Gunnar Mauritz Belfrage was born in Gothenberg in 1887, son of architect August Wilhelm Belfrage (1841-1909). In 1904, aged 17, he came to Scotland, where he was initially an assistant with the firm of Gjertsen and Bruce ship chandlers in Methil.  In 1909 he spent some time in Germany before returning to Sweden to train as a masseur. In 1915 Gunnar returned to Scotland and worked in hospitals in and around Glasgow. During his time there he married Inez Maria Soderberg in 1919. They had three daughters while living in Glasgow - Ingrid born in 1920, then Signe in 1922 and Asta in 1923. Soon afterwards the family settled in Fife.

In 1926, Mr Belfrage was appointed German Missionary at the 'Deutsches Seemanshaus' (pictured below in its heyday and in more recent times) on Durie Street, Methil. This job was to act as a pastor to the many German-speaking seamen that would have come in and out of Methil docks - a post he remained for around a decade. The German Seaman's Mission was built in 1900 to provide religious services for the increasing number of German seamen visiting the port. The piece below from the St Andrews Citizen of 21 April describes its dedication. The first missionary appointed was a Herr Johannes Voss. The mission was suspended during the First World War and closed permanently in 1939. Gunnar Belfrage was mentioned many times in the local press during his time as missionary - an example of this from 1 February 1930 Fife Free Press is further below.

By 1936 the Belfrages had left Methil and were pursuing other interests, while based in Lundin Links, as the adverts below show. Mr Belfrage advertised his massage therapy in the Fife Free Press of 14 Nov 1936, while Mrs Belfrage was listed in the MacDonald's Directory of 1939-40 as a confectioner. They supplemented these activities with the 'Tea Gardens' at their home, Imrie Cottage on Emsdorf Street (the premises that formerly hosted Andrew Thomson's baker shop). The advert at the top of this post for the tea gardens appeared in the 10 June 1936 Dundee Evening Telegraph.
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Tea Gardens were a popular concept in the early decades of the last century (and before). A couple of examples (not local) are illustrated below, where folks have basically turned their own garden into an al fresco cafe serving home-baking and drinks. In the 1930s when Lundin Links was very much still a fashionable summer resort, there would have been no shortage of potential customers for such an enterprise - especially on Emsdorf Street - a key route between the hotel and boarding houses of Lundin Links and the pier and beach at Lower Largo.

Belfrage's Tea Gardens seem to have been short-lived however as by 1940 the Belfrages had moved to 'Sandilands' on Leven Road in Lundin Links. They stayed there until the autumn of 1946 when the couple left Scotland to return to their homeland of Sweden. Inez died there in 1968 while Gunnar died in Stockholm aged 87 on 12 December 1974. 

In addition to his many paintings of Largo, George Leslie Hunter also produced many sketches of the area. Lots of his sketches were recognisable scenes of the beach or still existing buildings. However, the one shown above focuses on the Pier Pavilion with little contextual background. It would have been a familiar scene at the time but now only those aware of Largo's local history would know what and where this is. The pen, ink and coloured crayon drawing is named The Pierrots, Largo and dates to 1923.

This drawing was purchased by the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow for its permanent collection, along with two others 
(Fife Landscape and Largo Harbour). As the book 'Hunter Revisited' by Smith and Marriner states:

"The Pierrots is one of a series of drawings Hunter did of the open air theatre near Largo jetty. Since his days in San Francisco he had maintained an interest in the theatre, as much as anything for its colourful spectacle. The Pierrots at Lower Largo staged a popular form of vaudeville entertainment for summer visitors; often Hunter depicts scenes of the audience milling around, capturing on paper the causal seaside atmosphere."

This is the striped 1920s version of the pavilion (see photograph below). The pavilion changed in appearance a few times in the decades that it graced the pier. At the foot of this post is another Hunter sketch of a similar scene. In this one, the pink cloud suggests an evening performance as the sun sets. I wonder whether the pier could ever witness such scenes again....

George Hunter was a Scottish painter - one of the Scottish Colourists - whose work was characterised by the bold use of colour and loose brushwork. He was born on 7 August 1877 to Rothesay chemist William Hunter and his wife Jeanie Stewart. He was their fifth child. George spent the first fifteen years of his life in Rothesay, where he developed a passion for drawing from a young age.  Early in 1892, two of George's older siblings died while still in their early twenties. Later that year, William, Jeanie and their three surviving children emigrated to California.  They initially settled on an orange grove 50 miles east of Los Angeles, where they enjoyed the change of climate. Two or three years later they moved to the city but in 1899 all except George returned to Scotland.

