First published 300 years ago tomorrow (25 April 1719), the story of 'Robinson Crusoe' by Daniel Defoe (first edition frontispiece pictured above) was a ground-breaking work. Written in a highly-descriptive narrative style, the account is presented as if an autobiography of the title character. The first instalment 'The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner' was so well received that by late summer 1719 the book had been reprinted three times and Defoe had published a sequel,  'The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe'. A third volume, 'Serious Reflections During the Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe' completed the trilogy in 1720. Hundreds of editions, translations and spin-offs followed and the tale became one of the most widely published of all time. The isolation/survival premise of the story has been much imitated. There is even a literary genre named after the novel - ‘Robinsonade’ - defined as ‘a desert island story’ or ‘castaway narrative’.
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Written in a house in Church Street, Stoke Newington, London, 'Robinson Crusoe' was Defoe's debut work of fiction. And it came late in his life - he was almost sixty when he penned it. Defoe was born 'Daniel Foe' in London circa 1660. Son of James Foe, a butcher and tallow chandler, Daniel's early life coincided with the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London, as well as the raid on the Medway by the Dutch Navy. By the time he was ten, his mother Annie had died.

His adult life was equally event filled. As a risk-taking merchant he found himself bankrupt and as a political writer he was imprisoned. A prolific writer on topics as diverse as crime, politics, religion, marriage, psychology and the supernatural, he was also a pioneering journalist. After travelling around Europe, he adding the 'De' to his surname (perhaps to sound more exotic or aristocratic). He witnessed the Great Storm of 1703 and wrote a book about it the following year. After the success of his first work of fiction with 'Robinson Crusoe' in 1719, he followed up with others such as '​Moll Flanders' and 'Roxana'. His marriage to Mary Tuffley produced eight children. Defoe (pictured below) died on 24 April 1731.
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Before and during Defoe's lifetime there had been multiple stories of real-life castaways - including of course Largo-born Alexander Selkirk. Defoe himself never confirmed nor denied that Selkirk was the prototype for Robinson Crusoe and as a result much speculation has ensued over the centuries as to where the inspiration came from. Many articles and books have been published exploring various theories. 

While it's possible that Selkirk and Defoe actually met one another, what seems probable is that Defoe would have been familiar with the 1712 publication of 'A Cruising Voyage Around the World' by Captain Woodes Rogers, who had rescued Selkirk in February 1709 from his four years and four months of solitude on the island of Mas A Tierra in the Juan Fernandez archipelago off the coast of Chile. His publication relayed Selkirk's experiences in some detail as it was his crew who discovered Selkirk “clothed in goat-skins” gesticulating wildly to them from the shore. Selkirk’s survival story spread widely due to Woodes Rogers’s work. A likely scenario is that Selkirk's adventures - interwoven with creations of Defoe's own imagination plus perhaps elements from other retold survival stories - formed the basis of Robinson Crusoe, which was completed seven years later.

There were of course several notable differences between Alexander and Robinson. For example, the former left his ship by choice while the latter was shipwrecked. Selkirk spent four years and four months on an uninhabited island, while Crusoe found himself stranded for 28 years. Selkirk had only goats and cats for company while Crusoe had 'Man Friday'. Crusoe's island was in the Atlantic while Selkirk's was a Pacific island.

Back in the Parish of Largo, as elsewhere, the connection between the fictional Crusoe and the famous local Alexander Selkirk became strong. Both men (the real and the fictitious) were celebrated. In 1792, the Reverend Mr Spence Oliphant wrote the Statistical Account for the Parish of Largo. The words recorded within this (recorded under the 'Eminent and Notable Men' section) cemented the connection. Oliphant's words, shown below, bear a strong resemblance to the account published by Woodes Rogers and following the publication of the 1792 Statistical Account his words were reprinted in many newspapers and journals. Selkirk family members continued to live in Largo and were able to share recollections of their famous relative. Some Selkirk artefacts remained in circulation. The statue of Crusoe was erected on the site of Selkirk's former home in 1885. Part of the main street in Lower Largo was named 'Defoe Place' for a time. A Selkirk museum was a feature in Largo in the late 1980s.
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Three centuries after its origin, 'Robinson Crusoe' is still read and enjoyed in numerous formats and languages. The tale and its main character continue to be discussed and studied. The genre is still imitated and re-invented - a recent example being the novel (and movie) 'The Martian'.  But the classic image of the wild man dressed in goat skins is the one that remains most recognisable and most authentic. The true story of Alexander Selkirk and the image of him described by Woodes Rogers has influenced many an artistic book cover, as well as Largo's own statue. 
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Lundin House - the main mansion on the Lundin Estate - was almost completely demolished in 1876. The tower was left standing and is still a local landmark. A lesser-known building that still stands (albeit as a ruin) is the Doocot or Dovecot that served Lundin House. It is listed on the 'Buildings at Risk Register':

