The image above features the salmon stake nets which once ran out to sea in front of the Net House (which itself is surrounded by nets drying in the photograph). This was known as the Lundin Salmon Fishings, and was one of three key 'fishing stations' along the coast of Largo Parish. This station was part of the Lundin Estate. The 1865 valuation roll extract below names the proprietor as Standard Life Assurance Company, who at the time owned the Lundin Estate. When the estate was advertised for sale five years later, 'Salmon Fishings in the Forth' were part of the specification and it was noted that these were let 'from year to year'. 

By 1875, when Allan Gilmour owned Lundin Estate, the tenant of the fishing station was David Beveridge, farmer at Buckthorns Farm. However, as the above snippet from the 7 July 1876 East of Fife Record shows, salmon fishing was an unpredictable venture. This piece called the season "a failure" stating that "fish still continue scarce" and "it is feared tacksman will lose by the speculation". This precarious situation probably explains why from that point onwards the Lundin Salmon Fishing was let to large-scale operators from outside of the local area.

In the 1880s, a new era dawned at Lundin Salmon Station, when Andrew Greig Anderson, Edinburgh fishmonger, began his long tenancy. In fact, Anderson not only leased the Lundin station but also had the tenancy of the Strathairly Fishing Station, in front of Dumbarnie Links (more on that site in the next post). Andrew was son of fish merchant John Anderson, who, over the preceding decades, had leased several oyster beds in the Firth of Forth, pioneered the import of ice from Norway and was lessee of many of the best salmon fisheries on both sides of the Forth. A couple of adverts from the 1870s for John Anderson & Sons are below. Andrew's mother was Eliza Greig, daughter of hotel keeper at the Chain Pier Inn, Edinburgh, Andrew Greig, who owned the steamboats that plied between Dundee and Granton, and often called at Largo. Andrew Greig Anderson was the eldest of John and Eliza's fifteen children.
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Interestingly, the 1891 census for Largo includes many men with the occupation of 'salmon fishers' who had places of birth around the Montrose area. Presumably these individuals had been brought to Largo by Anderson, who had significant fishing interests and connections around Scotland's coasts . These men lodged together in cottages at Emsdorf. 

In 1904, Andrew Greig Anderson, described as a fish, game and ice merchant, died aged 64 from accidental poisoning. At the time of his death, The Scotsman newspaper of 29 January 1904 described him as "possibly one of the largest lessees of salmon fishings in Scotland, having interests at Aberdeen, on the Kirkcudbright Dee, on the Tay and Firth, and at Largo Bay." 

By this time, a new long-term occupier of the 'Lundin Salmon Fishings and Cellar' had become established in the form of Joseph Johnstone and Sons of Montrose. This long-established business would retain the tenancy until circa 1940, when it would seem that the Second World War brought about the demise of the Lundin station. The postcard image below features salmon fishers at the Lundin site, with Massney Braes in the background. The stake nets here even featured in artwork by George Leslie Hunter, shown further below.

Salmon have been fished around Scotland's coasts for hundreds of years and Largo Bay was once a prime site for this activity. Salmon begin their lives in fresh water before moving out to sea, but later return to their original rivers to spawn. Their predictable migration pattern coupled with more advanced traps meant that by the early nineteenth century salmon fishing had become a well-organised operation involving stake nets such as the one shown in the photograph above.
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The extract above from the Largo Parish section of the New Statistical Account of Scotland, recorded in 1837 by Reverend Robert Brown, states that a salmon stake-net fishery was started some years previously at "different stations". His report suggests that, while initially the enterprise was not financially viable, it had recently been resumed and was now more prosperous. The census of 1841 in Largo records five men who stated their occupation as 'salmon fisher'. Of those men, four resided at the Temple and the other at Viewforth, suggesting that the focus of the salmon fishing at the time was to the east of Lower Largo.

The shelving sandy beaches of Largo Bay suited the use of stake-nets. These systems are described in 'The Firth of Forth An Environmental History' by T.C. Smout and Mairi Stewart as follows:

"They consisted of rows of poles up to 800 yards long, erected between high- and low-water marks, fastened together with ropes from which curtains of nets were suspended; these were set at an angle to the shore so as to form leaders towards other enclosures of netting, or 'courts', with entrances designed to admit the salmon but so labyrinthine and protected by net bottoms and lids so that they could not find their way out again."

