The above photograph was taken around 1910 by David McIntosh Rollo, a Cupar solicitor. It appeared in the 1911 Fife News Almanac. Below is the same image lined up with a similar view from recent times. David Rollo would have been around 43 years of age when he captured this image of some boating activity on the foreshore in front of White Cottage or thereabouts. Note the different appearance of the Crusoe Hotel in the background.

Rollo was a prominent figure in Cupar in the first half of the last century. A bailie and Justice of the Peace, he died in 1948 at the age of 81. As well as an amateur photographer, he was an avid bee-keeper who was secretary and treasurer of the Scottish Beekeepers Association for 28 years (Dundee Courier 6 December 1948). There is a photo of Rollo at the foot of this post, taken in 1935 at Montrave at a Scottish Beekeepers event (from 1936 Fife News Almanac).

Above is a 1970s photograph of Goodsir House on Lower Largo's Main Street (facing the Orry), which is held in the Canmore archives. This house was built for Dr John Goodsir (1746-1816) in the late eighteenth century. Dr Goodsir was in medical practice at Largo (and surrounding area) for 46 years. There were already Goodsirs in Largo before the doctor was born. His own father - also John Goodsir (1719-1780) - was born, married and died in Largo. John senior and Janet Walker were married at Largo Parish Church by Robert Ferrier on 19 December 1745. His work as a tenant farmer took him away from Largo for a few years. He was based in Wemyss Parish at the time of his marriage and the newlyweds settled there initially. Their two eldest children - John (the future Largo Doctor) and James - were born where they lived at Muiredge (see John's 1746 birth record below). 
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So, Dr John Goodsir lived in Largo from around the age of seven and attended local school. He went on to study medicine at Edinburgh University, returning to Largo around 1770. In 1773, John married Agnes Johnston of Markinch (see marriage record below). Their first child was born within a couple of years and they went on to have eleven children, all of whom were born in Largo (although not all survived into adulthood). 

Of Goodsir's children, three became surgeons and, of those, one had a son that became Professor of Anatomy at Edinburgh University. This grandson supplied recollections of Largo's Dr John Goodsir - see newspaper pieces below from the 31 December 1868 Falkirk Herald and 7 December 1905 Leven and Wemyss Gazette. These give us interesting insights to the man ("tall, gaunt, wiry") and his lifestyle ("Dr Goodsir would start off from Largo on Monday...and not return home till Friday"). He travelled on horseback over a wide area, a lamp at his knee to light his way in the hours of darkness. Moreover, in spite of his demanding vocation, he found time to to "occupy the pulpit" at Largo Baptist Church for twenty years (more of that another time).

Medical practitioners of the time would, of course, have charged fees for their services. Medical men drew up tables of fees based upon a number of factors, including the financial situation of the patient and the distance that had to be travelled to reach them. Perhaps the fact that Dr Goodsir was on the move during the week helped to keep fees down. Perhaps he planned his weekly route to minimise unnecessary extra travel. Charges also varied between day calls and night visits and the nature of the treatment required. A 'grand operation' such as an amputation carried the heaviest fee. Lesser procedures (perhaps stabilising a fracture) would entail a mid-range charge, while something such as dressing a wound would be at the low end of the scale. An apprentice doctor would charge less than an experienced one.

Goodsir's successful medical practice and huge work ethic enabled him to acquire various properties in Largo over the years. As well as Goodsir House (built circa 1780s for his growing family), and Doctor's Vennel (where he is said to have had his Largo surgery), Goodsir also had neighbouring 'Court House' built to house medical students that he taught (according to the book 'Largo 21' by Largo Field Studies Society). Below is an extract from the sasine register of 1799, showing that Dr Goodsir also owned property on the south side of Main Street. After his death his children and grandchildren continued to own property in Largo for many decades.

​During Dr Goodsir's long career he must have touched the lives of so many individuals, both in Largo and beyond. A man dedicated to both his profession and his faith, he would have been remembered long after his death in November 1816. Below is the record of his burial at Largo Kirk and further below is an engraving of the man himself (by William Coutts). It seems fitting that his name lives on in the village to this day.
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Following on from the previous post about Doctor's Vennel, it's worth revisiting a topic covered before - the Largo Pottery. Before the pottery moved into the Doctor's Vennel buildings, Anne Lightwood (pictured above) threw pots in an outbuilding in her garden at 57 Main Street Lower Largo. The products were then sold in a small shop at 68 Main Street (latterly the Baptist Church Hall but recently demolished - shown in the photograph below).

