Looking at the empty and unused buildings of Largo Home Farm today, it's hard to imagine this as a bustling place of work and thriving community of residents. Yet for a couple of hundred years, this would have been a hive of activity and a home for estate employees and their families. It was the scene of births, deaths, marriages and all sorts of other occasions. Many of the residents were long term ones - living out decades of their lives there. Lots of children grew up on the farm and walked the short distance to Kirkton of Largo School for their education. Archives such as census records show the successive coachmen, foresters, game keepers, agricultural labourers, gardeners, dairy maids and others that lived on site. Examples of just a handful of these people are given below.

Eleven births were recorded in the register of births kept by midwife Margaret Bethune as taking place at either 'Largo Place' (the cottages at the south of the steading) or 'Eagle Gate Lodge' (the south lodge house) between 1853 and 1887. Three of those were the 11th, 12th and 13th children of John Sibbald and his wife.  The written record of child number 13 (a female born on 5 January 1872) is shown above. John Sibbald was a forester on the Largo estate. He was born in Largo in 1829. Several of his daughters worked at the Cardy Net Factory. In fact, his eldest daughter Maggie Campbell Sibbald was married to fisherman James Simpson by the Reverend David Malloch at Largo Place in 1872 - the same year as the birth of her youngest sister Janet shown above. A 14th child, William Bruce Sibbald, followed in 1875. 

William Bruce was also the name of the gamekeeper on the estate, who also resided at Largo Place at the time. It would appear that John Sibbald either named his youngest son after him or after the minister of the United Free Church in Upper Largo, who also shared the name. The birth of the first child of William Bruce the gamekeeper and his wife was also recorded in the register of Margaret Bethune - in 1875, the same year as the last of John Sibbald's children. Further Bruce children were also born at Largo Place, including twins (a boy and a girl) in 1884.

​Another family which saw several of their children born at the home farm was headed by Alexander Anderson. Alexander was initially a forester on the estate but became the 'Estate Overseer' by 1891 (see census entry below). The census extract below shows the four cottages of Largo Place listed beneath Largo House itself and the Coachman's House (unoccupied on the day of the census). The only residents of Largo House that day were the sewing maid and the laundry maid. Of the four cottages of Largo Place, one was unoccupied, one filled by the 'farm manager' and his large family, another was occupied by Anderson the overseer and the other by Robert Smith the gardener and his wife Annie.
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Robert Smith was a long serving gardener on Largo Estate who lived at Largo Place for decades. In 1886 he married Annie Greig Welsh, daughter of Lower Largo Postmaster Alexander Welsh. The pair were both extremely active in the Good Templars. Mr Smith was the 'Deputy Grand Chief Templar' of the Robinson Crusoe Lodge and Mrs Smith (pictured further below) was the 'Superintendent of the Juvenile Templars' at the time that the North East Fife Good Templar Guide of 1898 was published (see extract below). 
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Of the many events that took place at Largo Place, a couple of examples are given below. A Grand Floral Fete in 1899 was opened by architect of the Lundin Links Hotel, P.L. Henderson (advertised on the front page of the 17 August Leven Advertiser). In August of 1905 the Juvenile Templars were entertained at Largo House, assembling at Largo Place before marching to an estate field for games, tea and treats. See 17 August Leven Advertiser piece below. Various estate folks were present for the occasion, which surely took place thanks to the Smiths.  Robert Smith died at Largo Place in 1919. More on the Smiths and the Good Templars organisation to follow in the near future. 
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Leading on from the previous post, let's take a closer look at the layout and buildings of Largo Home Farm. The steading was arranged around a square courtyard with a byre at its centre. With some parts dating back to the late 18th century and with multiple alterations over the years, Largo Home Farm is a fine example of agricultural development through three centuries. Most of the buildings have served more than one function over time. Below is the detailed 1964 O.S. map of the farm, with numbering to show the main component buildings, plus a recent aerial view of the site. 