The fish court is emptied of fish at low tide. There were regulations about when the fishing could be carried out. A close season coincided with the salmon breeding season (mid-August to mid-February from 1824) and even during the fishing season there was a weekly close time, traditionally 24 hours from midnight on Saturday nights. At close times the nets had to be lifted. Many newspaper reports from the archives tell of incidences when salmon fishers failed to do this. Below is an example from the 19 October 1910 Leven Advertiser, where Alexander Simpson was unable to take in his nets due to stormy weather but was still fined.

​Occasionally, species other than salmon, such as seals and porpoises, found their way into the nets and this is also a feature of the newspaper archives. In 1874, for example, Largo salmon fisher, James Clark, caught a large porpoise and brought it alive to the annual horticultural event in Keil's Den to be exhibited.

The right to fish for salmon in Scotland - whether in the sea or in inland waters - is a heritable right (i.e. like land ownership it can be inherited). In the heyday of salmon fishing in Largo there were three salmon fisheries, one owned by Strathairly estate, one owned by Largo estate and one by Lundin estate, each let to an occupier who managed the salmon station. The tenant had the exclusive right to fish for salmon in the area of his fishery. The 'tack' or lease of a fishing tended to be auctioned annually. The unpredictability of the catch made it difficult for local fishermen to place large bids and this often resulted in larger-scale interests from outside the local area winning auctions.

As the next few blog posts will detail, operators from places such as Edinburgh and Montrose were among those taking on the Largo stations at various points in history. Tenants also often rented buildings in which to store their gear and were entitled to dry their nets on frames erected on the nearby shore. The painting below is a great example of a scene of nets drying - in this case at Lundin Salmon Fishings at Drummochy, by the Net House at Cellar Braes. More on this particular salmon fishing station in the next post.

Painting by James Riddel R.S.W. (1857-1928), entitled "Auld Reekie from Largo". Read more here.

The above photograph was captured by John Patrick the Buckhaven-born photographer. The image dates to around 1870, by which time Patrick had moved his photography business from Leven to Kirkcaldy. The photograph may have been commissioned in connection with the sale of the Lundin Estate at the time, as a visual indication of the boundary between the Lundin estate and the Largo estate. Drummochy to the left (west) of the Keil Burn fell within the Lundin estate. Note that at this time a couple of houses still featured thatched roofs.
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In the 'then and now' pair of images above, the half-thatched building to the right of Drummochy House (the tallest house with bay windows in the newer image) has been replaced with garages. For a time, the space where the old house once stood was a gap site. The photograph below shows that in that space there was a distinctive statue - the bust of a man on a plinth. 

Among the changes were the replacement of two ruinous cottages on feu number 40 with the detached villa 'Fernbank'. The photograph below shows the contrast between the remaining older houses at the lower level and the new villas of Woodlands Road at the top, and 'Fernbank' in the centre.
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Other lost buildings are the dark coloured ones to the left of centre in the background of the George Washington Wilson photograph below. Remains of the old walls of these structures can still be seen at the site on Cellar Brae by the benches. The tall building looks virtually identical Drummochy House being the same height, design and orientation. The modern day aerial image at the foot of this post shows the continued evolution of this area on both sides of the burn, with many old buildings replaced and gap sites filled, including some across the former path of the railway line, the old gas works and the former mill site.

Above is a 1960s view taken from Largo Pier, across the Keil towards Drummochy. Some of the detail is shown below on what was clearly a warm summer day. Note the old shelter at Cellar Braes, the people sitting on the bench next to it and the towels left on the lower part of the sea wall. Two beautiful boats are central to the image. The boat to the rear is W. Ewan Bryden's 'Greenmantle'. This photogenic vessel was a Largo fixture for a couple of decades. If you know the name of the second boat, please comment.
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The second image below was taken on the same day but orientated towards the viaduct and road bridge. In this photograph the caravan park can be glimpsed through the arch of the viaduct along with the gasworks. The three houses standing prominently behind the Fish Restaurant are, from left to right, Bellvue, Gullane View and Drummochy House (see map further below). 

