When Largo had large deep sea fishing boats, these boats were made in boat building yards outside of the Parish. For example, the Ocean Bride (KY 4), was built by John Alexander Millar at West Anstruther in September 1882 for the Gillies brothers and David Ballingall's Forget-Me-Not (KY 2011) was built at Fulton's boatyard in Pittenweem the same year. The Osprey (KY 977) was built in Dysart and the British Queen (KY 1419) at Buckhaven. However, over the years many of Largo's smaller boats were made in Largo by local joiners and craftsmen. Below is a list of vessels known to have been built in Largo Parish. 

A more detailed list of the above boats, showing type, length, builder and year of build (where known) can be accessed as a PDF by clicking here. Note that most are ML registrations, rather than KY registrations. In 1904, a new regulation came into force that all new boats (and existing boats that chose to) could register in Methil rather than Kirkcaldy. The very first boat to do so was the Lizzie Cameron of St Monans, who became ML 1. Below is the report of her launch from 24 June 1904 East of Fife Record. Second was Sceptre of Cellardyke (ML 2), then Buckhaven's Thistle (ML 3 and ex-KY 622)). The first Largo-based boat to register at Methil was David Melville's Unity which was registered as ML 21 in 1905. By 1910, two hundred boats had been registered at Methil, one hundred of which had previously been KY boats.

Most of the vessels on the Largo-built list were probably built for Largo folk. For example, Lily (ML 56), was built in 1920 by Walter Horne for Alexander Simpson. Lily was a 1.16 tons sail boat (16.8 x 6.4 x 2.4 feet). However, some are known to have been built for people from other places. For example, in 1898, Thistle was built by Walter Horne for Alexander Thomson of Buckhaven. Thistle originally had the registration KY 468 but later became ML 70. All of the boats on the list (with the exception of the racing yachts) are under 20 feet in length reflecting the limited space in which their builders had to work.  Notable local boat builders were joiners Walter Horne and David Tait. Some vessels were also made by the Gillies brothers. 

The names of these local boats are predominantly female forenames - likely named after mothers, wives, sisters and daughters. The Marne was owned by Andrew Gillies of Goodsir House and was named after the battlefield where Tom Johnston of the 2nd Gordon Highlanders, won the Military Medal during the First World War. The Osprey was most likely named after the deep sea fishing boat Osprey (KY 977) - both vessels of that name being owned within the Gillies family. The Quaver and Semiquaver are also boats owned by the Gillies family but associated with racing rather than with fishing. Interestingly, the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther have recently placed another Quaver from Largo on display. Pictured below is the yawl from their collection, apparently built for David Gillies, of Cardy House in the 1870s.

Do you have information about (or pictures of) any of the Largo-built boats listed above? Do you know of other boats made over the years in the Largo area? If so, please do get in touch and let's add to the list.
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Lower Largo has a few characterful cobbled paths and pavements, some of which date back to circa 1880. Their construction was often associated with house building development. Cardy House for example was built in 1871 on an elevated position, accessed from the west side, via a small slope (pictured above and below). Having a surface made of cobblestones enabled horses to get a better grip than they would on dirt. Cobbles set into sand also have the advantage of allowing water to drain and to shift slightly with subtle ground movements. This example at Cardy Crossing (also known as Braehead or East End Cottages) actually comprises whin setts (even blocks of dressed stones) in the middle and 'split whin horonising' to the side. The latter are irregular slivers of offcut material. 
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The 1885 photograph above shows the old muddy dirt roads of Main Street, which were subject to rutting and puddles. Although it wasn't practical to surface all roads, some small sections were cobbled by those that could afford it. For example, circa 1880 a broad area of the roadside was surfaced in front of the Crusoe Buildings (see below) and its neighbouring houses to the east. Not only was this to become a prestigious spot due to the Robinson Crusoe Statue being sited there but the cobblestones provided a practical space for outdoor work - such as the preparation of fishing nets. The material below is another example of split whin horonising.
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Some of the other examples around the village (see below) are true 'cobbles', i.e. naturally occurring more rounded stones. The word cobble derives from the word cob which means a rounded lump.

During the second half of the 19th century, cobbles were widely phased out in favour of less expensive concrete and tarmacadam. Often cobbles were covered over with these new materials. However, most Largo examples have stood the test of time, providing character to the streetscape and the occasional low-key artistic flourish, such as the one below. There are even a few modern takes on cobblestones around the village, including around the Temple Car Park. 

The golf club pictured above features a silver plaque inscribed with the words From Nicol Malcolm Leven Golf Club to his brother Andrew. A previous blog post has covered the life of Nicol Malcolm, the Dubbieside farmer who was well known in golfing circles. A member of several local clubs, Nicol had a hand in the setting up of Lundin Golf Club in 1868. The golf club in the photograph was made by Alex Patrick, who was the great-nephew of Nicol Malcolm. However, exactly who 'brother Andrew' was is more of a mystery, as Nicol did not (as far as records show) have a brother.

