Moving along the main street in Lower Largo from the west end to the east, the next stretch of shops back in the 1930s (see detailed map and detail above) contained eight businesses close to the two churches and ending at the Orry. Those were from west to east - Alexander's Grocer (on the sea side of the street), a chemist, the Cockleshell Tearoom, Mack's grocer (all on the north side) and then back on the sea side - the Co-op, WIllie Gould's grocer, and Mrs Davie's. Finally, just before the Baptist Church was Wilson's sweetie shop.

Henry Johnstone Alexander was the first grocer mentioned above. He had been born in Musselburgh in 1869, son of a farmer turned grain merchant. His mother had died days after his birth and after a spell living with his grandparents, Henry grew up in Gayfield Square in Edinburgh, living with his father and older siblings. The 1891 census finds him as a 22 year old "commercial traveller and organist" lodging at Temple, Lower Largo. His first stint in Largo was short-lived however and in 1895 he married Maggie Carnegie Richardson in Edinburgh. They lived in Dudley Avenue, Edinburgh for many years and raised their family there before making a move to Lower Largo in 1921 (see notice below). During his time in Edinburgh Mr Alexander had been a commercial traveller specialising in biscuits.

The grocer's shop was on the ground floor of Appleton House (above), while the Alexander's lived at the Temple - naming their home 'Gayfield' after Henry's childhood street in Edinburgh. Being older by the time he moved to Largo, Mr Alexander acquired the nick name 'the white-headed grocer' - he was 52 when he arrived and 74 when he retired in 1943. Apparently he always wore a white coat and drove a bull-nosed Morris Cowley (for which he built a garage on his front garden - seen in image below). When Mrs Alexander died in 1942, Henry sold up home and shop within months and returned to Edinburgh, where he lived until his death in 1953 at the age of 83.

On the other side of the street moving slightly east was a chemist and the Cockleshell Tearoom. These two separate enterprises soon became one as the cafe expanded. This site is now 43 Main Street, shown in image below.

​Before the kink in the road, also on the north side, was Mack's shop which sold among other things sweeties, paraffin and many 'odds and ends'. Next on the south side of the street was a row of three shops (shown further below). First was a branch of the Leven Reform Co-operative Society Limited, then a grocery run first by Peter Scott and later by William Gould and next Margaret Davie's store where Ladies and Children's wear were on offer along with sewing and knitting supplies.

Finally, before arriving at the Orry, there was a little shop run by Miss Wilson (latterly the Baptist Church hall - below) which was primarily a confectioner but, as was the way, sold other oddments as well. Plus, as the advert farther below shows, she acted as agent for summer lets as well.

​Part 3 on the 1930s shops to follow...

The above map shows nineteen of the shops that existed in Lower Largo in the 1930s. Over the next few posts we will take a tour along the route from Drummochy to the Temple, looking in detail at some of these shops along the way. If you have further information to add, please do comment.

Travelling from left to right, the journey begins at Mrs Forte's Fish and Chip Shop (the only dot on the Drummochy side of the maps above and below). It can be seen in the first image below, in the left foreground, with the word 'Refreshments' painted on the back wall facing the harbour. Over the road bridge on the pier were two enterprises - an ice cream hut also run by the Forte family and a hairdresser within the Crusoe Hotel. The latter was run by Miss Dick, daughter of then hotel owner Robert Dick. Here marcel waves and electric perms were on offer.

The Railway Inn was there, as now, and another Forte ice cream outlet was between it and the main street on the site that would become the Rio Cafe. Moving along the Main Street the Post Office was on Defoe Place which is a lost street name.  The buildings still exist but the name was done away with some years ago and the stretch of buildings was subsumed into the wider ‘Main Street’. Numbers 3-17 Main Street today were what was once Defoe Place.

In 1934, John Welsh the sub-postmaster at Lower Largo retired after 50 years service. He was presented with an inscribed gold-mounted ebony walking stick, on behalf of staff past and present, by Daniel Wishart, senior postman. The Fife Free Press of 7 July also reported that Laurence Welsh his son would succeed him in the role. Wishart himself retired in 1936 after 45 years service as local postman. The 14 March Fife Free Press stated:

"Joining the service in 1891, he has served under three generations of Largo sub-postmasters - Mr Alexander Welsh; his son Mr John Welsh; and his son Mr Lawrence Welsh, at present in charge. Many changes have taken place in postal matters during his service. Throughout his career he has travelled his rounds on foot, being 38 years on the outlying country rounds....from 14 to 16 miles per day was the average walk on the country rounds....despite the many snowstorms and bad weather, he always succeeded in completing his rounds."