1. Building associated with the sheep dip
2. Horse mill (or horse gin)
3. West range of steading
4. Cart shed
5. Inner courtyard byre
6. East range of steading
7. Row of farm cottages
8. Farmhouse
​9. Sir Andrew Wood's Tower

Building 1 is a post-war structure that was clearly associated with the adjacent sheep dip. It is of brick construction and does not appear on earlier maps. Structure 2 is the horse mill or horse gin (short for horse engine house), which adjoins the north end of the west range of the steading. Horse gins were used on many farms to drive threshing mills. These generally consisted of a rotating wooden frame to which a horse was harnessed. As the horse pulled the frame round, it drove a shaft geared to the threshing mill next door. ​These took over from hand threshing from the 1780s. The engines were initially made of wood, and houses such as this one were built to protect the engine and the horses from the weather. This structure is typical of the area, with a polygonal roof (that originally would have been pantiled) supported on stone piers. The engine would have been removed when new technology took over in the late 18th century and the building would have been repurposed. Read more about the workings of a horse gin here and here. Below is the horse gin as it was in the mid 1970s. The roof has since collapsed.
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The horse-shoe shaped byre (5) can be seen below. The black and white photograph is from around 1975 while the colour one is present day. This unusually shaped single storey structure and seems to have contained a water pump. Its main purpose was to provide shelter for livestock, usually cows. Even in its dilapidated state, it is an attractive and characterful building with its pantiled roof, dark whin rubble walls and golden sandstone window dressings.  The 1854 O.S. map (further below) indicates that this was not always in its later horse shoe shape but earlier consisted of a north edge and a small square building in the south east corner. It was built-up into the horse shoe arrangement before 1893. 

The east range of the steading (6) is pictured above as it is today (with much of the roof collapsed) and as it was circa 1975. It had high arched entrances at either end and was clearly designed to accommodate large pieces of farm equipment. The row of farm cottages (7) are shown below at circa 1975 (before the preservation work was carried out on Wood's Tower), in 1989 and as they are now. ​These dwellings for farm workers were located to the south of the main steading, set back from the working area and closer to the gardens and to Largo House. The main farmhouse (8) was located further east. It is shown in the previous post. Coming in the next part - the people who lived and worked at Largo Home Farm.

Largo Home Farm was the farm associated with Largo House that now lies in a largely derelict state. Situated to the north west of Largo House, the Home Farm is adjacent to Sir Andrew Wood's Tower (seen to the left in the above aerial photograph). "Home farm" was the widely-used term used for the farm within an estate which provided produce for the estate owner. An estate may have had many farms within its boundaries, most of which would be rented out to tenant farmers. However, the home farm was managed as a source of food and resources for the 'big house'. It was also often where the estate horses were kept. The home farm would be close to the landowner's house, as in this case. The Largo estate owned around a dozen farms, including Lundin Mill, Buckthorns, Chesterstone, Pitcruvie and Bonnyton. The extent of the Home Farm (also referred to as Largo Mains) is shown in the centre of the 1866 map below.  

It can be assumed that Largo House has long had farm buildings of some sort to support its occupants. The oldest surviving building is the doocot that stands to the left of the access road to home farm. Doocot is the Scots name for a dovecot or pigeon house. These were used as nesting places for doves or pigeons and could contain hundreds of nesting boxes or ‘pigeon holes’. The birds were an important source of fresh meat in the days when it was a challenge to keep livestock over the winter. Their feathers and droppings were also utilised for pillows and fertiliser, respectively. Read more about Fife's doocots here. 

The Largo Home Farm Doocot dates to the late 17th century and, like many others in Fife, is of the 'lectern' style. Note the south facing mono-pitched roof (now collapsed), the crow-stepped gables (where pigeons could perch) and the 'rat course' external ledge to prevent rats climbing the walls to access to doocot to steal eggs. The condition of the doocot has deteriorated noticeably over the last few decades. Below are a pair of photos taken from the same spot - on the left is a 1989 view and on the right an image captured in 2020. In thirty years, vegetation has taken hold within the roofless structure (much like what has happened to Largo House itself). The 1989 photo also shows the roof of the horse mill in the background to the right of the doocot. The horse mill structure has now collapsed (more on that later). 

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Canmore describes the listed Farmhouse at Largo Home Farm (pictured below as it was in 1975) as 18th century with the following description:

"2 storey, 3 bay house, harled with painted ashlar dressings. Glazed central door and enlarged windows to ground floor. Original first floor glazing. Pantiled roof, straight skews with simply moulded skew putts to front and crowsteps to rear at north east gable. End stacks. Single storey wing to right, rubble with droved ashlar dressings and pantile roof. Modern addition at rear."