Interestingly, the Scottish colourist, George Leslie Hunter, produced an artwork featuring Bellvue and Coventry Cottage (see below). Captured from an interesting vantage point down at water level in the harbour, this 1920s watercolour looks up at the houses while fishing nets dry on poles to the right. The tall yellow object to the left could well be a hayrick.
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On 14 July 1971, under the headline "Face-lift at Granary", the East Fife Mail reported on the restoration of the former salt girnel/granary/net store building at Cellar Brae. The photograph above shows the work underway, at the stage when the roof was being replaced but the sea wall had yet to be heightened. Below are a few images taken in the mid-1970s, just a few years after completion. The conversion into a "seaside cottage" was carried out for "Mr John Gilmour, elder son of the Conservative M.P. for East Fife, Sir John Gilmour, Bt". Then aged 26, Mr Gilmour and his wife first decided to restore the granary in 1969 when they "noticed that it was literally falling to pieces and decided that we had to preserve it".  

In explaining the former uses of the building, Mr Gilmour said "in the past the Cellar Brae granary has been put to a variety of uses. At first it was of course a place where local grain was stored before being shipped across the Forth to Leith but that trade died out over a hundred years ago." He continued "for many years it was used by local fishermen as a storehouse for their nets and lobster pots but at one time it even housed a joiner's business." It's interesting that the real original use of the building as a salt girnel had at this point apparently been forgotten.

The building in fact had mixed use for long periods of time. Note that local joiner Alec Tait had workshop space within the granary building from around 1920 into the 1960s, his father David Tait having had the workshop there before him from the early 1890s. This overlapped with use as a granary and then a net store. It was the building's affinity with the village's fishing industry that Mr Gilmour was keen to maintain. At the time of the newspaper piece he was contemplating a suitable name for the finished dwelling. "Perhaps we will call it the 'Net House'. I think that would be an appropriate name for the cottage".  And so it came to pass that the house was given that name, when the restoration work was completed in 1972 - the name which it still goes by today. 

In 1984 the building was given a category B listing, in recognition of its architectural and historical interest. A great example of a mid-eighteenth century structure in a local style and with a varied past use, its listing description is given as:
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2 storey, boulder rubble with large sandstone lintels to ground floor, and low buttresses to long sides. South elevation has arched door near centre with stugged ashlar dressings and deep flanking buttresses, 2 windows left and 3 right; 3 small, first floor windows, window over door, raised through eaves with catslide roof, large modern studio window with gabled head. Glazed doors in east gable. North elevation irregular fenestration, 6 ground and 4 1st floor window. Pantiled roof with slate easing course, skews and 2 stacks. Curved boulder rubble wall to south remains of west pier, probably 18th century, with steps down to water, and low bastion enclosing circle of setts at site of horsemill.

The image below shows the setts at the site of a horse mill between the building and the sea wall. The date of this feature is unclear but likely aligns to the years when the site was used as a granary.
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The photographs above show the west-facing gable end pre- and post-conversion. The high window suggests the earlier presence of a forestair to an entrance at the upper level. The extent of the heightening of the sea wall can also be seen in the post-restoration image.  The conversion to a private dwelling was carried out by Leven architect firm L.A. Rolland and Partners and the project won a Civic Trust heritage award. The design by David Pirie sought to maintain the original character and tradition of this imposing structure. 

Described as a "derelict stone bothy" which had been neglected for years, one specific requirement of the restoration was that the external walls were left unharled. Commenting in the 25 June 1975 East Fife Mail, Mr Rolland noted that "five years ago people didn't do nearly so much of this type of restoration but people are now more aware of the value of such properties". He continued "there is more of this work done in Fife than other places, not only because of conservation societies, but because there are some very nice buildings in this part of Fife". The restoration was certainly a great outcome for this significant Largo building.
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Cellar Brae or Cellar Braes is the promontory to the west of Lower Largo Harbour. The map above, which is dated 1843, is one of the few to clearly name the area. Below is a comparison of that map with a recent aerial view of the site. The general layout and many of the buildings remain the same, although some buildings have been lost. The large building closest to the sea has survived and is one of Largo's oldest. Now known as The Net House, pictured further below, this building began life as a salt girnel (store-house) for the adjacent salt works at Drummochy. Dating back to the 1740s, the girnel was a secure building where salt was drained and stored - an essential component of any salt works. Salt was an extremely valuable commodity at this time and a good quality, robust building was needed for secure storage. So, it is thanks to the original function and importance of the building that it has been able to stand the test of time.

