The above photograph shows Harbour Wynd, heading south towards Lower Largo. The building at the corner with the black and white half-timbering was once Largo's Gas Showroom. Also once known as Gasworks Wynd or Toll Road, the Harbour Wynd showroom opened in 1935. The facility was adjacent to the gas retort house and cylinder and was owned by the Kennoway and Largo Gas Company, who quickly set about ingratiating themselves with the locals and the visitors in Largo. The piece below from the 20 August 1935 Leven Advertiser tells of how the manager installed a seat outside the showroom, overlooking Largo Bay, upon which were the words "to use more gas and enjoy more leisure".
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​Note the small cartoon character at the foot of several of the gas adverts above. This was 'Mr Therm' - a jolly character designed in 1933 by graphic designer Eric Fraser, which was used in the gas industry's advertising for around four decades. Mr Therm explained how gas worked, highlighted the benefits of using modern products and reminded people of the savings they could make by switching to gas. The slogan "Mr Therm burns to serve you" was often used.
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Many small town and village gas showrooms was in inconspicuous, modest buildings such as Largo's and the example below from Biggar (which still exists as a museum). As well as being a place to view and order gas appliances (available for rent, hire-purchase or sale) the gas showroom was a place folks went to pay their gas bills or to have appliances repaired.
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In 1965, Largo Gas Showroom was converted into a house and it is now known as Friday Cottage. These days, it is hard to imagine that this once had a shop front, a range of innovative home appliances on show and a queue of people waiting to pay their bills. If you have memories of the gas showroom, please leave a comment.
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A popular decorative object today, glass fishing floats once had a practical use out at sea. Largo fishermen were among those who at one time made use of floats made of glass. Although cork and canvas floats were also commonly used in the days before the widespread use of plastic, glass orbs in a protective net offered an alternative option.  Known to have been used from 1840s in Norway, glass fishing floats are believed to have come into use in the UK much later (certainly by circa 1910). 

Now highly collectable, experts in glass floats are trying to learn more about the floats used around Scotland. In Largo stories abound of old glass floats being found in lofts or in basements. Do you have some or a photo of an authentic fishing float used locally? If you have seen one, do you recall what colour and shape these were and what size? Do you know anything about how they were used (what type(s) of fishing) and what period of time they were in use?  Where might locally used glass floats have been manufactured? Do you know anything about the process of covering the float with rope? Was this a skill that an ancestor of yours had?

Any snippet of information, no matter how small, would be welcome in the quest to understand more about these interesting objects.  Please leave a comment or get in touch using the 'Contact' option if you can help.

The photograph above of the former Church Rooms associated with Largo Parish Church was taken in 2021. Dating back to the early 18th century, the facility was for much of its history an ancillary building linked to Largo House. Note the traditional forestair leading to the upper entrance and the thackstane at the chimney base (suggesting an original thick thatched roof). The building was given to the Largo Kirk Session in 1935, by then owner of Largo Estate David Maitland Makgill Crichton. Presumably the building had become surplus to the requirements of the estate. During this era, Largo House had been let to a series of long-term tenants and at the time was occupied by John Key Hutchison, flour merchant.
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When Largo Parish Church completed the renovation of The Stables in 1970, the Church Rooms became a secondary hall space and was less in demand. In 1984 it was designated a category B listed building. Its listing description is as follows:

​Early 18th century with alterations. 2 storeys, 3 bays. Harled with some ashlar dressings. Entrance front originally 2 doors in left ground bay, one now window; central forestair to 1st floor door. 2 later 1st floor windows. South front altered fenestration to ground floor, 3 windows in weathered stone architraves to 1st. Straight skews with simply moulded skewputts, crowstepped skew to south-east. End stacks. Pantiled roof with straight skew and skewputt left and right (mutual with adjoining building). Rendered left and brick right end stacks.

Below are two 1970s black and white images of the property, front and back, from the Canmore Collection.
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Largo Cricket Club made use of the facility as a pavilion in more recent decades before switching to a portacabin adjacent to their ground. When the Church undertook significant renovation work during 2016-17, it was recognised that the Church Rooms were not being used. Plus, when Largo Parish Church came into being on 15 November 2017, a result of a union between the linked charges of Largo and Newburn and Largo St David’s churches, the Church had the use of both The Stables and the Durham Hall. Accordingly, the Church Rooms building was handed back to Largo Estate. After nine decades of community use, the Church Rooms were in need of maintenance. The estate applied for planning permission to convert the facility into a dwelling house, replace the roof and carry out a series of renovations inside and out. Now residential accommodation for estate workers, the building has moved into the next chapter in its story.