George moved to San Francisco, where he began using the name 'Leslie' for the first time. There he became a member of the bohemian community of artists, writers and poets. His earnings from work as an illustrator for magazines and books paid for a visit to Paris in 1904. This trip inspired him to try his hand at oil painting. Back in San Francisco, in 1905, he compiled a portfolio of work to be exhibited the following year in what would be his first solo exhibition. However, this would never come to pass, as all of his work was destroyed by the fires that followed the 1906 earthquake in the city.

This was a disaster for Hunter and led to his return to Scotland. He settled in Glasgow later in 1906 but continued to make visits to France from time to time (except during the First World War when travel was restricted). Hunter developed a group of friends based on the east coast of Scotland, who introduced him to Fife. The county's rural architecture and colourful landscapes became an important source of inspiration to him. Ceres and Lower Largo in particular were favourite haunts. In a letter to one of those friends Hunter wrote "Fife is ever a delightful thought on my mind with its beautiful valleys and villages".

Above is 'Cottages and Landscape, Fife' dated 1923-24, which is in fact Drum Lodge looking east.

Above is 'Largo, Fife' (undated) showing Main Street, Lower Largo, looking east where Horne's Buildings now stand on the left and the right turn at White Cottage is off picture to the right.

Above is 'Largo Harbour' dated 1925.

Above is 'Figures on the Pier, Largo' undated.

Above is 'Mill, near Largo' dated 1924, depicting the flour mill at Lundin Mill - not far from another of his subjects, Dunkirk Cottage.

Above is 'Cottages Under a Railway Bridge' (1924) featuring the railway viaduct, cottages and the oil and cake mill. 

Above is 'Boats, Lower Largo' dated 1926, looking west from close to the Orry.

So it was the early to mid years of the 1920s that Hunter frequently visited Largo. This was the same period of his life that he became increasingly associated with the other three Scottish Colourists: Samuel Peploe, Francis Cadell and John Duncan Fergusson. There were also trips to mainland Europe throughout the 1920s. In 1929, while in the French Riviera, Hunter suffered a breakdown and was brought back to Scotland by his sister to recuperate. Despite a period of recovery, his health deteriorated soon afterwards and he died in 1931 in Glasgow aged 54. Exhibitions of his work continued after his death and his art still commands huge interest today.

Ebenezer Coutts was born on February 1744 in Tillicoultry to Robert Coutts and Elizabeth Thomson. Coutts came to Largo in the 1760s and on 20 December 1769 he married Magdalene Lundin, who was the seventh child of James Lundin and Magdalene Condie. The Lundins were living in Drummochy before Ebenezer Coutts arrived there and owned the salt works and associated collieries. It may have been that Coutts initially came to Largo to work for James Lundin. However, several years after arriving in Largo, Coutts became factor to the Earl of Leven.

This was the era of the 6th Earl of Leven, David Melville, shown in the images above. Note that this was still a time when men wore coats, waistcoats, breeches, stockings and buckled shoes (and wigs for formal occasions). The 6th Earl was born in Leven in 1722 and died in 1802 in Edinburgh. Among Ebenezer's duties as his factor were to continue the overseeing the salt works at Drummochy (where he also lived), paying and overseeing other estate workers, showing lands to let, managing sales of the produce of the estate (including sea marle, flax, salt and coal) and arranging shipping out of the 'Port of Drummochy'. He would also have collected proceeds from estate sales and kept accounts . At some point Coutts also become Bailie in Drummochy (i.e. a civilian officer who administers the law at a local level). This is mentioned in the excerpt below about his wife from the 'History of the Clan Lundy, Lundie, Lundin'. The record of their marriage is also shown below.

​In 1771 Ebenezer and Magdalene's first child Robert was born in Drummochy and was baptised on 30 August 3 days after his birth. He was named after his maternal grandfather Robert Condie. His uncle Robert Lundin, a 'Sailor in Drumochy', was present at the baptism (see baptism record below). Daughter Magdalene was born in 1733 (died 1819) and then Elizabeth in 1775 (died 1794). 

Living at Drum Lodge from around 1799 and possibly closer to Drummochy Harbour prior to that, Ebenezer was perfectly positioned for his role as Overseer for the Drummochie salt works. The advert below from Caledonian Mercury of 21 March 1774 shows him as contact for any Master Salter of good character looking for employment. Records were kept on the character of salters due to the temptation to illicitly draw off salt during the manufacturing process in order to sell on this highly valued and taxed commodity on the black market.

