The above photograph shows detail from a George Washington Wilson image of the beach at Lundin Links captured in 1899. The houses of Leven Road are in the background, next to Fir Park, and the under-construction Ravenswood and Elmwood is on the right. In the foreground is the beach with the dunes and golf course behind and, perched in a sheltered dip between the dunes, is a row of wooden huts. At the time, these were referred to as 'bathing coaches'. The piece below from 20 January 1909 Leven Advertiser tells of how these came to grief when they were "tossed about in all directions" during a winter storm. 

Bathing coaches or bathing machines were forerunners to beach huts. The concept dates back to the early eighteenth century when it solved the twin issues protecting the modesty of bathers and of getting the sick and infirm into the cold salt water that was deemed to be good for their health. Bathing coaches were basically a wooden hut on wheels - a mobile changing room - pulled between the shore and the sea with the tide, often by a horse. Bathers would pay a hire fee to make use of the facility for the day or part-day.

Largo had long been known as a 'sea-bathing resort' and it would have become apparent during the Victorian era that the provision of bathing coaches was expected by visitors. Summer visitors from Edinburgh would have been familiar with the bathing machines used at Portobello (pictured below, from the Canmore collection). Bathing coaches were also available in larger places within Fife, such as St Andrews and Kirkcaldy. 

At the turn of century, people visited the beach in full formal dress, as the photograph below taken at Massney Braes, with the iron bridge in the background, shows. Ladies wore full-length skirts, blouses and hats, while men donned smart trousers, jackets, shirts and ties. Changing into swimming attire was awkward and time-consuming. Plus, of course, it was widely seen as indecent to undress in the open. 
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The above piece from 9 August 1906 Leven Advertiser mentions both a "bathing shelter" and "bathing coaches". Below is another reference, from 15 July 1908 Leven Advertiser, to both the "coaches and shelters". Both features seem to have proved popular.

Around the time of the First World War, wheeled bathing coaches (examples of which from elsewhere are pictured above) were increasingly replaced with fixed bathing huts. While it was still frowned upon to get changed in the open, it was perhaps more acceptable to make the short dash from shore to sea in your bathing attire. By 1935 there were nearly 20 fixed bathing huts listed on the valuation roll for Largo Parish. These were all at Lundin Links shore, on a site provided by Sir John Gilmour, close to the railway station.

Used for the season rather than for the day, bathing huts became something of a status symbol. Owners of huts at Lundin Links included local well-to-do individuals, including: W. Lindsay Burns who resided at Linburn on Leven Road and was Chairman of  Henry Balfour and Company of Leven; William Moscrip of Duddingston House on Leven Road who was Managing Director of National Steel Foundry Leven Works; and George Victor Donaldson, of Stanely on Leven Road Chairman of James Donaldson and Sons timber merchant.

Many owners of boarding houses and private hotels also kept a bathing hut for the use of their guests. These included Andrew Blyth proprietor of Firpark boarding house, James Peebles Greig of Mount Vernon boarding house, John Balmer at Manderlea and Agnes Watters of Victoria Private Hotel. Above is an advert for Victoria Private Hotel. Note the mention of "private bathing boxes". When Margaret Paxton set up Fife Children's Home at Aithernie House, she also took a bathing hut for the use of her residents. In addition, several individuals from close-by Methil, Buckhaven and Leven, had bathing huts at Lundin Links, just a short train journey away. Below are a few images of local bathing huts over the years.
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The previous posts have covered the life of former Lower Largo resident John Letham (from whom Leven's Letham Glen takes its name) and the days when Letham Glen was known as Spinkie Den (or more officially Sillerhole Den). The renamed Letham Glen dates back to 1925, when Leven Town Council took over the glen and changed its name. The date on the stone arched entrance shown above displays the date 1925 although the arch itself was not constructed until 1930 (see Dundee Evening Telegraph above). The new entrance gates were part of the Town Council's gradual enhancements over the years. Features such as this, and bridges over the burn, like as the one pictured below, were added when budget allowed.

The first Rose Queen was crowned at Letham Glen in 1938, in a new element of Leven Development Association's summer programme. Elizabeth Ballantyne of Dewar's Buildings, Parkhill, a Third Year pupil at Leven Higher Grade School, was elected the first Rose Queen (also briefly known as the May Queen).  After the lavish ceremony was rained off twice, Betty was finally crowned in the glen a week later than scheduled (see photograph below from 10 June Edinburgh Evening News). The following year, a second summer festival took place where once again the Rose Queen crowning took place at Letham Glen. However in subsequent years the event moved to grounds of Carberry House.

