William Thomson Dawson was born in Buckhaven in 1876 to shoemaker John Dawson and Elizabeth Thomson. The family lived at Harbour Head. By the age of 14, William was employed as a clerk. A decade later in 1901, the census still described his occupation as 'clerk'. A keen sportsman, he was considered one of the finest footballers in the district. William was also active in the local lodge of the Independent Order of Good Templars (I.O.G.T.). The newspaper piece below from 23 October 1902 Leven Advertiser tells of an I.OG.T. social which was attended by both William and his future wife, Grace Williamson of Largo. Both William and Grace were musically talented and likely became acquainted through this shared interest. On Christmas Day 1903, William was married to Grace, the third daughter of Drummochy plasterer Alexander Williamson, in Edinburgh by Reverend James Robert Burt of Largo Parish Church.
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At the time of the 1911 census, taken in April, William was recorded as living in Balmoral Cottage, Buckhaven with his wife and two children, six-year-old John and one-year-old Grace. William's occupation was 'Tramway Accountant', for the Wemyss and District Tramways (a scheme initiated in 1906 by Randolph Wemyss extending from Leven to Kirkcaldy). Later the same year, on 7 October 1911, Dawson was promoted to the position of General Manager, following the retiral of his predecessor. Under his management, the company both flourished and weathered various storms. He would remain General Manager for the remainder of the existence of the tramway.

While residing in Buckhaven, William was instrumental in the establishment of the local Boy Scouts' movement, eventually becoming secretary of the District Scout Association. He was also a founder of the Buckhaven Musical Association, which evolved into the East Fife Musical Association. He was well-known as a vocalist and was also treasurer and secretary of Leven Dramatic Society. He was session clerk of Buckhaven Parish Church for a time. By 1921, William, Grace and their three children (the youngest being Betty) were living at Stein Cottage, in Drummochy. This was next door to Coventry Cottage where Grace's parents and several of her siblings resided.
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Inevitably, local transport evolved and the trams were increasingly challenged by omnibuses. The Wemyss and District Tramways Company invested in some bus stock of its own (and a few charabancs). One model was the Tilling-Stevens bus pictured above, navigating the bridge over the Keil Burn, with Drummochy in the background, including Stein Cottage. During the 1920s the Dawson family moved to Leven, living in 'Lyndhurst' on Links Road. In November 1927, William was elected to Leven Town Council. By then he was aged fifty and a keen golfer and bowler. The previous year he had been elected vice-president of the Scottish Tramways Managers' Association and subsequently became its president.
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At the end of 1928, William and Grace celebrated their silver wedding anniversary. The occasion was marked at the annual dinner and dance held by the staff of the Wemyss and District Tramways Company in Leven's Caledonian Hotel. Mr Dawson presided over a gathering of around 190 people. After talking about how there was a greater need for co-ordination between buses and trams in order to ensure efficient public service, Mr Dawson and his wife were presented with a silver tea and coffee service. Below is an extract from Mr Dawson's speech, as published in 22 December 1928 Leven Advertiser. In this he joked about how he and Grace decided to get married to save in shoe leather, due to all the walking he did between Buckhaven and Largo during their courting days.
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​William was also the General Manger of the Caley Motor Engineering Company during the late 1920s (see advert above from 19 November 1927 Leven Advertiser). By 1930, the Dawson family had moved to Upper Largo, to the house shown below, which they named 'Lyndhurst', after their former Leven home. This house on the St Andrews Road had originally been the manse of the United Free Church in Upper Largo (the congregation of which dissolved in 1924). Now a listed building, the listing for Lyndhurst states:

Circa 1850. 2 storeys, a symmetrical. Stugged coursers with polished chamfered margins and quoins. Whin rubble flanks and rear. Shallow advanced gabled bay to right. All windows bipartite with 8 or 10-pane glazing; raised panel over centre 1st floor window, steeply pointed gablet to left window. Coped skews, end stacks, slate roof; rear wing. Modern lean-to conservatory.