www.buildingsatrisk.org.uk/details/908010

A doocot is a structure full of pigeon holes for housing doves or pigeons, which were historically an important source of food. Early Scottish doocots were a beehive shape but a 'lectern' style with a mono-pitched roof became more common from the late 16th century. These structures continued to be built well into the 18th century (when the Lundin one is thought to date from), with some becoming quite decorative in style. The Lundin House Doocot is gothic in style - a style which can also be seen at Eglinton in Ayrshire (see below)

The doocot can been clearly seen on the 1854 map below of Lundin House (prior to the demolition). The longer building to the north east of the dovecot housed the kennels. Lamont's Diary shows evidence of a dovecot at Lundin House in the 1660s, although that would have been an earlier structure. The images further below show the dovecot (front and rear) still roofed and in much better condition in the 1970s (source RCHAMS). It's too bad that this interesting little building has not been maintained. ​If you know any more about this structure - please comment!

In October 1987, after over a century in place, Largo's iconic statue of Robinson Crusoe was lifted out of its niche in the Crusoe Buildings on Main Street and taken to Perthshire. There, the half-ton, bronze monument would be given a thorough clean up and repair job by Bill Hepworth of Alyth Art Foundry. The East Fife Mail reported that the work "would be a painstaking process, involving delicate cleaning with a wire brush and examining the state of the metal afterwards. All the work would be done by hand, as chemicals or machinery often left telltale signs. The job would last at least a month and would cost around £1400."
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However, locals would have to wait much longer than a month to see the return of the statue. Rather than return home straight away, Crusoe went on an adventure to the Glasgow Garden Festival - which ran from 26 April to 26 September 1988. Below is an image of the statue being placed on site at the festival prior to its official opening (next to Selkirk descendent Allan Jardine). Crusoe was located in the 'Water and Maritime' themed section of the festival, alongside tall ships, Navy ships and water-sports. This sector of the event aimed to showcase "Scotland's rich history of maritime trade and exploration".

However, being placed at ground level, rather than the intended elevated position, and being painted green for some reason, the T.Stuart Burnett statue was not shown in the most favourable light. Many visitors were left underwhelmed by the exhibit. Surely Largo folks were relieved to see him return home, restored to his normal colour! ​If you recall visiting Crusoe at the Glasgow Garden Festival, remember his absence from Lower Largo or know why he was painted green - please comment.

As a follow-up to the previous post on the unveiling of the statue at Crusoe Buildings in 1885, here is a little background on the sculptor who created the likeness of 'Robinson Crusoe' in bronze. Note that it was designed to depict the fictional character, as opposed to the real-life Alexander Selkirk (of whom there was no image or likeness in existence). Some visual representation of the character was much desired locally, hence the public movement to raise subscriptions for a monument (although the cost was ultimately met by David Gillies). The motto "Robinson Crusoe now we see, good and great at last" was one of several messages which were displayed on banners at the unveiling event.

Thomas Stuart Burnett was born in Edinburgh in 1853 and was the son of lithographic printer Robert Alexander Burnett and his wife Annie Stuart. Already a sculptor by the age of 18, Burnett studied under William Brodie and was elected an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1883. His other works include a statue of Rob Roy (1885), shown as insert, which is remarkably similar in style to the Crusoe statue; a statue of General Gordon and two small statues on the Scott Monument in Edinburgh.

Burnett died in 1888 at the early age of 34 from pneumonia. He is buried at Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh, alongside wife Margaret Irving. His grave is marked with a Celitc cross which bears an image of his profile, sculpted by John Stevenson Rhind (see below).

Fife has a wealth of milestones and wayside markers that have survived for around one-and-a-half to two centuries. Careful preservation over many decades has resulted in a range of styles of these once vital aids to the traveller remaining resolutely in place. With the introduction of turnpike roads in the late 18th century in Fife, many routes were improved and tolls were collected for their use. In the years that followed, the erection of milestones and direction posts became a requirement. As the 'Milestones of Fife' book by Darwood and Martin (2005) states:

"The surviving milestones are all to be found along former turnpike roads, while wayside markers mark junctions between two turnpike roads, or between one turnpike and one statute-labour road."

