The small, low building in the centre of the image above is 18 Main Street in Upper Largo. For many decades this was an inn or public house - known as Dall's Inn then later Cumming's Inn, The Inn or Auld Hoose. For many decades in the late 19th century into the early 20th century, James Cumming, was the proprietor. His life was an eventful one in which he combined the roles of publican and blacksmith. The map below dates to 1912 and shows both the smithy that he operated at the corner of Church Place and North Feus, and his public house (marked P.H.) on the south side of Main Street.
James Cumming was born in Largo around 1852 to stone mason William Cumming and his wife Sarah Meikle. When William died in 1865 at the age of 45, he left behind a widow and several children, some of whom were still infants. The previous year, William's stepfather, innkeeper James Dall had died and so the Cumming family took over the license for Dall's Inn - with widowed Sarah becoming the license holder and eldest daughter Eliza working alongside her.
Second eldest child, James, was away from home by time of the 1871 census, working as an apprentice mechanic in Milton of Balgonie. When Sarah then also died in 1872, the public house license in Upper Largo was transferred to Eliza, aged just 22. She also had four younger siblings aged between the ages of sixteen and nine to care for. In 1873, Eliza married a shepherd, Peter Robertson, at Largo Kirk and they went on to have two daughters, Helen and Sarah - one named after each grandmother.
Tragically, in 1877, Eliza also died, prompting her brother James (who had now lost his father, mother and oldest sibling) to return to Largo. He took over the public house license which had previously been held by his step-grandfather, his mother and his sister (see below from 18 October 1877 Fifeshire Journal). Younger sister Sarah now acted as housekeeper, within the household that was headed by James and also comprised younger brothers Robert (a joiner) and Alexander (a painter), as well as two young nieces, Helen and Sarah.
James would stay at the heart of the community in Kirkton of Largo for the remainder of his life, living at the inn, latterly known as Auld Hoose, and having the dual occupation of Publican and Blacksmith. As a master blacksmith, James was a regular entrant at the East of Fife Agricultural Show. He was awarded first prize in the Best Shod Farm Horse category most years between during the 1880s and 1890s. Reports of his prize-winning are shown below, from 21 April 1887 Fifeshire Journal and 20 April 1895 Fife News, respectively. He also was a frequent winner at Largo Horticultural Show for fruit and vegetable growing. By 1891, the household had reduced to James, his sister Sarah and just one of his nieces.
On 20 December 1895 James married Mary Brown in Colinsburgh. Their only son William, who later became a blacksmith like his father, was born in 1899.
In 1897, the gas works site was put up for sale and James bought it at a knocked down price (see 17 Sept 1897 East of Fife Record below). The following year he erected new stables on the site and permitted the Largo Water District Committee to store tools there for a small rent. A few years later James moved his entire blacksmith business to new premises in this vicinity.
Meanwhile the Cumming's Inn continued to operate and hold local functions such as the Largo Burns Club supper in 1912 (see 1 February 1912 Leven Advertiser item below).
James Cumming died on 4 March 1919 at Auld House aged 67 years. The notice above appeared in the 22 March Fife News. His widow Mary had the public house certificate transferred into her name (see below from 19 April 1919 Fife News) and she continued as license holder at the inn until her death in 1926. Her son William subsequently had the license transferred to himself but in 1928 it was allowed to lapse when he decided that the family would finally leave the trade.
The piece below from the 10 August 1922 Leven Advertiser tells of the memorial placed in memory of James Cumming at Newburn Cemetery some three years after his death.
A recent photograph of the memorial is shown below. The inscription reads:
In ever loving and affectionate remembrance of my beloved husband James Cumming.
The day will dawn when the Lord shall be mindful of his own.
Further below are a couple of more modern day photographs of the building that was so well known to James Cumming and that was once a long-standing public house that was run by at least six different members of the same family.
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