The building at the right in the above photograph is 'Craigiebank' or 'Craigie Bank' in Lower Largo. The name is taken from the Craigie family that lived on the site during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Craigies were predominantly hand loom weavers and the plot that Craigie Bank was built upon was probably used as a bleaching green. The last of the family was weaver Janet Craigie, who died unmarried in 1881 at the age of 85. The informant of her death was neighbour and master joiner Andrew Blyth Masterton. The son of weaver George Masterton, by the age of 20 Andrew was a carpenter. It seems likely that Andrew Masterton was involved in the construction of Craigie Bank. He was its first owner and the Mastertons owned the property and others nearby for many decades.

Having married Margaret Thomson of Perthsire, Andrew Masterton's first child, Catherine, was born at 'Marine Villa' (the house immediately east of Craigie Bank) in 1873. By June of 1877, Craigie Bank was advertised for let (see 29 June Scotsman above), as was Marine Villa. So it would appear likely that Craigie Bank was built between 1873 and 1877. 
​
In 1881 Andrew Masterton (then described as 'master joiner employing 2 men and 4 boys') was living at Craigie Bank with his wife Margaret and daughter Catherine. Ten years later the three were still recorded as living at Craigie Bank but Andrew was now noted as a 'retired joiner', aged 50. In the 1895 valuation roll Andrew was listed as proprietor of ten properties in Largo Parish - including the Belmont Hotel (perhaps he was involved in building that) and Westhall on Station Road in Lundin Links.

By 1901, all three plus Catherine's husband John Clayton and their infant daughter were at neighbouring 'Craigie Cottage', while Craigie Bank was unoccupied. At this time Andrew was described as 'formerly builder'. By 1911, Catherine and her family had moved to Fort WIlliam but parents Andrew and Margaret were still at 'Craigie Cottage'. Andrew died in 1913 and his widow became proprietor of his properties. In 1920 a number of the houses were advertised for sale (see below from 20 March Scotsman), including Craigie Bank.

Johnston Wright Swan was born in 1859 in Edinburgh - the son of Janet Wright and George Swan (baker and refreshment room owner). In the 1881 the family were at 'John Knox Coffee House' on Canongate (Royal Mile). The coffee house can be seen above to the left of John Knox House itself.  A few years beforehand the establishment had caused some controversy when it was reported that "a vandal of a coffee-house keeper who has taken a portion of the house facing the Tron Church has, in glaring black letters on a white ground, painted "John Knox's Coffee House." (The Graphic, 19 Aug 1876).

Aged 21 by the time of the 1881 census, Johnston - the eldest in the family - was a pastry baker at his father's bakehouse, while 15-year-old brother George was a junior baker there. Following the death of George senior, early in 1887 at Sugar House Close off the Royal Mile, Johnston and George junior took over the family business interests between them. Johnston married Mary Brown Wright later the same year, in Dumfries. In 1891, the pair and their two daughters (Janet and Mary) were living in East Adam Street. 

By 1901, Johnston was described as a 'cook and confectioner' at the 'University Hotel' on Chambers Street. The entries above from the 1902 Post Office Directory show the brothers' various establishments in the capital. Throughout this period, over many years,  Johnston was competing in prestigious bakery competitions including the "Scottish section" of the annual "Bakers' and Confectioners' Exhibition" at the Agricultural Hall in London. An example of the many newspaper accounts of Swan's success is shown below (from 9 Sept 1909 Scotsman). 

The 1911 census found the family living in Priorwood House - a Georgian country house in Lasswade, while running multiple business premises in Edinburgh. In 1913 daughter Mary Wright Swan married Hugh Percival (Inspector of the Poor in Largo) and they lived at East Rose Villa in Lundin Links. Once their daughter was firmly settled in Lundin Links  and the once the Swans had sold a number of their business interests in Edinburgh, Johnston and Mary Swan also moved to the village. 

They ran the Victoria Boarding House in Lundin Links from circa 1923. At that time it incorporated a bake house.  Then in 1929 they purchased Bellville on Emsdorf Street from Mrs Dudgeon (see 18 May 1929 Leven Advertiser above) and soon set up the shop in the front of this house. It would seem that the bakery element of their Lundin Links business interests shifted from Victoria Road to Emsdorf Street and the boarding house was styled more as a hotel. The hospitality at Swan's Victoria Hotel must have been quite something - with a baker/confectioner/cook/restaurateur at the helm. And his talents did not end there, for Mr Swan was also a musician. The article below from the 4 Feb 1928 Courier tells of him entertaining as a one-man band!

Although the above postcard is entitled "Woodlands, Largo", it is taken from Largo Pier looking over to the houses of Drummochy. The east end of Woodlands Road features in the background left, above the railway line. Posted on 29 August 1903 in Lower Largo, the sender (writing to a friend in Ayrshire) has clearly enjoyed holidaying in Largo. The photograph, taken a few years earlier, is a George Washington Wilson image. When magnified, there is some great detail of people captured as well as other detail of life at the time.