Nicol Malcolm had two older sisters - Christina and Isabella. Christina married Alex Patrick (grandfather of clubmaker with same name) and Isabella married an Alexander Thomson in Largo. So, there is no known brother or brother-in-law named Andrew. It could well be that the inscribed golf club was given to someone whom Nicol considered 'as a brother' or who he knew through a fraternal organisation such as the masons.

One potential candidate might be Andrew Wilkie, Captain of Leven Golf Club in the 1870s. He was R.W.M. at Leven's Elgin Lodge of the Freemasons. Another possibility is Andrew Thomson the master baker - once of Kirkland, later Leven and then Lundin Links (not closely related to the Alexander Thomson married to Isabella). Both men were involved in the creation of Lundin Golf Club shortly after Andrew moved his business there in the mid-1860s. That however is merely a theory and other theories would be welcomed on who the Andrew in the inscription could be.

The photograph above shows Alex. Patrick's shop at the junction of Links Road and Balfour Street in Leven, adjacent to the golf links. The picture below shows the shop in context to the left of the Leven Thistle Clubhouse. Alexander Patrick was born in 1845 in Leven, two years before his cabinet maker father John Patrick (nephew of Nicol Malcolm) began making golf clubs. When John died in the 1866 cholera outbreak, eldest son Alex inherited the business, which he soon afterwards relocated from Branch Street (near the Shorehead) to the location near the links. He employed younger brother, Nicol Malcolm Patrick, as an apprentice. Later on brothers John Patrick and David Murdoch Patrick also became golf club makers. 

Alex Patrick left Fife for a time, heading to Wimbledon in 1886, to become golf professional (and sell golf clubs) at the club there. He returned to Leven five years later, leaving his brother David to take over the role at Wimbledon. David too headed back to Fife a few years after that, and both brothers set up premises in Lundin Links, as further outlets for their golf clubs. Alex had his name over a small shop to the rear of the 1896-built Lundin Golf Club House (see below) while David had a house with integral workshop built between the railway station and the club house on what is now Golf Road.

Below are a range of adverts for Alex Patrick's business, covering not just golf clubs, but golf balls and even the restringing of tennis rackets. Patrick clubs gained a great reputation, initially in Fife and soon across Scotland, the UK and overseas. Alex retired in 1909 but seems to have returned to work during the years of the First World War before retiring for good. The business carried on under his name, with Mr David James Sellars at the helm into the 1930s. Alex died in 1932 aged 86 at his home Wimbledon Villa in Leven. Singing was the main leisure pursuit of Mr Patrick and he was a leading member of Leven Choral Union (later Leven Amateur Musical Association). 

Have you noticed the plaque (pictured above and below) on the wall of a house on Lower Largo's Main Street?  Do you know what this was placed there for? Read on to find out the answer (or take some time to think about it first before reading on). The plaque sits between between two upper windows and has recently been painted gold and black. Previously it had a more grey-brown appearance (see image further below).

The house in question is shown in the Canmore collection photograph above, taken in the 1970s. The plaque can just be seen between the centre and left upper windows. This is 38 Main Street, known as Crampie, but once named Berwick View. Crampie is also the name of one of the named large boulders on Largo beach. Below are other examples of the same type of plaque - with the same sun symbol but varying number sequences. Do you know what these are yet?

To fully answer the question, let's go all the way back to 1666 and the Great Fire of London. This catastrophic event triggered the establishment of insurance offices. The first one was called the 'Fire Office' and started in 1680. At the beginning, it provided money for the restoration or reconstruction of buildings damaged by fire. However, insurance companies soon realised that it was cheaper to prevent and extinguish fires than simply to pay the cost of reconstruction. Insurance companies began to employ their own fire brigades.

The insurers created ‘fire mark’ plates, such as the one in Lower Largo, in order to identify which houses were insured by each company. These were installed prominently on an exterior wall facing the street. This identification was particularly important before the introduction of street numbering but they also served to advertise the insurance company's services. Sometimes, insurance companies had reciprocal arrangements with each other, so that if a fire brigade put out a fire at a house insured by another company then the brigade’s company would be reimbursed.

​The fire plaque or plate provided instant visual proof that the household was insured against fire-risk, and guaranteed attendance by the insurance company's fire-fighters should the need arise. The illustration below depicts fire fighters from the Sun Fire Brigade circa 1800 with their rudimentary equipment. The newspaper clipping from the Fife Herald of 21 Oct 1824 gives an example of their brigade putting out a fire in Edinburgh.
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