The farmhouse is located on the far right of the home farm group of buildings (see 1854 O.S. map further below), which also include a distinctive horseshoe-shaped byre, a row of farm cottages, a horse mill and other steading buildings. In part two - a photo tour of these buildings with further description of how they were once used.

​The word 'Keil' is a very familiar one in Largo. The Keil Burn intersects the Parish, from Pirrwindy (where it forms at the confluence of the Gilston Burn the Boghall Burn), flowing south for a couple of miles before emptying into the sea at Largo Harbour (pictured above). For much of its journey, the burn flows through Keil's Den - the long, narrow glen of ancient woodland that stretches north to south. Several local buildings have had names that reflect their proximity to the burn and den, including Keil Bank Cottage, Keil's Den Cottage and Keilside Bakery. So what might the origins of the word 'Keil' be?

The Fife Place Name database makes a credible suggestion below in its entry for the Keil Burn. Essentially, this states that the name derives from the Scots word 'keel' meaning red ochre (see entry from Dictionary of the Scots Language further below). There are deposits of ochre in several places in the parish of Largo, While much of this is yellow ochre, it can be converted to red ochre by heating.

Old maps show that Keil's Den (shown in the two photographs below) was 'worked' in the past. Three quarries are marked on the 1854 OS Map, as shown further below. Perhaps ochre was extracted from somewhere within or close to the Keil Burn at some point in its history, bringing about the name (which is thought to have been in use since the late eighteenth century). The ochre trade was a notable old industry in neighbouring Scoonie Parish, with considerable quantities exported from Leven Harbour in the early nineteenth century, having been wrought on the Durie and Aithernie estates. Ochre was often used as a pigment in the external painting of buildings, giving them a distinctive yellow or orange appearance. Kennoway Den was also a source of red "keel", used in the marking of sheep (according to the Leven Advertiser, 11 May 1905). 
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The 1851 advert below for the sale of the estates of Lundin and Aithernie mentions a field of ochre (16 October Edinburgh Evening Courant). A document detailing an 1871 rental rise at Sunnybraes Farm includes an 'ochre rent' as part of the rental. The British Geological Survey notes ochre beds on the shore at Largo at a few different points in their report on economic minerals in Scotland. So ochre was/is certainly around the area. If you have thoughts on the ochre or 'keel' theory of the Keil name, or if you have an alternative theory, please comment!
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These two Lundin Links street scenes featured on a multi-view postcard. The above (circa 1908) is the junction of Leven Road, Emsdorf Street and Links Road, looking down towards Peacehaven (originally Mr Gerrard's Villas) in the centre distance. It's a busy scene filled with people (not cars like today) plus a horse and cart. An aproned man is pushing some provisions in the direction of the cart - perhaps ready for the daily delivery of grocery orders from one of the shops. A lady with children is walking down near Crescent Road, while some very smartly dressed women are passing by Hogg's Pharmacy. Might they have been heading to the Lundin Links Hotel from the railway station? The Pharmacy and its neighbouring buildings replaced old cottages in 1903. The year 1903 also saw the telephone arrive in Lundin Links - note the huge telegraph pole on the right of the shot.

The second scene takes place at the junction of Crescent Road, Leven Road and Woodielea Road (not a place to linger in the middle of the road these days). Note the contrast between the playful school girls headed in the direction of Lundin Mill School and the prim looking ladies facing the camera, crossing the main road. The house on the corner to the right is Aldersyde (then occupied by the Gullands). There is a notice attached to the railings of this house - maybe advertising the Gullands' business along the street. Next to Aldersyde is Heatherlie. It's fun to imagine who all the people in these images were and what they were all doing on that one day from a bygone era.

The above photograph is part of Historic Environment Scotland's Canmore collection but was originally part of a private collection. It's dated as circa 1890, which tallies with what we can see in the image. Firstly, the image was certainly captured after 1888, as the stone-built "W.C. for the benefit of sailors and fishers" can be seen on the right hand edge below the lamp.  Another clue to the date is the registration 'KY 478' on the sail of the fishing boat on the right. This vessel was sold to Messrs G.R. and W. Jamieson of Shetland in 1901 (see 18 May Shetland Times below) so the image was taken prior to that date.

