The previous post introduced Andrew S. Cunningham, journalist and writer. His publication covering the Parishes of Largo and Newburn, is entitled Upper Largo, Lower Largo, Lundin Links and Newburn. As the preface below explains, the inspiration for the book was the Robinson Crusoe statue on Lower Largo's Main Street. In Andrew's own words:

"Gazing one day on the statue of Robinson Crusoe in the main street of Lower Largo, a thought struck me that I might write the "True Story" of Defoe's hero. When I had completed my short story, a suggestion came to the effect that I might compile a book bearing on the whole Parish of Largo, and the Parish adjoining, Newburn. I have acted on the suggestion."

Also in the preface (written in March 1907 in Leven) Andrew thanks a number of people. Firstly, Sir John and Lady Gilmour, the proprietors of the Lundin Estate, to whom the book is dedicated. They provided information and illustrations, including photographs taken by Lady Gilmour and the artwork below of Largo Pier by Dr Charles Blatherwick (which depicts the scene without the railway viaduct). Thanks are also made to local photographers John Patrick, Andrew Hogg and Peter Cowie (the latter two also being local chemists). Robert Paxton is also acknowledged for his contribution of photographs. Finally, the Misses Sawyer of Belmont Hotel are mentioned (more to follow on them in a future blog).
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The contents of the book and many and varied, covering local people, places and practices. For the time, it is richly illustrated. One of the most intriguing photographs is the one below of Largo Harbour from Drummochy. The large vessel is a two masted, square rigged brigantine. The image probably dates to the winter of 1901-02, after the alterations to the Crusoe Hotel during which the dormer windows were added, but before the hotel was given a fresh coat of paint. 

The book also features many interesting adverts for local businesses across the Largo villages and Leven, such as those above. Of course, an advert for Purves and Cunningham and the Leven Advertiser and Wemyss Gazette also featured. This advert, below, highlights that the newspaper publishes a list of summer visitors during the months of June, July and August. Mention is also made of the fact that the paper often includes historical notes, reflecting Andrew's personal interest.
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I wonder how many of the businesses and societies across Lower Largo, Lundin Links and Upper Largo made use of Purves and Cunningham's 'Jobbing Department' for their printing needs (letter heads, posters, tickets, etc) or which products they stocked for their customers (cards, invitations, boxes). No doubt shop keepers, hoteliers, golf clubs, society officials, etc. all knew Andrew Cunningham back in the early 1900s.

Author and journalist, Andrew S. Cunningham penned a number of books in his lifetime, many relating to Fife and a couple specifically covering the Largo area. His work continues to provide valuable reference material for local historians. Andrew (portrait above from Edinburgh Evening News of 29 December 1903) was born on 31 January 1855 at Crossgates in Fife and baptised in Dalgety on 12th February. His parents were miner John Sangster Cunningham and Catherine Storrar, a native of East Wemyss.

Andrew left school at the age of eleven and the census of 1871 finds him as a sixteen-year-old working as a coal miner, while living with his parents and siblings at Netherbeath, near Crossgates. His father and two older brothers were also coal miners. However, Andrew had ambitions beyond that occupation. He taught himself shorthand in order to secure alternative employment, and eventually became a clerk with William Clark and Son (printer, stationer and publisher of the Dunfermline Journal). By 1882 he had become the editor of the Dunfermline Journal - a position that he held until 1903. 

During his tenure as editor of the Dunfermline Journal, Andrew had an important side project. In 1889 he took the first steps towards founding a Mining School in Fife. He had a long-standing conviction that young miners should have access to special technical classes in mining and applied mechanics. Several such centres had opened in the west of Scotland and Andrew wanted a facility for Fife. Andrew convened a meeting in November 1889 and there gained the support of officials to begin the some lectures in Dunfermline that winter, with further classes planned for the following winter. The school was transferred to Cowdenbeath a few years later and remained in operation there for decades (moving to a purpose built facility in 1935). Andrew acted as Secretary and Treasurer of the Fife Mining School for several years. The school operated with minimal resources until it was taken over by Fife County Council. 
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On 22 September 1891, a 36-year-old Andrew married Kate Pringle, who was Assistant Postmistress at Inverkeithing. Her late father had been a Postmaster. Their marriage took place at Veitch's Hotel on George Street, Edinburgh. The sketch above of Andrew, dates to the year after their marriage and appeared in the 2 December 1892 Dundee Advertiser. The couple lived at Park Avenue in Dunfermline and the 1901 census finds them still there with their 6-year-old son, Harold, and a domestic servant. Andrew's occupation was listed as 'journalist'.

Before his retirement from the position of editor of the Dunfermline Journal in 1903, due to a serious breakdown in health, Andrew had become proprietor of the business of William Clark and Son. During his spell of ill health, Andrew rented a house named Gowanlea in Leven, close to the golf links. During this spell of recuperation, he dispensed with his Dunfermline interests and his home there. During his time in Leven he eventually joined John Purves in the publishing business, which became known as Purves and Cunningham. Andrew also went on to edit the Leven Advertiser and Wemyss Gazette for seven years. 

