VINTAGE LUNDIN LINKS AND LARGO
  • Blog

Architecture of P.L. Henderson

2/10/2014

0 Comments

 
Perhaps few people today will know that the Lundin Links Hotel was designed by a well-known and successful architect of his time - the renowned pub and brewery specialist Peter Lyle Barclay Henderson.  Based in Edinburgh, many of Henderson's works remain largely unchanged today and some clear similarities can be identified between the Lundin Links Hotel and some of his other designs.  A strong resemblance can be seen, for example, in this Peebles pub (originally named the Tweedside Inn but now called the Bridge Inn) designed by Henderson in 1903.  Note the multi-gabled, Tudor-revival style with windows of many shapes and sizes including his trademark arches.  Also located on a prominent corner location, this Inn replaced an older inn on the site - just as the Lundin Links Hotel did.
Picture
Many of Henderson's public houses were in Edinburgh and several remain well-preserved today.  Below, clockwise from top left, are the Abbotsford Bar on Rose Street (1902), Deacon Brodie's on Lawnmarket (1894), The Mitre on the High Street (1901) and Leslie's Bar on Ratcliffe Street (1896). All buildings features imposing frontages and arched windows.
Picture
The interiors of Henderson's public houses were no less impressive than the exteriors.  At the Abbotsford Inn, there remains an elaborate island bar, carved from Spanish mahogany.  The ceilings in many of his bars are impeccably preserved and lavishly decorated.  The bar which served Leith Central Station, the Central Bar on Leith Walk, has a category A listed interior designed by Henderson.  This includes mosaic flooring, stained glass windows, tiled walls depicting sporting scenes, a carved oak bar and gantry and a Jacobean style ceiling. Pubs like these were created in stark contrast to the dingy, low-ceilinged public houses that preceded them.  Built when the temperance movement was still prominent, these lavish venues showed the licensed trade asserting itself.  No doubt the interior of the Lundin Links Hotel was suitably opulent when first opened, as Henderson had a reputation to uphold and would want to make a statement in the village where he was a regular visitor and Captain of the Golf Club!
Picture
Breweries were another staple of P.L. Henderson's architect's practice and below is an image of Aitken's brewery in Falkirk which was completed in the same year as the Lundin Links Hotel (1900).  It's a completely different building in terms of its function, but I find it remarkable how many features this brewery shares with the hotel.  Note the the same red brick, the steeply-pitched roofs and mixed style of windows, including arched, rectangular and oriel. So while Pride may have been right to say that the Lundin Links Hotel is "an architectural curiosity divorced from any local tradition" in the book 'The Kingdom of Fife - An Illustrated Architectural Guide', the hotel is very much wedded to the distinctive style of P.L. Henderson and the building has many 'relations' scattered all over the country.  Of course, the Lundin Links Hotel was also built at a time when the village was expanding and changing its image.  The hotel was a statement of what the place wanted to become and not a reflection of what it used to be.
Picture
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    About

    This 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!

    Search

    There is no in-built search facility on this site. To search for content, go to Google and type your search words followed by "lundin weebly".

    Contact

    Categories

    All
    Antiquities
    Beach
    Boarding Houses
    Business
    Churches
    Clubs And Societies
    Drummochy
    Facilities
    Farming
    Fishing
    Golf
    Houses
    Keil's Den
    Largo Law
    Lower Largo
    Masseney Braes
    New Gilston
    People
    Railway
    School
    Shops
    Standing Stanes
    Streets
    Tourism
    Upper Largo
    Viaduct
    War

    Archives

    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013

    Links

    Largo Baywatch Blog
    Fife Family History Society
    ​
    Polish Parachute Brigade Info​

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.