The 26 May 1949 Leven Mail updated that "work is going on at Letham Glen which will make the Glen even more attractive. The sunken garden with fountain at the site of the old swimming pond there is now taking shape." There must have been a fashion for sunken gardens around this time, as Festival Gardens close to Leven Prom and Macduff Park by East Wemyss also had sunken gardens laid out around this time. Letham Glen's sunken garden is pictured below.
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The 1940s, 1950s and 1960s were the heyday of the popular 'Go As You Please' contests in the glen. These were talent competitions, hosted by a compere, where people could sign up in advance or on the day to sing, dance, recite a poem, play an instrument or perform some other turn. An accompanist was on hand to play music. Cash prizes were on offer for those judged to be the most skilled performers by the panel of adjudicators. Often consolation prizes handed out for the less talented. Sometimes these contests were themed - for example on the 'Scotch Night' all artists had to perform a Scots item and wear something tartan or a sprig of heather.

Other activities held in the glen included treasure hunts around the grounds, putting competitions, pie eating contests, theatre group performances, community singing, dog shows and by the 1960s barbecues. Other special events included selection of a Glamorous Granny, a Holiday Queen or a Pin-Up Boy. Concerts of various kinds were another feature - from pipe bands and military bands to dance bands and choirs. In the mid-1950s, a bandstand was erected, replacing a smaller 1930s bandstand, and soon afterwards a platform for dancing was added. The above example advert dates to July 1957 while the one below is from July 1961. 
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The gardens were well tended as these postcard images illustrate. In 1970 a wishing well was built thanks to a donation from Leven Inner Wheel Club. The well had the inscription "If in here your siller cast, a wish may well come true at last". Proceeds from the well were given to local charities. The aviary of the 1940s eventually evolved into a much wider Pets' Corner, which by 1970, featured pheasants, swans, ducks, geese, pygmy goats, sheep and deer. Later additions included donkeys, rabbits and guinea pigs as well as occasional more exotic residents. The keeping of animals ended at the glen in 1998 and in 2001 Fife Council took the decision to close all such facilities across the county.
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The above map shows the trail around the glen in the 1980s. The Nature Centre is shown at the foot of the map, with the wishing well and pets' corner close by. The wooden nature centre was constructed around 1980 from timber felled in the glen itself. It was an ideal venue for visiting groups of school children and for evening talks, among other things. The numbered stops on the nature trail were as follows:

1. Duck pond            2. Deer enclosure          3. Bandstand                 4. Woodland A     
5. Woodland B          6. Woodland gorge        7. Ochre mill                 8. Sitka spruce grove     
9. Top bridge            10. Ochre millstone       11. Silver birch trees   12. Geans (Wild cherry trees)
​13. Old oak tree       14. Beech tree                15. Elm tree                  16. The last bridge

The millennium was marked by the installation in the glen's sunken garden of a granite replica of the Leven mercat cross, a structure dating back to the 17th century which features sundials on its shaft, now located in the gardens of Carberry House (pictured above). The replica features designs by local children. Today there are plans afoot to mark the centenary of Letham Glen as a public space in 2025. That will be a fantastic opportunity to reflect on all that the park has seen over the past one hundred years and more. The opportunity will also allow people to recall the role of John Letham in setting the natural beauty spot on the road to becoming an important community space, which so many folks have enjoyed over the decades.  

Prior to being renamed Letham Glen in 1925, after John Letham of Fernbank, the wooded den between Dykeneuk and Sillerhole, through which Scoonie Burn runs, was officially named Sillerhole Den and was labelled such on maps, including the one above from 1912. However, locally the place was known as Spinkie Den - 'spinkie' being the Scots work for primrose, although sometimes used to refer to various other flowers too. Many towns and villages had a 'spinkie den' including Kennoway, Markinch and St Andrews.