It was during this time that Andrew became a prolific writer of books on various topics of local interest. His books on various towns and villages around Fife included Upper Largo, Lower Largo, Lundin Links and Newburn in 1907 and Golf Clubs Round Largo Bay in 1909. These followed his earlier work Rambles in the Parishes of Scoonie and Wemyss which is available to read online in full here. 

Among his other works were Randolph Wemyss: An Appreciation, Romantic Culross, The Parish of Kennoway, Mining in the Kingdom, The Parish of Markinch and A History of the Fife Coal Company. 
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For many years there has been a summer one way system in place along the west part Lower Largo's Main Street. The restriction comes into force on 1 April and remains in place until the end of September. The one way section begins at the junction with Harbour Wynd and Drummochy Road, shown above, and runs as far as the Orry. Note the white arrow on blue background rectangular one-way signs on either side of the road. The 'Unsuitable for Buses' sign on the right hand side remains in place all year round (see below).
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The origins of this seasonal system go back to the late 1960s, when rising car ownership and the popularity of Lower Largo on warm sunny days often led to chaos on the narrow, winding street. Matters came to a head in the summer of 1969 when "brilliant sunshine drew thousands" to Fife's beaches. Lower Largo was one of the worst affected by the ensuing "traffic chaos". The 11 June 1969 East Fife Mail reported that "hundreds of motorists were jammed in the village unable to move out or in as traffic piled up in the narrow streets". Some motorists "conducted verbal battles at each other in their efforts to find a way out". 

One astute villager suggested a multi-point plan to relieve the situation, telling "The Mail" that the village's narrow main street, with no outlet at its end, forced cars to turn and come back down, often unable to pass the vehicles they met. He suggested a one way system at peak times between the Crusoe Hotel and the Orry. In addition, he suggested an extension of the Temple car park, the development of the old railway station into a car park and a "properly constructed turning circle at the Temple end of the village". He put his suggestions to the District Council. By the following year, an "experimental traffic regulation order" was issued and the Lower Largo Main Street one way system was put into practice. It came into effect on 4 July 1970 for a six month trial.

The site of the former railway station was converted into a car park in 1972, taking some pressure off the main street. By 1974 there was a proposal to make the seasonal one way system an year-round arrangement. The notice below appeared in the East Fife Mail of 30 October 1972, inviting residents to a public meeting in the Baptist Meeting House. The following week's Mail reported that it took only twenty minutes for residents to reject the proposal, with "an overwhelming 52-2 majority" voting for the system to remain unchanged. The main argument against the permanent system was that the steep Durham Wynd (or Donaldson's Wynd) was notorious for ice in the winter and road users travelling from the Temple shouldn't be forced to use it. 
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The seasonal arrangement (which settled into a pattern of one way between 1 April and 30 September) remains to this day. The other suggestions made in 1969 - a car park at the station site and a proper turning circle at the far end of the Temple (pictured below) - have also stood the test of time. 
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The series of images above illustrates the changes in village life around the viaduct over the Keil Burn at Lower Largo. This view, looking north from the gap between the Crusoe Hotel and the start of Main Street (see map below) has inspired both painters and photographers. This perspective offers layers of interest - from the Railway Inn in the foreground, through the viaduct, to the changing buildings beyond. The earliest image at the top was taken during the 1885 celebrations to mark the unveiling of the Crusoe statue and features the oil and cake mill framed behind the arches.
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The artworks by George Leslie Hunter represent just two of the many pieces he produced over the years that he frequented Largo in the 1920s. Local subject matter that Hunter captured included the pier and harbour, the pier pavilion, the beach, Drum Lodge, Dunkirk, the mill, street scenes and the viaduct. People he knew and places where he stayed also featured amongst his work, such as the Woman in the Hat and Beach House.

A few decades after Hunter, Tom Gourdie captured many views of the changing landscape in Fife. During the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, he set out to record streets and buildings due for demolition in a time of rapid architectural change. His subject matter included old houses, boat building yards, harbours, collieries, gasworks, mills and churches and covered places across Fife including Kirkcaldy (where he had his studio), Dysart, Leslie, Aberdour, Burntisland, West Wemyss, Kelty, Lochgelly, St Monans, Pittenweem, Anstruther and Lower Largo. By the time an exhibition of his work took place in Kirkcaldy Galleries in 1967, 30 of the 50 featured scenes had already been lost, with others earmarked for demolition (according to the 16 February 1967 Scotsman).

Gourdie developed an interest in industrial architecture early in life, after spending a year in the Fife Coal Company’s architect’s office as a teenager. His Largo piece above exemplifies this interest, with the gasometer and part of the gas retort house prominently framed by one of the viaduct's arches. Unusually for Gourdie's paintings, there are quite a few people featured in the painting. Their presence adds to the sense of this being a working harbour area. Perhaps Gourdie anticipated that this would not always be the case. Of course, the steam train crossing the viaduct represents another part of life now lost to history.