The last of the original residents of Aithernie House, Miss Mary Dalyell Haymes, died in 1898. The house became the property of the teenage Miss Mary Lillias Rigg, daughter of James Home Rigg (who was the cousin of Mary Haymes). Miss Rigg did not live in the house and, when she was 21, Aithernie was offered for sale (see 1 July 1903 Fife Herald below).
On this occasion the house did not sell. Eventually, the following year Aithernie House was sold to George James Lumsden (1865-1953) of Freuchie, pictured above. The sale was reported in the local Largo news in the 25 June 1904 Fife News below. George was the second son of Thomas Lumsden of the long established linen weaving firm of Walter Lumsden and Son. In 1860, Thomas Lumsden had set about building the 160-loom power loom factory - the Eden Valley Linen Works in Freuchie.
After training at the Mulheim Technical Weaving School near Cologne, George Lumsden and his brother John took the works over from their father. The pair eventually introduced new machinery and expanded the business. On 4 June 1891, George married Eveline Blanche Clayton in London. They went on to have three daughters - Eveline (1893), Muriel (1894) and Enid (1901).
A couple of years after purchasing the house, the Lumsden family added a substantial extension to Aithernie, to the east (seen to the right of the aerial image above). This east wing was designed by designed by Sir Robert Lorimer in 1906. Being added more than forty years after the original house was built, the architectural style was slightly different. The rooflines feature Lorimer's trademark curved, sweeping profiles - as opposed to the sharper angles of the original Victorian wing.
While resident in Lundin Links, George Lumsden began a long association with the Boy Scout movement. He was Chairman of the Committee that formed the troop of Scouts at Lundin Links. This coincided with the building of the Montrave Hall, very close to Aithernie House on Leven Road. The piece above covers the opening of the new hall (30 July 1910 Fife News), where George Lumsden presided over the occasion. Below is an advert for an evening's entertainment in the recently opened hall only days later in aid of the Lundin Links Boy Scouts (3 August 1910 Leven Advertiser).
In fact the Largo Scouts comprised two patrols based in Lundin Links and a further two patrols at Upper Largo. The latter met in the former Largo Field Naturalists' Museum (originally the old schoolhouse on North Feus). The contents of the old museum were relocated into the rear of the new Montrave Hall. The 13 July 1910 Leven Advertiser below describes the key individuals involved in the establishment of the movement in Largo. George Lumsden went on to become Scouts County Commissioner and ultimately he was awarded the Silver Wolf - the highest scouting award - in 1938.
The 1911 census reveals that the Lumsden household at Aithernie House included a footman, cook, housemaid and kitchen maid. The gardener, now James Brown, lived in the adjacent lodge house with his family. In spite of becoming very involved in the local community, the Lumsdens left Aithernie House in 1914. In fact, the family made the reverse move of the original Aithernie occupants. The Lumsdens moved into the Misses Rigg's former family home - Tarvit House, outside Cupar.
George Lumsden continued to own Aithernie House, renting it out. At the time of the 1921 census, the sixteen-roomed house was occupied by Christina Young, six members of her family, a visitor and six servants. A gardener continued to live in the lodge house and a chauffeur lived in the adjacent offices. Later that same year, a new family moved into Aithernie House. More about that in the next post.
Meanwhile, after fourteen years as tenants of Tarvit House, the Lumsdens purchased that property, in 1928, from a member of the Rigg family (see below from 28 January 1928 Fifeshire Advertiser), cementing the connection between Tarvit and Aithernie.
RSS Feed