With the decline of the salt industry locally in the late 18th century, the building's function had to evolve. For a time, it was used as a granary (separate from the granary on the other side of the harbour, now part of the Crusoe Hotel). The 1932 Largo Village Book states that historically "grain was stored for shipping" at Cellar Braes. However, by the late 19th century, and for many decades, the building and surrounding ground was used to store fishing gear and to dry nets (hence the building's present name of The Net House). There are a few images below that feature nets hung out to dry all around the area.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, salmon stake nets ran out to sea in front of the Net House (see image below). Throughout that time, valuation rolls show that the Cellar building and Lundin Salmon Fishings were owned by Lundin Estate. These facilities were tenanted initially by Andrew Greig Anderson, Edinburgh fishmonger, in the late 19th century and then by  Joseph Johnston and Sons Limited of Montrose (a long-established salmon fishing business with interests the length of the east coast) in the early decades of the 20th century.
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By the mid-1930s, Cellar Braes began to change into more of a recreational space. The Largo Parish Community Council rented the area and organised for benches and a shelter to be put in place for the comfort of those enjoying the views across the harbour. The old path which used to run around the seaward side of the Net House was re-routed to the landward side of the building.  The old path route with its unguarded sea wall was not without its risks, as the ​9 April 1935 Leven Advertiser piece below demonstrates. The man who fell over the edge onto the rocks was staying at 'Westhaven' - a house opposite Cellar Brae (see map further below). In the early 1970s, the now semi-derelict net house building was restored and converted into a private dwelling. The sea wall was heightened for safety.
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As well as being the site of private homes, the Cellar Braes of today continues to offer benches, views and space to relax. The former shelter (seen on map and image above) is long gone but a patch of concrete indicates where this once was.  This multi-functional corner of the village has a rich history. Featured in artworks and offering a fine viewing space for events at the harbour, it continues to be a characterful part of the Largo landscape.

Thomas Lawrie was born around 1853 to James Lawrie and Isabella Sime. The 1861 census records the family, headed by James aged 34 who was described as a 'Seaman (Merchant Service)', with wife and five children including Thomas aged 7. Four years later, in December 1865, James was sailing from New Brunswick Canada back to the Clyde on board the Alfaretta of Miramichi with a cargo of timber, on what was turn out to be an ill-fated voyage.

On Christmas Day, James along with another man, were lost off the topsailyard of the brand new 627 ton vessel. Experiencing heavy gales from early on in their journey, which began on 2 December, a "heavy gale capsized the ship on her beam ends" late on Christmas Eve and all were left clinging to the hull. After two hours, the ship righted and it was apparent that two were missing. The survivors suffered from exposure, thirst and hunger before being picked up on 2 January by the Peerless. The Alfaretta was ultimately found wrecked some way off the island of Barra.

The article below from the 4 January Glasgow Herald reported the loss of James Lawrie (although incorrectly named the vessel). James had been born in Wemyss Parish around 1827 to William Lawrie and Sophia Neish before the family moved to Largo, where James married Isabella Sime.

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So by the time of the 1871 census, James's widow Isabella was head of the family household and was described as a washerwoman. Thomas, now 17 years old, was already a fisherman and was living with his mother and two younger siblings. Thomas was married in 1877 to Isabella Clunie (daughter of fisherman John Clunie) and in 1881 census they had two children - James (2) and Isabella (4 months) and were living in Drummochie. 

In 1891, another tragedy at sea hit the Lawrie family when Thomas's brother David died. He fell overboard the steamer British Queen while returning from the Elbe. The Fifeshire Journal of 29 January below described the event. In the census of the same year, Thomas and his wife continued to live in Largo, now with five children (John, Mary and Maggie having been born since the previous census).
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In 1893, Thomas and Isabella's sixth child, David was born. Sadly they lost their 14-year-old daughter Mary in 1901 from tuberculosis. The 1901 census shows four children at home, including son James, a line fisherman and son John, an apprentice golf club maker. Ten years later, the family were at Main Street Lower Largo with the two youngest children still at home and Thomas aged 58 described as a line fisherman. In 1912 Thomas's mother Isabella Sime died aged 87 years.