The adverts below from the 19 July 1775, 3 April 1776 and 12 June 1779 Caledonian Mercury detail the trade in 'Shell-Marle' which was used as a fertiliser and was "handled with more ease and less risk then limeshells". Soil fertility was an issue at this time and shell marle was recommended for overused and depleted soil. However, its prolonged use, without stable dung also being applied, was later found to push exhausted soil beyond repair, leading to the phrase "marl makes rich fathers and poor sons".

Ebenezer was also involved in 'flax raising' as can be seen from the list below of premiums charged to those involved in this industry across Scotland (12 Dec 1785 Caledonian Mercury). He is listed fourth from the top right along with three other Largo men. Also below is the list of those charged 'horse tax' in 1797, with Ebenezer Coutts appearing seventh on the list and as having one horse.

Ebenezer Coutts lived out the remainder of his life at Drum Lodge (pictured above). By the time of his death there on 17 December 1822, aged 78, he was a widower with no surviving children. His wife Magdalene had died in 1810. His son Robert had died before that in 1803 aged just 31. Robert became Reverend Robert Coutts, and was a minister in Brechin at the time of his death. Prior to becoming a minister, he had for a spell held the chair of Mathematics at St Andrews University. Latterly, Robert had suffered from consumption and came to Largo shortly before his death to visit his father and for a change of air but passed soon afterwards. A man of notable intellect, a book of his sermons was published posthumously and he was still being talked about 70 years later when the Brechin Advertiser (28 October and 18 November 1873) printed a two-part appreciation of his life (excerpt of which is shown below). 

A silhouette image of Robert appears in his book of sermons and is shown at the foot of this post. Silhouette or profile portraiture was the popular way to recreate an image of a person before the invention and widespread use of photography. Robert left behind a wife (Janet McCulloch, daughter of a Dairsie minister) and an infant son named Ebenezer. Six months after his death, his daughter Magdalene was born. Sadly his young son died in 1805, aged 3 years, at Dairsie Manse. His daughter survived into adulthood but died young, like her father, of consumption. A section from the sketch of Robert's life confirms that both root and branches of the Coutts family were now ended.

Drum Lodge is situated on the south side of Drummochy Road facing the sea. A 'category B' listed building since 1984, its listing describes it as follows:

Late 18th/early 19th century, 2 storeys and attic 3 bays with late 19th century rear wing and alterations to south front. Harled mainly with painted margins. South front ground floor alterations comprise central door in moulded and segmentally pedimented doorpiece, flanked by canted windows with balustrades. Some 12-pane glazing remains. Straight skews, end stacks, slate roof. Rear wing with gabled dormerheads.

Unsurprisingly, the origins of Drum Lodge are linked to the adjacent former salt pans at Drummochy. Salt works overseer and factor to the Earl of Leven, Ebenezer Coutts, was the building's first occupant. It was probably built in the late 1700s and its original name was 'Drummochie House' (see 1850s map below). It was suitably positioned between the salt pan house (later a joiner's workshop) to the west and the salt girnel (later known as the Net House) to the east by the harbour.

In addition to the handy location, the house's extensive view of Largo Bay would have proved useful to the first occupant Ebenezer Coutts in his wide-ranging role as factor to the Earl of Leven (more on that in the next post). Coutts died in 1822 and, for a spell after that, Cupar-born George Miller seems to have occupied the house. In 1856 'Drummochy House' was put up for sale (see advert below from 13 March Fife Herald). Note the 'well-stocked garden' and the 'Park of Land' that would later become Drum Park. 

John Anthony Macrae bought the house and it soon became known as 'Drum Lodge'. Macrae was a Writer to the Signet (solicitor) based in Edinburgh. He had an interesting background - more of which another time. The house was likely used as a summer residence. Macrae had got to know Fife in his student days at St Andrews University. The imminent opening of the railway line would have been another factor in his purchase. Note also the mention of the house's outbuildings in the advert below - the gig-house, stable and barn. These 'offices' are shown in the image further below, prior to their conversion into a dwelling a few years after this black and white photo was taken in 1975.

When John Macrae died in 1868, his son Colin George Macrae (also a Writer to the Signet) took over ownership and retained it for the next three decades. As well as no doubt using the house as a summer residence, he often rented it out for long periods. Fellow Edinburgh solicitor, Fife-born David Lyell, was resident for a spell in the late 1890s. Macrae sold Drum Lodge to Andrew Peebles in 1899 - see snippet below from the Dundee Advertiser of 11 October.

