garden'. A person can be seen in the gardens looking up at the photographer (see image at foot of post). In the distance is Lundin Links Station - see detail below. A delivery van of some sort is parked on the road. If you recall local delivery vans of this era, please comment. The postcard bearing this aerial image of Lundin Links was posted in 1955, so the photograph was probably taken shortly before that date. We can see the Ladies Golf Course towards the top of the picture and the wooded area known as Fir Park to the right of that. The Lundin Links Hotel stands out in front of Fir Park, with Station Road (now Links Road) bisecting the view in an arc from the hotel over to the left side. Crescent Road and Victoria Road slice through Station Road and are adjacent to the densest area of housing. The row of homes on Leven Road line the Ladies Golf Course at the top, while the larger plots of Station Road lie at the lower part of the photograph, just over the railway line from the Lundin Golf Course (the club house of which can be seen in the foreground). Two points of interest are picked out below (more to come in the next post). The prominent buildings in the foreground here are Ravenswood and Elmwood boarding houses. The wooded area to the left are the grounds of Homelands - the actual villa of the same name is just visible towards the top of the trees (note the turreted roof). The gardener's cottage of Homelands is to the top right of the plot, adjacent to the bowling green further right. The tennis courts lie below the bowling green. In the above zoom-in the old garage on Woodielea Road is visible in the centre, with a white frontage and long triple-pitched roof extending back towards the Fir Park trees. The garage was demolished and replaced with a development of five houses in 1980. Behind the garage are the Lundin Ladies Golf Club House and Greenkeeper's Cottage.
This image dates from the early years of the twentieth century and looks down Crescent Road in Lundin Links from just opposite 'Bourtree Brae House' towards the junction with Links Road. The houses on the right side of the road were already 50 years old by the time this photograph was take, while those on the left in the distance would have been much newer. The house in the foreground to the right was designed by James Campbell Walker c1860 but by the time this image was captured it had been extended to the right and a porch added to the front entrance.
The bare trees, heavily clothed figure walking along the street and the suggestion of frost on the grass make this a wintry scene. The south side of Crescent Road is undeveloped beyond the building behind the curve of the street in the distance. That building is, one-time boarding house, 'Lindisfarne', at the crossroads with Links Road (see detail below). Is was later subdivided into two homes - the ground floor flat retaining the name 'Lindisfarne' while the upper flat became named 'Glenartney'. Before this house was built, golf was played on the site. At the turn of the century, Lundin Links had seen a spate of boarding houses being built as the village gained popularity as a late Victorian watering hole. As the nature of tourism evolved over the decades the term 'boarding house' was often replaced with 'private hotel'. The adverts below from the early 1960s show two such examples. The pair of private hotels pictured above and advertised below are Ravenswood (left) and Elmwood (right). Constructed in 1899, these two both boasted sea views, proximity to the railway station, access to sporting facilities and home baking. I don't know how people chose between them but I understand that many families were repeat visitors year after year, often meeting the same fellow holiday-makers each time and building up long-standing friendships.
Back in 1907, a Mr Gerrard commissioned a pair of villas to be built in the up-and-coming summer resort of Lundin Links. The architect was to be James M Thomson of 63 George Street, Edinburgh, who was known for his work on churches and tenements in Edinburgh and surrounding areas. A few years before, he had created tenements on Shandwick Place in Edinburgh (see small photograph) which were noted for their bay windows and symmetry. Echoes of this style would be designed into the villas for Mr Gerrard on Station Road, Lundin Links - two dwellings made to look like one unified building. The villas would become known as the twin boarding houses of 'Roseneath' and 'Linksfield'. Much later, after a number of name changes and consolidation into a single building, this would become Peacehaven Old People's Home - which is how it is known today. The Seventh's Day Adventist Church bought the building in the mid-1960s, when they moved their Edinburgh retirement home out of the city to this quieter spot. They owned Peacehaven until 1993. The building remains a care home and has been extended on several occasions. Below are the original plans for 'Mr Gerrard's Villas' (which are held at RCAHMS). Note the extensive gardens, with suggested areas for kitchen gardens and a bleaching greens. The gardens still remain important and in fact the BBC's Beechgrove Garden TV programme has twice visited the garden at Peacehaven. But who was Mr Gerrard? Find out in the next post. I've posted before about this pair of boarding houses, built at the turn of the century. This different, face-on, view clearly shows the number of large windows that were designed into the building in order to maximise the superb sea views. Laid out over three floors, with impressive front entrances and only a short walk from the old Lundin Links station, these houses look like mini-hotels. The horizontal dark line visible among the rough grass in the foreground is in fact the railway line. The track made its way between the foot of the back gardens of the Station Road houses and the road down to the Lundin Golf Club House. The garden wall to the right in the foreground belongs to Manderlea - another of the original boarding houses.
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AboutThis blog is about the history of the villages of Lundin Links, Lower Largo and Upper Largo in Fife, Scotland. Comments and contributions from readers are very welcome!
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