In the background, under the right hand arch of the viaduct is the old wooden footbridge over the Keil Burn. Different versions of this footbridge existed up until 1914. The photographer has clearly waited for a train to pass over the viaduct before committing to the picture. The engine is a pleasingly old-looking one - reminiscent of a toy train to modern eyes. There a lot of people in the scene, including a group of men taking a rest on the right, a young girl heading for the end of the pier and several men (and possibly boys) congregating around one of the fishing boats. It's not too hard to imagine the smells and sounds that would have accompanied this sight. It's another image that I would love to be able to step right in to!

The image above of 'Victoria House', as it was then styled, dates to around 1907. Described as a "boarding establishment" of the "most modern" kind in the Fifeshire Guide advertisement below. Occupying the "best site in Lundin Links", the features to note were the "Public, Dining and Smoke Rooms. Lounge, Billiard Room and South Verandah". The latter can be seen to the right of the building above on both the first and second floors.

The gardens appear to be fairly newly laid out in fine symmetrical form and neatly lined with young trees on either edge. The building stands quite alone with none of the nearby Victoria Road houses yet in place, nor the south side of Crescent Road. The nearest houses behind Victoria House at the time of this photograph were the 1850s 'cottages' on the north side of Crescent Road. Elphinstone is visible to the left and on the right are the school house and Oldfield (then called Bayview Cottage). The map further below shows the direction from which the image was taken and the absence of neighbouring buildings.

​The location of Victoria House was ideal for a boarding house - close to the station, the golf course and the beach, plus right next to the iron bridge over the railway line. Walter Horne feued this plot and built Victoria House. He continued to own it until selling to Johnston Wright Swan around 1923. Initially, however, the boarding house was let and run by Miss Agnes Brown. Victoria House went through a number of subtle name changes over the decades from Victoria House to Victoria Boarding House to Victoria Private Hotel, before becoming Victoria Court flats in the early 1970s.

Summer visitors have long been a feature of Largo and Lundin Links. In the past, the villages were transformed during the summer season, as boarding houses filled and houses were let out. Many visitors were regulars that returned year after year, getting to know one another and the locals. Summer visitors put on concerts and raised money for the improvement of local facilities. Following the rapid expansion of Lundin Links, the village became hugely fashionable with city dwellers from both Glasgow and Edinburgh. Some prominent and interesting characters from both cities brought their families to Largo Bay to enjoy the sea air, the bathing, golf, tennis and entertainment.

One of the regular faces for a spell was A.T. Assafrey, pictured above. Born in 1844 in Estonia, son of a flour miller, Jacob Assafrey and his wife Anna. He qualified as a master confectioner in Talinn, Estonia (which at the time was Reval, Livonia, Russia) before emigrating to Scotland. ​Initially he found employment with Ferguson and Forrester, caterers. The advert for their business below from the 27 Dec 1856 Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald shows that confectionery was part of their offering. 

The 1871 census finds Alexander as one of five lodgers of various nationalities at a dwelling on Hospital Street Govan. His occupation was described as a confectioner. The business that he set up around this time was styled as a 'chocolatier et confiseur' at 171 Sauchiehall Street and was "an early representative of foreign sophistication in the city" according to the book 'Tea and Taste: The Glasgow Tea Rooms 1875-1975' by Perilla Kinchin. On 23 November 1871 Alexander married Rachel Torrance Atkins, who was the daughter of pianoforte maker Hugh Atkins (see his advert below from 15 July 1861 Glasgow Herald). They went on to have seven daughters: Hilda, Olga, Silvia, Selma, Ruby, Vera and Alma. Alexander was naturalised as a British citizen in 1876.

The successful involvement in the Exhibition acted as a catalyst for further expansion, particularly in the tea and luncheon room side of his business. In the 1890s several more premises were opened in Glasgow and a branch was opened in Edinburgh on Princes Street. It was around the turn of the century that the Assafreys began to spend their summers in Lundin Links. The list of summer visitors published in the local papers shows them at Emsdorf House in 1901 and 1902; Keil Bank in 1904 (when the daughters performed at the Improvement Fund Concert) and Monkton Lodge in 1905. In 1905 the family were part of the "fashionable assemblage" at the opening of the Lundin Bowling Club. The event is pictured below - the gentlemen to the left of the magnified part of the photo perhaps being Mr Assafrey. Alexander lived until 1930, passing away at the age of 85 at his home at Kirn on the Firth of Clyde.