Peebles had bought the property as an investment. As he was still working at the Duke of Northumberland's Albury estate, he rented Drum Lodge out. Around 1902 to 1904 the Paxton family (later of Homelands) lived at Drum Lodge. Their two middle daughters of four were born at Drum Lodge: Margaret Baird Paxton on 17 February 1902 and Isabella Carse Paxton on 22 June 1904. The Paxtons then moved to Elphinstone on Crescent Road in 1905 before purchasing Homelands in 1908. In 1908 at Drum Lodge the extensive grounds were developed, when Walter Horne erected two terraces of houses at Drum Lodge - known originally as 'Drum Lodge Park', it is now simply 'Drum Park'.

The next tenant was Mrs Isabel Anstruther Thomson, widow of Colonel John Anstruther Thomson of Charleton and Carntyne (who had died in 1904). She was at Drum Lodge through the 1910s with her daughter Rachel until her death in 1918. Proprietor Andrew Peebles had died in 1912 and so Drum Lodge ownership had passed to his widow Phoebe. She continued to own and rent out the house. Miss Rachel Anstruther Thomson was  tenant until 1923 when she married Michael Willoughby Gordon-Cumming and settled in Crail. 

Highclere Castle is a country house in Hampshire, best-known today as the set for the drama 'Downtown Abbey'. In 1838, the 3rd Earl of Carnarvon commissioned architect Charles Barry (who was also working on the Houses of Parliament at the time) to transform the Georgian House he had inherited at Highclere into a spectacular Italianate Castle. The work was carried out during the 1840s.

However, there is also a 'Highclere' in Lundin Links at 25 Hillhead Lane. The story of how this house got its distinctive name starts with Andrew Peebles, who was born in Lundin Mill in 1836 to James Peebles and Mary Grieve. Like most of their Emsdorf Street neighbours, the whole family were linen hand loom weavers. In the census of 1851, 14-year-old Andrew was described as a weaver, as were his two older sisters and his 12-year-old brother - just like their father.

However, hand loom weaving was on the decline and before long all the Peebles children had found alternative employment. Andrew - described as a "strapping youth" - found employment with the factor's office of the Largo Estate. This was in the days of Lady Dundas (Lillias Calderwood Durham, wife of Robert Dundas). By the 1861 census, Andrew was working as a forester on the Arniston estate in Midlothian which was also owned by Lady Dundas. The move to Arniston was one made by several Largo folk including gardener Colin McTaggart and William Tivendale who was also a forester, a former weaver and a cousin of Andrew Peebles. 

Saturday 19th November 1949 saw the opening of Ellen Batty's Drapery Shop at 35 Main Street, Upper Largo. The shop sold clothing for ladies, gents and children, as well as toys and general 'fancy goods'. The shop building had already existed for decades by this time, having for a long time housed a butcher with slaughterhouse attached. 

Records of a 'flesher' at the premises go back to at least the 1850s when Alexander McGregor ran the business with wife Isabella Morrison and her brother Robert. By 1881, Alexander's son Andrew McGregor had taken over, working alongside his widowed mother. However, ten years later, it was another son - Alexander - who was running the business with his mother.

Around the turn of the century the business was taken over by William Bousie Simpson (himself the son of a butcher) who ran it for decades until his death in 1932. William's wife was Helen Henderson - hence the adjacent house was name 'Helenslea'. Helen moved to Durham Terrace in Lower Largo after WIlliam died (also calling her house there Helenslea) and her son James took over as butcher in Upper Largo for a spell. In the late 1940s, Mr R.T. Walker was butcher here but in 1948 and again in April of 1949 the family were hit by two tragic events and the butcher business ceased.
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Largo must have had its fair share of interesting visitors passing through over the years. The photograph above features a particularly colourful character standing outside the entrance to Cardy House. The undated image, held in the St Andrews University Image Bank simply states "Print depicting a woman with a monkey. The monkey is sitting on top of a horse. The back is labelled 'Italian woman, name is Angelino?'".

Perhaps she was there as part of a larger troupe of entertainers - maybe when the 'shows' were in town. The image below shows precisely where this unusual photograph was captured, with 123 Main Street in the background.
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'Downfield' is the brick building in the centre of the image above. It stands between Largo St David's Church and Court House and is in fact on the site of the original church. Initially known as 'Largo Relief Church', the original building was erected in 1771. The congregation at that time was largely made up of folk that had previously attended church in Kirkton of Largo but had broken away in protest over the appointment of a new minister. As the 'Historical Sketch' of Largo St David's Church states:
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"Those who left Largo Kirk met for worship in the open air until Mr Durham himself granted them a site on which to erect a Church. This site is next to the present building in the area now occupied by "Downfield"."

