To follow on from the previous post about Massney Braes, the map below from 1853 clearly shows a significant area of "whinstone" on the shore to the west of the braes. This rocky outcrop, also seen in the photograph above, provided a ready supply of dense, hard-wearing stone, which proved to be ideal for in the construction of houses and other buildings in local area during the nineteenth century.
The term 'whin' has long been used in Scotland to describe any hard dark rock. There are competing theories which attempt to explain the origin of the word. One relates to the abundance of gorse bushes close to certain areas of whinstone - as these bushes were also known locally as ‘whin’ bushes. in fact, the phrase "benty, tussocky and ripe with whin" was the famous historical description used to describe the rugged, natural terrain of Lundin Golf Course in its very early days. 'Whin' in that case referred to gorse.
An example of a dwelling built from Massney Braes whinstone is Bourtree Brae House on Crescent Road, pictured above. This house was written about in the 1868 book entitled "Villa and Cottage Architecture: Select Examples of Country and Suburban Residences Recently Erected" published by Blackie & Son, which states:
"The external walls are two feet thick, and built of whinstone rubble. obtained by breaking up the boulders strewn along the shore of the firth".
The book goes on to note that, in contrast, the architectural details of the house (sills, lintels, wall corners, etc) were made of freestone from Grange Quarry at Burntisland. The hard whinstone was difficult to dress into shaped blocks and so a different stone that was easier to work was used for the finer detail. The warm, dark brown stone found on the beach close to the Lundin Golf Club certainly appears a close match to the house façade and in this example, the material had very little distance to travel from source to final destination.
Stone was still being taken from this stretch of beach by stone masons decades later. In 1880, legal action was taken to stop Thomas Tivendale, mason, from "taking stone for building purposes from the seashore opposite Mr Macrae's property". Mr Macrae was Colin George Macrae W.S. of Drum Lodge.
In the absence of a clear origin of the name 'Massney' in relation to the Braes, I often wonder whether it might derive from the word 'mason' as the brae was used by the stone masons of days gone by to move building materials off the beach. Opinions welcome on this idea - or evidence of an alternative meaning to the name.
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