​On 3 January 1931 the Dawsons held a party at Lyndhurst for forty children of the employees of the tramway, who were conveyed to Upper Largo by bus. After a "sumptuous tea" there was "an impromptu programme of songs, dances and games". Many of the children gave "delightful songs and recitations". Each was given a gift before being returned to their homes (6 Jan 1931 Leven Advertiser). On 30 January 1932, the Wemyss tramway system ceased running and was replaced by a service of buses run by W. Alexander and Sons. William Dawson had been General Manager for 21 years and four other employees had been with the tramway since its beginning in 1906. William continued to live at Lyndhurst, working for Fife Electric Power Company for a time, becoming a Justice of the Peace and acting as a director of East Fife Football Club.
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William Dawson died in Edinburgh on 7 June 1943 and his wife Grace died on 13 August 1944 at the Leven home of her daughter Grace. Both William and Grace were buried at Upper Largo cemetery where the gravestone proudly tells of William's management of the Wemyss and District Tramways.
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Letham Glen at Scoonie roundabout is named after John Letham, the retired farmer who gifted money to Leven Town Council in 1925 to help secure the park for the community. His gift of £1000 was invested so that the interest could be put towards the annual feu-duty. John Letham was born at Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire in 1863. His father, also John, was an arable farmer (as was his grandfather and great-grandfather, both also named John Letham). His mother was Margaret Ballantine. In his teens, John began working alongside his father at Lairs Farm, becoming at least a fourth generation farmer. John's father died in 1882, aged 52 and he, his mother Margaret and his younger brother Andrew continued in farming, moving to nearby Gill Farm (two miles north of Lesmahagow) by the time of the 1891 census. 

However, a decade later John Letham broke with family tradition and left Lanarkshire for Fife. In 1892 Lahill Mains near Largo was advertised to let. John took on the lease and moved to Newburn Parish with his mother and siblings, joining the East of Fife Agricultural Society soon afterwards. Tragically, in 1894, his brother Andrew died at Lahill (also known as Lawhill) aged just 28 from appendicitis and was buried at Newburn Old Church. John continued to farm at Lahill for five further years before a new opportunity presented itself.​

As a dairy farmer at Balgrummo, just a couple of miles north of Leven, John made frequently trips past the wooded den known locally as Spinkie Den delivering milk. He began to cherish the hope that one day the town would possess the natural beauty spot for the enjoyment of the community. The 1911, census records John and William Letham still as joint tenants at Balgrummo, with Margaret and Mary Ann living in the same household. Sadly, in 1916, John lost another brother when William died aged 36. Now in his fifties, John decided to retire from farming and by 1920 had moved into Fernbank on Drummochy Road, Lower Largo. In census of 1921 John was recorded at Fernbank with his mother Margaret, sister Mary Ann and a servant. 

John had never married or had children but was devoted to his mother and siblings, as well as to the agricultural community. He took an interest in wider public affairs and still maintained his personal vision for Spinkie Den. He kept abreast of developments as Leven Town Council negotiated for some years with Robert Maitland Christie to secure the beauty spot for the people of Leven. In 1924 he made a gift of £500 to the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution and also a gift of £1000 to the Wemyss Memorial Hospital.

Finally, the opportunity came for John to enable the Council's purchase of the Den. He made a gift of £1000 which was to be invested to contribute long-term to the annual feu-duty for the site. So grateful were the Town Council that ex-Bailie Barron proposed that the name of Spinkie Den be changed to Letham Glen - the name by which the public park still goes to this day (see 9 July 1925 Dundee Courier item below). The advertisement further below for a concert by the Merrymakers is one of the first examples of the new name in use (from 18 August 1925 Leven Advertiser).
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In 1926, John Letham's mother, Margaret, died at Fernbank aged 85. He continued to live there with his sister Mary Ann. His support of Letham Glen continued beyond his initial gift and in 1930 he gave a further £600 towards the cost of the stone entrance gates and railings, pictured above. These were given a category C listing in 1999 and are described as follows:

TRIUMPHAL ARCH: keystoned, moulded arch and cornice giving way to deep frieze inscribed '19' 'LETHAM GLEN' '25'. 2-leaf decorative metalwork gates.
E GATEPIERS: square section gate piers with deep cornice and flat coping. 2-leaf decorative metalwork gates.