Note the wide entrance from Drummochy Road right into the harbour, where carts would ford the burn to reach the other side. See also the fishing paraphernalia and the tree stumps and logs lining the pier. At the foot of this post is a zoom-in on the three-storied Drummochy House which has an interesting statue to the right in the garden!

Many thanks to Bleu Ciel Photography for these stunning aerial views. The above image looks across Lundin Links and Largo, looking towards Largo Law and Kincraig Point. While not a 'vintage' view, seeing the villages in a wider context is thought-provoking. The focus of the main developed area is around the water feature of the Keil Burn and the harbour where it flows into the sea.  Wooded areas follow the routes of the Hatton and Keil Burns and the trees of 'Fir Park' really stand out in the centre.

In the foreground above, the westward expansion of Lundin Links fans out from the historic core of Lundin Mill. Meanwhile, the image below features the old heart of Drummochy on the left and Lower Largo on the right. The more modern housing, including Station Park, appears beyond the viaduct and trees, while the newest housing (still under ongoing construction) Of Selkirk Grove can just be seen to the right of that. Upper Largo can be picked out in both images, on the southern slopes of Largo Law. All three villages have grown and developed significantly over the decades. What development might follow in the years to come?

This sketch appeared in the Dundee Evening Telegraph on 5 May 1903. However, I suspect the sketch was done perhaps around a decade before that date, as there is no development on the south side of Crescent Road. It likely dates to a similar era to the photograph in an earlier post - click here. 

The article that accompanies the sketch describes how the "Leven and Lundin Links are held on lease by the three local clubs - Innerleven, Thistle, and Lundin - the proprietors being Sir John Gilmour, Bart. of Lundin and Montrave, and Mr R.M. Christie of Durie. The three clubs have equal right to the privileges of the course, and a Committee of two from each Club constitute the Board of Management, with the indefatigable worker on behalf of Thistle, Mr J.T. Ireland as Secretary."

The piece goes on to describe each hole on the course, as it was then, by name and in some detail (a topic for a future post). A visitor could buy a monthly ticket for 6s. The course record was 74 - held by David Kinnell. Memberships were 200 for Innerleven, 500 for Lundin and 650 for Thistle (1350 total). It's also noted that "a two-inch waterpipe runs the whole length of the course, and the greens are not allowed to starve for want of refreshing moisture. Three men are constantly employed on the links."

The houses shown in the background of the image are accurately drawn. From left to right these are: 'Fir Park'/'Braddan' (now 5-7 Crescent Road); 'Elphinstone'; 'Melville Cottage' (now Old Calabar); School and Schoolhouse; 'Bayview Cottage' (now Oldfield) and 'Murree Lodge' (now Glenairlie - No.23).  Interestingly, the latter house looks quite different today. The sketch shows a much smaller, symmetrical home. Since then Glenairlie has been significantly extended to the left. The stretch of Crescent Road shown dates back to the years immediately following the opening of the railway (and the stalled attempt to expand the village by then owners Standard Life Assurance Company). These houses were once referred to locally as "The Cottages".

The open ground upon which the golfers are practising would soon be developed - with a road constructed alongside the new house named 'Norvil' (see here for a later image of the same area). The 'fashionable' nature of the village and the building of proper services and infrastructure meant that the expansion of Lundin Links really took off in the years that followed.

The scene above of Lundin Golf Course dates to circa 1900. There are a number of distinctive golfers in the photograph, including a young caddie on the left of the group of three and a well-dressed chap further left who appears to have brought his dog with him. The slim golf bags contain far fewer clubs than today and everyone is sporting hats and jackets.

The background is no less interesting. Lundin Links train station is in the centre, complete with a steaming engine pulling a number of carriages. The blown-up image below flags a few points of interest:

1. Aithernie - shown as a private house prior to the extension added in 1906 (this is now the Old Manor Hotel)
2. Steam engine at station platform
3. Original station building - before the addition of a second station building shortly afterwards
4. Haworth Cottage (adjacent to Leven Road)
5. Gardens of Haworth (main house) and Homelands (both obscured by trees)

The slightly later photograph further below shows both the extension to Aithernie and the second station building, plus Haworth can be seen through the trees. The sloping land between features 4 and 5 would eventually be filled by the houses and gardens of the west part of Links Road.

Golfers, day trippers and summer visitors were important users of Lundin Links station. There was also a small amount of freight traffic. According to 'The Leven & East of Fife Railway' by Hajducki, Jodeluk and Simpson, this consisted:

"...largely of inward traffic of coal from the Fife Coal company and the Wemyss Coal Co. through merchants such as Thomson & Small and an outward traffic of potatoes from merchants such as John A.D. Steins and Isaac Poad & Sons Led. Until World War I there was a regular traffic in horses and horse-drawn carriages destined for the large houses in the village. Other traders who used the small goods yard in the years before the World War I included D.M. Patrick, golf club and golf ball manufacturers, and W.Dick coach builders."

The house of David Murdoch Patrick can be seen in the very top image (house with triple apex roof towards the right hand side above the bunker). This was the only house on Golf Road at that point. Today it is gaining a new neighbour (see below).