Band Room

The distinctive external staircase on the landward side of the Crusoe Hotel (pictured above) was created when an additional loft storey was added to the granary building circa 1870. The image above shows it around 1930 when David Todd was the name written on the 'Railway Inn' sign. Note the community noticeboard area adjacent to the staircase and the chocolate advert on the side of the kiosk by the road bridge, as well as the old motor car parked outside the hotel. The Pier Pavilion was in place for the season too. 

However, going back to the years before the First World War, the Crusoe stairs led up to the 'band room' of the Largo Brass Band (also known as the Largo Prize Band and later the Largo Silver Band). The 1895 and 1905 valuation rolls note that the Largo Brass Band (secretary T. G. Wishart) were the tenants of the 'loft' (as it was described in 1895) or 'hall' (as it was described in 1905) within the granary. A reference to the stairs as the "stair leading to the Band Hall" can be seen in the sad news story below from 26 April 1895 East of Fife Record.
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Although the use of the granary loft by the Brass Band ceased with the outbreak of war, the use of the granary for entertainment purposes had been long-standing. Below is a snippet from 1856 (25 December Fife Herald) where a ball had been held there. No other suitable hall was available in the 1850s - the Temperance Hall in Lundin Mill not being built until 1886.

A couple of years later, on 14 Jan 1858, the Fifeshire Journal remarked upon a another ball held on New Handsel Monday in the granary. 
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Fast forward to 1890 and there was a smoking concert in the granary (29 Aug East of Fife Record). Perhaps the recently-built Temperance Hall would not have allowed such an event.
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More to come in future posts about the Largo Brass Band and about their secretary Thomas Graham Wishart.