Although dated 1925, the year that the den was acquired for the town, the arch and gates were not constructed until 1930 as part of the gradual enhancements of the park, under Leven Town Council. The cost of the entrance gates was £550 and this was fully covered by a cheque from John Letham for £600 (the excess amount being used for plants and shrubs).

The retired John Letham also continued to be involved in agricultural matters and in 1939 was made an honorary life member of the East of Fife Agricultural Society, at their AGM, after 47 years as a member. In 1946 John lost his sister Mary Ann who died aged 77 at Fernbank. John died there three years later on 17 March 1949. John Letham was buried at Newburn Old Churchyard, with three of his siblings. The inscription on their headstone, pictured below, reads:

In memory of Andrew Letham, Lahill Mains Died 17th Dec 1894 aged 28 years
William Letham, Balgrummo, Scoonie Died 9th February 1916 aged 36 years
Mary Jane Letham Died 26th July 1947 aged 77 years
John Letham Died 17th March 1949 aged 85 years
Both of Fernbank, Lower Largo

Fernbank on Drummochy Road was designed in 1890 for James Galloway, a retired leather merchant. Galloway was born in 1833 in Colinsburgh, son of currier James Galloway and his wife Isabella Meldrum. In his teens James was apprenticed as a currier (someone who treats leather after the tanning process, dressing it ready for sale). The notice below from the 21 February 1850 Fife Herald reports on the opening of the family business, when James senior took over from David Carstairs. In turn, the younger James took over the business after the death of his father in 1863. In 1879 James Galloway married Catherine Nelson and they lived in Colinsburgh while James continued as a leather merchant there.

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By 1890, James was planning his retirement and commissioned James Gillespie architect of St Andrews to design Fernbank. James has purchased a plot at Drummochy, on which there were two old dwellings. These were situated up against the road, in line with the row of houses on the right of the image above and below (which still exist today as 26-38 Drummochy Road). The two old cottages were demolished and the new villa was built higher up the sloping plot to maximise the view towards the sea. James had long been a keen horticulturalist and so the botanical name 'Fernbank' was fitting for his new home.

For many years, James had been one of the leading exhibitors at the Colinsburgh Flower Show (an offshoot of the Keil's Den Horticultural Show) and was a recognised specialist in the culture of pansies. He won many prizes for his flowers and produce. No doubt his garden at Fernbank (shown in the centre of the 1964 map above) would have been impressive. James took an active role in public life in his retirement - becoming a Justice of the Peace, a Parish Councillor and a member of Largo School Board. He was also an active member of the U.P. Church and was a lifelong ardent Liberal.

In 1899 the brother of James, Thomas C. Galloway, died and left the legacy with which the Galloway Library in Colinsburgh was established (opened in 1904). At the time of the 1901 census, James and Catherine were still living at Fernbank. However, James died in September 1905 at Fernbank, aged 72. Catherine still owned Fernbank on the 1915 valuation roll but by 1920, Fernbank had been sold to John Letham, a retired farmer. John Letham would go on to gift money to Leven Town Council to secure the future of the public park at Spinkie Den, which was then renamed Letham Glen as a gesture of appreciation. More on that in the next post. John Letham died in 1949. The next residents of Fernbank were retired coal merchant John Dow Young and his wife Jean Cochrane Gardiner. 

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 Johnston 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 1876, by which time Patrick had moved his photography business from Leven to Kirkcaldy. The photograph provides 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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