1934 saw the death of Thomas's wife Isabella Clunie aged 84 at their home Westerlea, Defoe Place in Lower Largo. Thomas remained active and as he reached 70 years active involvement in fishing, attracted the attention of the newspapers. He appeared in the 13 November 1934 Leven Advertiser under the headline "Largo's Ever-Youthful Fishermen: Aged 82 and Still at Work". The piece (extract below) tells of how, although Thomas no longer made the trips to Yarmouth and other deep-sea fishing grounds, he made a daily appearance at Largo Harbour to help the younger fishermen ready their boats and nets.
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The piece goes on to describe how Thomas once had two boats of his own. One of those was the Sultan (incorrectly noted as the Saughton in the above newspaper report) which was at one time the largest boat in Largo. At 45 feet long Thomas had the Sultan (registration KY 240) for 32 years before it moved on to Leith. As well as the loss of his father and brother at sea, Thomas had acutely felt the loss of his fellow Largo fishermen when the Brothers went down in 1886. He explained that his own narrowest escape had taken place when he and six mates were caught in a sudden storm at Yarmouth and "had to work like grim death to keep their course". Mr Lawrie's seven decades in fishing had seen the peak days of fishing at Largo when 20 boats left the harbour for Yarmouth to a staged decline until no boats made the journey any more. The feature ended with the words "the baldies may have gone from Largo but Skipper Tom Lawrie is still there, hale and hearty."
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The above image (from the Dundee Courier of 21 May 1935) shows Thomas with some drying fishing gear by the old salt girnel or net house on the Drummochy side of Largo harbour. Thomas lived until the ripe old age of 98. He passed away on 22 January 1951 at Westerlea. At the time he was Largo's oldest inhabitant. The Leven Mail of 31 January reported that his death was deeply regretted by fisher folk all around the East Neuk and that he was "well-known and respected by everyone for miles around". Always a familiar figure around the pier, Thomas loved to talk about the old days and was the only man in the village to remember the building of the railway viaduct. He was survived by two sons and two daughters.
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The above image appears in the book 'Largo - An Illustrated History' by Eric Eunson and John Band and shows Walter Horne (on the far right) and the local team of joiners that worked with him. They are standing in front of their workshop, which was originally the panhouse of the former salt works at Drummochy.

In an effort to establish who the other individuals in the photograph are, I ran a search on the 1901 census for Largo Parish on the keyword 'Joiner' and found a number of candidates. Ruling out the retired joiners, joiners working on outlying areas such as New Gilston or Woodside and those based in Kirkton of Largo (such as Agnew Broomfield), there is a short list of 24 men and boys. Mostly living in Lower Largo. So the list below offers potential matches for those in the image. Certainly some of those on the list will be in the picture (most probably some of the other Hornes listed). If you think you can identify any matches - please leave a comment.

Walter Horne was still noted as the proprietor of the Drummochy workshop in the 1940 Valuation Roll. He died in 1941 at the age of 77, however, 'Walter Horne and Son Joiners' were still listed as proprietors in 1950. Meanwhile, ​Alexander Gillies Tait, son of joiner David Tait (and an apprentice joiner at the time of the 1901 census above), went to on become a master joiner and also had a Joiner's Shop at Drummochy for many years (in what is now the Net House). When Alex Tait turned aged 70, he was obliged to place an advert in the 5 December 1956 Leven Mail, following rumours of his retirement (see below). Horne's workshop (seen from a different perspective in another HES image below) survived until the late 1960s before being demolished and the site rebuilt upon. Alex Tait died in 1970, aged 84, having provided joinery services in Largo since his mid-teens.

As a follow-on from the previous post about the Port of Drummochie, and the heyday of the salt pans there, we can look in more detail at the visible evidence of the old structures around this area. First, for context, a map comparison (above) of Drummochy in 1964 (top) and a feuing plan of the same area from around 1840. Numbered on both maps are:

1. The site of the former Emsdorf School;
2. The Salt Panhouse on the 'Panbraes';
3. Drum Lodge;
4. Salt Girnel (later known as Net House).