The image below features the milestone that stands at the junction of the A915 and Harbour Wynd, opposite the Largo War Memorial. This type is the most common style of milestone - a maximum of 3ft high, whinstone with a cast-iron cap, with cursive script and often abbreviated names (eg L Pr for Largo Pier or Bt Id for Burntisland). These milestones must have been costly to produce - each one being unique and therefore requiring its own individual mould. The mark on the side of the base is a bench mark - used as a reference point in measuring altitude. 'Largo Pier' featured on many milestones, being the main steam ferry port for the East Neuk at one time. The 'Largo' location (as opposed to Largo Pier) apparently was measured at Lundin Mill Bridge.

Below is a Wayside Marker located close to Pitcruvie north of Lundin Links. This lists various villages and farms and indicates whether they are located left or right (without distances). Contrast this version with that shown at the top of this post (in the montage of images) which features long lists of places with distances and a pointing hand symbol showing which direction applies (this one is found in Upper Largo where the A915 splits with the A917). 

World War Two brought about an order for all direction markers throughout the country to be removed in case of enemy invasion (see notice below from the St Andrews Citizen from 3 June 1940).  In many places, this resulted in the information being physically scrubbed off the markers, thus defacing them forever. However, in Fife a more easily reversible approach was taken. Markers with the information etched into them were removed entirely while those with caps had the caps removed and the stones left in place. Items removed were carefully stored.

Eventually, some years after the end of war, all were returned back into their original position. As the letter further below shows (Dundee Evening Telegraph 12 April 1950) this took a little longer than some had hoped in some places. Over the years since then many milestones have been saved, restored and protected by various groups and individuals. There are some wonderful stories of broken caps being welded back together, stones being dug up after decades underground, a cap being rescued from a rubbish dump, another being retrieved from a private garden. Let's hope that these relics from a bygone age continue to be given care and attention for many decades to come.

Pitcruvie (or Balcruvie as it is sometimes called) Castle, to the north of Lundin Links and Lower Largo adjacent to Keil's Den, is a ruinous grade B listed building. Built on the edge of a steep bank above the Keil Burn, the listing text describes the castle as follows:

"Possibly late 15th century with some reconstruction circa 1500. Ruinous rectangular, rubble built tower with later projecting stair at north west. At south east angle built up entrance at 1st floor level with indications of an earlier projecting stair. 2 intercommunicating ground floor vaulted chambers with trap being only access to 1st floor. Entrance to 1st floor on west elevation, round arched and formerly opening to screens passage. Chimney on east wall of hall barrel vaulted (now gone) inserted, early springing remains. Upper floors now fragmentary."

Furthermore, RCAHMS provide the following description of the castle:
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"This ruined tower has features which suggest that it has at some time been reconstructed though the difference in building style is so slight that it may indicate only changes made during building. The date of the original construction would seem to be a little before 1500. On plan the tower is an oblong lying E-W and measuring 25.5ft by 38.25ft with the remains of a small stair-wing projecting from the north-west angle. It is constructed of dressed stone with rubble filling and is now much weathered." 

The site belonged to a branch of the Ramsay family in the 14th century but became the property of the second Lord Lindsay of the Byres* upon his marriage with the heiress of Pitcruvie. The book 'The East Neuk of Fife - It's History and Antiquities' describes the story of the site's ownership as follows:

"It belonged, in the beginning of the fourteenth century, to a family of the name of Ramsay. Sir John Ramsay's granddaughter, Janet Ramsay, Lady Pitcruvie, married David, second Lord Lindsay of the Byres,....David, Lord Lindsay, died in 1492, and was succeeded by his brother John, who died without issue in 1497, and the title then came to Patrick, who, in 1498, has a charter of Pitcruvie for himself and his wife ; and his son John was styled Lindsay of Pitcruvie, whence we gather that Janet Ramsay had brought the lands of Pitcruvie into the Lindsay family. It was, with other lands, erected into the barony of Pitcruvie, and remained long in possession of their descendants. In or about 1650 Lord Crawford was obliged to sell Pitcruvie to James Watson of Aithernie. Soon after we find it in the hands of Arnot of Fernie ; and it now forms part of the estate of Largo."

 *Byres is located close to Haddington in East Lothian

Below are some pencil drawings of Pitcruive Castle done in 1838 by Alexander Archer, which show it in broadly the same state as it remains today.