This church was in use for a century before the present church building was erected alongside it in 1871-72. The original church was demolished and the plot lay empty for over a decade before the five-dwelling building now known as Downfield was built.  The annotated maps below show the changes to the site over the period from around 1850 to 1910.

The original proprietor of Downfield seems to have been David Gillies the net manufacturer, as it is his name that appears on the 1895 valuation roll as owning the building. Interestingly, the brick building has echoes of the Cardy Net House - particularly the chimney design. David Gillies is known to have designed and built Cardy House and Cardy Works himself with assistance from his joiner siblings. He is listed in the Dictionary of Scottish Architects. There seems to be a good chance that he was the architect of Downfield and recreated the brick work style of Cardy Works.

One of the early tenants was fisherman John Bisset. He was living in one of the dwellings at the time of the 1891 census with his wife Helen (nee Horne) and their daughters Grace and Georgina. In 1891 the building had not yet acquired the name Downfield. By the time of the 1900 valuation roll John Bisset had become the proprietor of Downfield and the name of the property had been established. Presumably he had purchased the building from David Gillies at some point after his career change from fisherman to mine manager at Teasses Colliery.

When Mr Bisset died in 1931, the St Andrews Citizen noted that he owned an extensive poultry farm at Buckthorns and was "a native of Largo" who "spent his early years as a fisherman before going to Teuchats Farm, where he also managed the Lime Works. He was for fourteen years in charge of the pumps at Durie Colliery. He left Teuchats and entered upon the tenancy of Buckthorns Farm in 1914. Mr Bisset took a keen interest in the development of Largo as a summer resort and was an active member of the committee for the improvement of the pier." 

The name 'Downfield' could possibly have come from the Downfield estate between Kettle and Montrave which also had collieries and lime works, which perhaps John Bisset once had a connection to. If anyone can confirm the origin of the name - please comment. Below is an advert for the sale of Downfield in 1946 (30 October Leven Mail) which describes the layout and facilities at that time.
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Continuing on from the previous post, let's compare the 1885 parade route (on the day of the unveiling of the Robinson Crusoe statue) with the present day equivalent views. Above shows the 'Labour Always Conquers' banner which was situated at Largo St David's Church (seen on the left edge of the images). The buildings on the right (Comely Bank and Balfour Cottage) are unchanged. However, on the left side, after the church, a new addition has appeared since 1885, in the form of 'Downfield'. This building contained five dwellings, three on the ground floor and two on the first floor, and was constructed c1890. Beyond that is Court House, then Doctor's Wynd, Goodsir House and Bonny Bay House and Bakery.
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The next arch was sited just before arriving at the statue itself and bore the motto "Robinson Crusoe now we see good and great at last". The images above feature on the left 93-97 Main Street with the Crusoe Buildings beyond. On the extreme right is 'Seabeach' followed by 'Balguthrie'. The evergreen-covered platform can be seen on the centre left of the 1885 photograph. This is where the unveiling ceremony took place and where many speeches were given on 11 December that year.
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Moving east beyond the statue, the next arch and banner were positioned just before Cardy House and the tight corner down to Cardy Works. Naturally this one stated "May Cardy Works Flourish". The gate pier of Craigiebank is on the far right with a weaver's cottage beyond. On the left side of the street are the buildings of the former Loomshop Studio and then 'East End Cottages' or 'Braehead' (now known as Cardy Crossing Cottage). The trees behind the wall of Cardy House today look like they could be the original ones seen on the old picture.

Finally, once the ceremony around the unveiling of the Robinson Crusoe statue was complete and the dignitaries were ready to set off back to Largo Station, a final message hung stating "Will you no come back again". This comparison photo is perhaps the view that reflects the most change over time. The boats hauled up on the left hand side are now replaced with cars. The viaduct no longer has railway traffic travelling over it. The mill building seen below the viaduct arch is gone, along with the footbridge seen in front of it in 1885 (crowded with people for the special occasion). The Railway Inn is ever present though and was in the hands of the Bunns in 1885. The whole affair must have been quite a spectacle and wonderful to witness, although strange that a cold and short December day was chosen for such a red letter day for the community.