These landmarks and others are also annotated on the map below of Drummochy Salt Works from the book 'Largo - An Illustrated History' by Eric Eunson and John Band. This also shows how the pair of skerries of rock directly in front of the panhouse would likely have been dammed to create a 'bucket pot' (basin). Here the sea water would have been held when the tide was out, ready to be drawn up into the panhouse for boiling. More about the salt production process can be read about here.

The aerial image above and the ground level images below show the remains of the harbour structure. Much of the original stone would have been recycled into new building works long ago.  The former 'Pan Braes' became known as 'Massney Braes'. Unable to find any definitive origin or meaning for the word Massney, I wonder if there is any connection to stone masons using this area as a source of material. Opinions welcome on this idea - or evidence of an alternative meaning to the name. It's certainly the case that stone has taken from this area of shore by masons. In 1880, legal action was taken to stop Thomas Tivendale, mason, from "taking stone for building purposes from the seashore opposite Mr Macrae's property". Mr Macrae was Colin George Macrae W.S. of Drum Lodge.
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Above images show specific detail of the old harbour of Drummochie, captured at a time when there was less sand covering the area. The image on the left is the base of the sloping revetment of the harbour entrance (looking back towards Drum Park). The photo on the right is the end of the pier section which projects from the Lundie rocks.

Another historic feature in this vicinity is the man-made extension to the end of the Lundie rocks. Built around the 1830s, in the pre-railway days of the steam boat services, this low-water pier allowed boats to dock, embark and disembark passengers and goods, whatever the state of the tide. The flat platform of cut rocks can still be seen at the Lundies southern tip. The two images above show this from the ground and below is the same area from above. Remnants of iron fixings in the rock indicate a walkway with a bannister once would have assisted passengers from the boat to the shore.

Enjoy a short drone video clip ending at the former Drummochy Harbour here: https://youtu.be/HzIW_B2jxbk

​The "Port of Drummochie" was once of greater importance than the harbour we now know as Largo Harbour. Located in the above aerial image to the left of the Lundie Rocks (the natural strata seen in front of the viaduct), the remnants of this former port or harbour can still be made out, at low tide, as distinct bands of rubble. The circa 1750 Roy Military Survey of Scotland map (below) clearly indicates the symbol for a harbour or port to the west side of the point where the Keil Burn flows into Largo Bay. It was here - on the Drummochy side of the burn - where three salt pans also once operated.

The advert below from 1 July 1771 Caledonian Mercury mentions the "port" right at the start of the description of the Lundin estate, emphasising its importance and later notes that there were "three salt pans adjacent". A similar advert from 1773 elaborates on the description of the harbour at Drummochie, stating that it "is of easy approach and can be made capable of receiving ships of considerable burden at moderate expense".
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Drummochie or Drummochy has had several different spellings over time. It was made a free burgh of barony in 1540 and was then known as Drummoquhy, according to the above extract from the 'The Arms of the Baronial and Police Burghs of Scotland' (1903). Below is the 'Place Name Data' for Drummochy and further below is a piece from 1819 Topographical Dictionary of Scotland stating that, by then, the harbour at Drummochy (and salt works) had been "destroyed".

The demise of the harbour at Drummochy was linked with the end of the salt industry at the site. The 4 September 1784 Caledonian Mercury notice below shows that the three salt pans themselves were put up for sale along with coal fire engine. This sale (four decades after the start of the salt works at Drummochy) was overseen by Ebenezer Coutts, the bailie who lived at what is now Drum Lodge. The loss of the salt industry, plus the existence of the more natural Largo Harbour adjacent, must have meant there was no incentive to maintain the manmade harbour of Drummochy. 

Below are two more aerial images and a view from the ground of the remnants of Drummochy Harbour. Note the two significant areas of boulders, although no doubt many parts of the original harbour structure have long since been reused for other construction purposes. While it's great that some physical evidence of the old port remains today, it would be good to unearth more written information about the harbour in its working days. If you have any information about the former Drummochy Harbour, please comment.
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