The den was part of the Durie estate and had been the focus of mining activity in the early nineteenth century with ochre and coal pits in the vicinity. However, as this activity came to an end, and the town of Leven expanded, the picturesque woodland surroundings became recognised as a beauty spot. Picnic parties would visit, such as the Independent Order of Rechabites in 1917 (see 21 June 1917 piece below from the East of Fife Record). 
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At this time, aside from the swimming pond, Spinkie Den continued to be owned by Mr Christie of Durie. ​The creation of the pond had however opened the door for further recreational facilities. In 1924, Christie granted a ten year lease to Benjamin James Hobbs to operate a putting green in the space between the swimming pond and the wooded den. The opening ceremony of the putting green took place on 29 March 1924 (see Dundee Courier piece below from that day). ​The article pictured Benjamin James Hobbs (incorrectly naming him J.B. Hobbs).
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The same newspaper article also emphasised that "Leven people have expressed a strong desire to have the Den as a communal property". The vision was to lay out walks and build bridges over the burn. The Town Council had been negotiating for some time with Mr Christie "without result". By this time the Council were looking to move on a compulsory purchase, to acquire the den for the good of the community. The 10 April 1924 Leven Advertiser told how Baillie Barron brought forward the motion at a time when "the town was growing towards the gates of the den".
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However, in an update on the situation in the 29 July 1924 Leven Advertiser, Provost Mackie and Bailie Barron, told of how the Town Council did not want to have to "throw away money needlessly in the law courts" in the event of being unsuccessful in their aim. Perhaps talks were ongoing behind the scenes involving John Letham, as the Town Council remained "hopeful as to the ultimate result". By the start of 1925 it was reported that movement was being made towards a satisfactory settlement. Early in April 1925 it became public knowledge that John Letham had made a gift of £1000, a gesture that appeared to seal the deal, ensuring that feu-duty could be covered on the site of years to come (for more detail on this see the article at the foot of this post from 21 April Leven Advertiser). Shortly afterwards, Sillerhole Den or Spinkie Den was renamed Letham Glen in recognition of John Letham's generosity and key role in ending years of challenging negotiations.

In June 1925 the "experiment of running a pierrot troupe" was tried as Jack Ashwood's Merrymakers opened at the Glen (see 26 May Leven Advertiser piece above). Leven Town Council embarked upon a gradual programme of improvements to the glen in the years after acquisition, including planting, establishing walkways and creating bridges over the burn. In 1929, Mr Alexander Cumming Dewar, architect and Leven town clerk, prepared plans for an ornamental stone arch and iron gate, as well as a separate carter's gate. This was erected the following year (1930) but displayed the date 1925 - the year that the den was secured for the community. John Letham gifted £600 to cover the cost of the gates and railings, as well as plants and shrubs. The completed main arch is shown below. The next post will cover a few highlights from the next few decades at the Glen.

Letham Glen at Scoonie roundabout is named after John Letham, the retired farmer who gifted money to Leven Town Council in 1925 to help secure the park for the community. His gift of £1000 was invested so that the interest could be put towards the annual feu-duty. John Letham was born at Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire in 1863. His father, also John, was an arable farmer (as was his grandfather and great-grandfather, both also named John Letham). His mother was Margaret Ballantine. In his teens, John began working alongside his father at Lairs Farm, becoming at least a fourth generation farmer. John's father died in 1882, aged 52 and he, his mother Margaret and his younger brother Andrew continued in farming, moving to nearby Gill Farm (two miles north of Lesmahagow) by the time of the 1891 census. 

However, a decade later John Letham broke with family tradition and left Lanarkshire for Fife. In 1892 Lahill Mains near Largo was advertised to let. John took on the lease and moved to Newburn Parish with his mother and siblings, joining the East of Fife Agricultural Society soon afterwards. Tragically, in 1894, his brother Andrew died at Lahill (also known as Lawhill) aged just 28 from appendicitis and was buried at Newburn Old Church. John continued to farm at Lahill for five further years before a new opportunity presented itself.​

As a dairy farmer at Balgrummo, just a couple of miles north of Leven, John made frequently trips past the wooded den known locally as Spinkie Den delivering milk. He began to cherish the hope that one day the town would possess the natural beauty spot for the enjoyment of the community. The 1911, census records John and William Letham still as joint tenants at Balgrummo, with Margaret and Mary Ann living in the same household. Sadly, in 1916, John lost another brother when William died aged 36. Now in his fifties, John decided to retire from farming and by 1920 had moved into Fernbank on Drummochy Road, Lower Largo. In census of 1921 John was recorded at Fernbank with his mother Margaret, sister Mary Ann and a servant. 

John had never married or had children but was devoted to his mother and siblings, as well as to the agricultural community. He took an interest in wider public affairs and still maintained his personal vision for Spinkie Den. He kept abreast of developments as Leven Town Council negotiated for some years with Robert Maitland Christie to secure the beauty spot for the people of Leven. In 1924 he made a gift of £500 to the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution and also a gift of £1000 to the Wemyss Memorial Hospital.