Indeed Mr Wishart was described as a 'post runner' in his early career.

Maggie Lawrie's sweetie shop was a couple of doors along from the Post Office.  ​We will look at the next section of the street in the next post.

I've posted about the Serpentine Walk before here and here but above is a different postcard image from the early twentieth century. It always seems to me that in the past it was more a place to take a gentile stroll in your good clothes rather than for a dog walk in your wellies. Anyway, it is still enjoyed by many and below are some other places to read more about, and enjoy images of, the Serpentine...
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http://lundinandlargo.blogspot.com.es/search/label/Serpentine%20Walk
https://marysiaphotos.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/largo-serpentine/
https://marysiaphotos.wordpress.com/2012/04/07/serpentine-walk/

What a fabulous view this was from the Innerleven Golf Club House circa 1940. This club joined together with Leven Golf Club in 1957 to form the Leven Golfing Society, as it remains today.  Below is detail of Lundin Links in the distance, with Sunnybraes on the left and stretching round along Leven Road towards Station Road and Crescent Road. Both this image and the postcard further below (from a few years later) show how busy Leven was with visitors at this time. 

This c1910 view down Leven Road looking towards the Lundin Links Hotel has a number of points to note. Firstly, the fact that it was entirely safe to loiter around in the middle of the road back then. Any traffic that might have come along would be slow enough and noisy enough to alert even these young fellows who are paying no attention whatsoever to road safety!

Note the huge telegraph poles running alongside the road and the tall pole coming out of the roof of the hotel. There is an attractive old gas lamp on the right hand side of the zoomed in image below. The roads and pavements are still dirt at this stage (complete with horse droppings). The houses on the left are about a decade old while these on the right are a few years newer. The house in the foreground on the right is looking particularly pristine. 

This view down Emsdorf Street is entirely traffic-free, except for the bicycle propped up outside Young's shop (which may well have been for delivering newspapers). Although the sign above the shop advertises 'Fancy Goods' and 'Drapery', the detailed image below shows that newspapers, stationery and tobacco were also key products. The window next to the shop entrance states 'Tobaccos Cigars Cigarettes'. Also just visible are adverts for a dyer and cleaner and for Lyons tea. Mrs Young who ran this shop moved to the premises (completed in 1903 along with neighbouring shops and the residential block to the left with the tall chimney stacks) from her earlier shop at 2 Bridge House on the Wynd. Following on from the opening of the Lundin Links Hotel in 1900, this row of shops was well-placed to serve both visitors and locals.

The shop would remain in the hands of the Youngs for many decades. Christina Young began the business after finding herself in difficult circumstances. Born in the year that the railway arrived (1857), in Lundin Mill, Christina was the daughter of weaver John Masteron and Janet White. Both the Mastertsons and White were long-established Lundin Mill families. She was a tailor's machinist and later a house-keeper before she married James Young in 1890 in Lundin Mill. James was son of a weaver/salmon fisher from Lower Largo.

At the time of their marriage, James was working as a journeyman tailor in Glasgow and so it was there that they initially settled and there that their first child, Janet Bennet White Young, was born in 1891. However, by the time that their second child was born - John in 1893 - they were back in Lundin Mill. Tragedy struck the family in September of 1894 when James Young went missing. Some weeks later his body was found in a field in Buckhaven when the oats were being harvested. Christina was left a widow while expecting their third child. Annie was born on 2 December 1894.

Widowed with three young children, I imagine Christina received much support from her extended family. Within a few years, she was running her shop by the bridge over the Keil Burn on what is now Largo Road. When she died in 1919, her Emsdorf Street shop was left to her three children. Janet passed away in 1950. Annie Thomson Lawrie (nee Young) and John Young both died in 1968. Many will remember John Young, a real local character, who was at the shop until well into the 1960s. Newspapers were delivered from the train into the village and would be sorted by John, who in later years had poor eyesight, but knew which paper was which by the feel of them. He reportedly had never ventured further than Upper Largo in his whole life. If you recall John and/or Young's shop - please comment.