In 1978, the derelict Doctor's Vennel buildings were purchased and were remodelled over many months into a workshop, studio and showroom for the pottery. These upgraded facilities enabled output to increase significantly. Largo Pottery was now able to be sold, not just in Largo itself, but through many shops around Scotland. The increased space also allowed pottery demonstrations to take place. However, on the evening of 28 June 1984, fire broke out and gutted the entire premises. Much of the stock was destroyed in the blaze, including valuable porcelain stock and, sadly, many photographs, text books and glazing recipes. The photograph below of firemen at the scene appeared in the following week's East Fife Mail. 

The previous post highlighted a painting which featured 'Doctor's Vennel'. This characterful corner of Lower Largo no longer exists in its original form but is remembered fondly by many. Found at 81a Main Street, tucked behind 'Court House', this former row of historic buildings was also known as 'Doctor's Wynd' and 'Court House Close' over the years. The 'Doctor' reference derives from the fact that the vennel was adjacent to (the still remaining) 'Goodsir' house, which was the home of Dr John Goodsir over two hundred years ago.

The above sketch of the vennel was created by Ken Lochead (1936-2006), the East Lothian-based watercolour artist, during the era when the Largo Pottery was located in these buildings. However, further back in time Doctor's Vennel accommodated four dwellings. The census extract below from 1901 shows the four households recorded then, between 'The Court' and 'Goodsir House'. At this time all four of the households were headed up by older, retired individuals - a former loom weaver, a former oil mill crusher, a former domestic servant and 74-year-old Isabella Lawrie (who lived with her net worker daughter).

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​Isabella Lawrie lived at the end of Doctor's Vennel for decades. Her dwelling was right next to the natural spring - located through the opening at the far end of the vennel (see photograph below from the book 'Seatoun of Largo' by Ivy Jardine).
Water emerged from the spring within a carved hollow in the vertical bedrock into a stone trough (a feature which remains to this day - see colour image further below). Having direct access to a natural spring that never ran dry made Isabella Lawrie (maiden name Sime) the ideal person to wash clothes for those without such an amenity. Indeed the 1891 census extract below lists her occupation as 'washerwoman' (as it also was in the census of 1871 and 1881). She was married to merchant seaman James Lawrie. Isabella died in 1912 aged 87.

In the late eighteenth century, there were at least three washerwoman in Largo Parish - each living next to a water source. In addition to Isabella Lawrie, there was Grace Cornfoot in Kirkton of Largo, close to the water pump at Church Place and Margaret Wallace, who lived right next to Pump Green in Lundin Mill. They probably all also made use of the communal bleaching greens that were common at the time.

Among the other residents of Doctor's Vennel were Andrew Drysdale - a carter who lived there in 1911, and further back in time several hand loom weavers, labourers and fishermen. The series of photographs below are from the 'Canmore' website, which is part of Historic Environment Scotland. Taken when the buildings were in a run-down state, these images pre-date the establishment of Largo Pottery at the site. More to follow on the pottery in the next post.
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The painting above (entitled 'Harvest in Largo') is a view from what is now Bourtree Terrace/Bourtree Brae, looking over the rooftops of Lower Largo to the south west. Painted around or before 1910 by John Blair, the artist was sitting in what was then a field between the old Durham School and the Main Street. The bellcote of Largo St David's Church dominates the skyline and there are many boats our in the bay. 

The annotated sketch of the same view highlights the following buildings: 
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1. Rear of Durham House                2. Goodsir House             3. Balfour Cottage (obscuring Comely Bank to the rear)
4. Grocer and Co-op Shops             5. Court House                  6. Downfield
7. Largo St David's Church              8. Doctor's Vennel

Also in the distance to the far right are the long-gone Butter's Buildings.

The 1912 map below helps to clarify where the painting was taken from and the direction of the view. Bourtree Terrace is shown on the map below but is absent from the artwork, showing it was created before the creation of the map. John Blair was a landscape artist born in Berwickshire in 1850, who died in Edinburgh in 1934. At the time of his death the Berwick Advertiser (18 Oct) noted that "his watercolours, well-known to connoisseurs all over the country, depicting often the quaint picturesqueness of fishing villages, met wide appreciation". It's wonderful when an old painting, taken from an unusual position, gives an insight to life in the villages in days gone by.