Finally, the opportunity came for John to enable the Council's purchase of the Den. He made a gift of £1000 which was to be invested to contribute long-term to the annual feu-duty for the site. So grateful were the Town Council that ex-Bailie Barron proposed that the name of Spinkie Den be changed to Letham Glen - the name by which the public park still goes to this day (see 9 July 1925 Dundee Courier item below). The advertisement further below for a concert by the Merrymakers is one of the first examples of the new name in use (from 18 August 1925 Leven Advertiser).
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In 1926, John Letham's mother, Margaret, died at Fernbank aged 85. He continued to live there with his sister Mary Ann. His support of Letham Glen continued beyond his initial gift and in 1930 he gave a further £600 towards the cost of the stone entrance gates and railings, pictured above. These were given a category C listing in 1999 and are described as follows:

TRIUMPHAL ARCH: keystoned, moulded arch and cornice giving way to deep frieze inscribed '19' 'LETHAM GLEN' '25'. 2-leaf decorative metalwork gates.
E GATEPIERS: square section gate piers with deep cornice and flat coping. 2-leaf decorative metalwork gates.

Although dated 1925, the year that the den was acquired for the town, the arch and gates were not constructed until 1930 as part of the gradual enhancements of the park, under Leven Town Council. The cost of the entrance gates was £550 and this was fully covered by a cheque from John Letham for £600 (the excess amount being used for plants and shrubs).

The retired John Letham also continued to be involved in agricultural matters and in 1939 was made an honorary life member of the East of Fife Agricultural Society, at their AGM, after 47 years as a member. In 1946 John lost his sister Mary Ann who died aged 77 at Fernbank. John died there three years later on 17 March 1949. John Letham was buried at Newburn Old Churchyard, with three of his siblings. The inscription on their headstone, pictured below, reads:

In memory of Andrew Letham, Lahill Mains Died 17th Dec 1894 aged 28 years
William Letham, Balgrummo, Scoonie Died 9th February 1916 aged 36 years
Mary Jane Letham Died 26th July 1947 aged 77 years
John Letham Died 17th March 1949 aged 85 years
Both of Fernbank, Lower Largo

Fernbank on Drummochy Road was designed in 1890 for James Galloway, a retired leather merchant. Galloway was born in 1833 in Colinsburgh, son of currier James Galloway and his wife Isabella Meldrum. In his teens James was apprenticed as a currier (someone who treats leather after the tanning process, dressing it ready for sale). The notice below from the 21 February 1850 Fife Herald reports on the opening of the family business, when James senior took over from David Carstairs. In turn, the younger James took over the business after the death of his father in 1863. In 1879 James Galloway married Catherine Nelson and they lived in Colinsburgh while James continued as a leather merchant there.

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By 1890, James was planning his retirement and commissioned James Gillespie architect of St Andrews to design Fernbank. James has purchased a plot at Drummochy, on which there were two old dwellings. These were situated up against the road, in line with the row of houses on the right of the image above and below (which still exist today as 26-38 Drummochy Road). The two old cottages were demolished and the new villa was built higher up the sloping plot to maximise the view towards the sea. James had long been a keen horticulturalist and so the botanical name 'Fernbank' was fitting for his new home.

For many years, James had been one of the leading exhibitors at the Colinsburgh Flower Show (an offshoot of the Keil's Den Horticultural Show) and was a recognised specialist in the culture of pansies. He won many prizes for his flowers and produce. No doubt his garden at Fernbank (shown in the centre of the 1964 map above) would have been impressive. James took an active role in public life in his retirement - becoming a Justice of the Peace, a Parish Councillor and a member of Largo School Board. He was also an active member of the U.P. Church and was a lifelong ardent Liberal.

In 1899 the brother of James, Thomas C. Galloway, died and left the legacy with which the Galloway Library in Colinsburgh was established (opened in 1904). At the time of the 1901 census, James and Catherine were still living at Fernbank. However, James died in September 1905 at Fernbank, aged 72. Catherine still owned Fernbank on the 1915 valuation roll but by 1920, Fernbank had been sold to John Letham, a retired farmer. John Letham would go on to gift money to Leven Town Council to secure the future of the public park at Spinkie Den, which was then renamed Letham Glen as a gesture of appreciation. More on that in the next post. John Letham died in 1949. The next residents of Fernbank were retired coal merchant John Dow Young and his wife Jean Cochrane Gardiner.