The above postcard, sent in August 1903, is significant to this blog, not so much for the image of Lucerne Railway Station, but for the recipient and the short message on the front. The postcard was sent to Master Joe Bennet, Mayfield, Lundin Links. Mayfield (along with Eastfield) is a striking double villa on Leven Road and was written about here recently. The houses were built for John Bennet. Joe was his young son, aged around eight at the time he received this message. Although the family lived in Edinburgh most of the time, they were clearly spending summer at their Lundin Links house at this time. Although it is unclear who sent the card, it was clearly someone who know Joe and Lundin Links well. Here is the message:

Wouldn't Mr Robertson take a fit if he had a station like this to look after at Lundin Links!

This refers to Robert Robertson, the station master at Lundin Links railway station. Lucerne station was of course a grand city station - a stark contrast to the small station at Lundin Links, which in 1903 was still a single building, short platformed affair, largely unchanged since the 1850s (as seen below in a circa 1900 image). Robert was born in Kilconquhar in 1860 - the early days of the railway in the East of Fife. By the time of the 1891 census, he was married with one daughter and working as a signalman at Kingsbarns Station. A couple of years later, he moved to Lundin Links and, by the 1901 census, he was living in the station master's house with his wife, mother-in-law and three children (Magdeline, Janet and David).

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Two years after the humorous postcard message was sent, Mr Robertson's station was given a major upgrade. Perhaps not quite elevating it to Lucerne standards but nevertheless quite a step up for a village station. The report below from the 23 November 1905 Leven Advertiser describes the extent of the changes. The "new group of buildings" included a booking office, a general waiting room and a ladies waiting room. The platform was greatly lengthened. Mr Robertson and his family were given an "improved dwelling house" within the old station building.
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The photograph above shows the expanded station where Mr Robertson would remain station master for the rest of his days. Sadly, the First World War saw the Robertsons lose their only son David at the age of 22. The extract below from the 28 October 1916 Fife Free Press tells of how he was a bright young man with a promising future. As the 28 June 1923 Leven Advertiser further below suggests, Robert never fully recovered from the loss of his son and his health gradually declined until his death in 1923. During his thirty years at Lundin Links Station he was "always to be found at the post of duty" providing "entire satisfaction to the thousands who travelled to Lundin Links". He was a man who didn't need the lure of a huge city station like Lucerne!
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The previous post looked at the two Durham Schools in Lower Largo and how the old schoolhouse at the Temple car park was superseded by the later school that would become the Durham Hall. The 1836 single room school was left as a ruin for decades until - exactly a century after it was first erected - the remains were cleared away. In the run up to that, it was becoming increasingly clear that the Feuars' Green or Temple Green was needing a bit of attention. Having been neglected for a while, things came to a head after winter storms took their toll on the seafront here.

In 1935 the Leven Advertiser of 23 April reported, under the headline "Havoc on Foreshore", that "time and tide have played havoc with the seats which were erected a few years ago on the foreshore at the Temple, Largo, by the Improvements Committee. During the summer season these seats were a popular rendezvous with the older generation."

This prompted efforts to renew and improve the 'vacant' ground. Discussion ensued around the possibilities for enhancing the space for locals and visitors alike. Later that year the suggestion of creating a children's playground or a putting green on the green created much animation among the locals. As the piece in the 19 Oct 1935 Fife Free Press below indicates, folk were keen to point out that nothing could be done without the unanimous agreement of the green feuars (who had collectively been given the ground many years earlier for use as a bleaching green - see image at the top of the post where white cloth can be seen drying in the corner of the green). Times had changed and no longer was the green needed for bleaching. Its main use had become a convenient 'lying up' place for fishing and pleasure boats off season. A committee was duly established to explore the possibilities for the green. 
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The above update appeared in the 13 June 1936 Fife Free Press, showing that improvement plans were taking shape. By the September, the plans were being executed. The Leven Advertiser (29 Sept) updates on the works to level the ground, remove the ruins of the old Durham School, erect fencing and build a brick wall along the south edge of the green. The old stones from the school building were in fact used to build up the foreshore in order to protect against further storm damage.

Although the green was tidied up, neither the putting green nor children's playpark ideas came to pass. The space is rarely referenced in the later newspaper archives. A rare example from 1937 tells that a Sunday School picnic party from Leslie based themselves at Temple Green. The storage of boats there continued and of course with the rise of the motor car, it became primarily a car park. The brick wall was at some point replaced by the neat stone wall that bounds the car park to the south today. The foreshore and road (created in 1903) to the south remain intact, perhaps in part due to the old stones from the original Durham School.

The image above, which appears in the book 'Seatoun of Largo' by Ivy Jardine, shows what is now the Temple Car Park. The Cardy Net Factory can be seen behind the many boats pulled up from the beach (including what might be the Semiquaver - the largest boat, resting adjacent to the factory). To the right and slightly elevated is a roofless old building - a former school. The 1853 Ordnance Survey name book helpfully describes the school as follows:

"Durham's School: A school in the hamlet of Temple, erected by subscription in 1836. The teacher is a female who receives a salary from Mrs Durham of £20 per ann. also school fees. It is attended by about 60 scholars."

This provides a definite date of 1836 for the origin of the school and tells us that this was a 'subscription school' i.e. the school was organised and governed locally and parents paid a fee for children's attendance. Like many village schools of the time, it was single roomed and had only one teacher (in 1853 this was Miss Caroline Spence). Also mentioned in the 1853 name book are the other local schools, namely: the Emsdorf School (built 1821 and also attended by around 60 pupils) and the old Kirkton School (which was attended by around 150 scholars at the time).

The newspaper item below from the 18 May 1837 Fifeshire Journal confirms the 1836 origin and tells us that General Durham was actively involved in the school's establishment. This is General James Durham of Largo House (1754-1840). It also mentions that the teacher in 1837 was a Mr Wilson. Interestingly, the piece notes that the establishment of the school had been resisted by many.
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General Durham died at Largo House in 1840 and was succeeded in his Largo estate by his nephew Thomas Calderwood Durham of Polton. The latter died only two years later, also at Largo House, and was succeeded by his brother Admiral Sir Philip Charles Henderson Calderwood Durham. Philip died in 1845 in Naples and his estates at Largo and Polton passed to his niece Lilias Dundas Calderwood Durham (the daughter of Thomas Calderwood Durham). She was the widow of Robert Dundas of Arniston, who had died in 1838.

Unsurprisingly, as decades passed, the small subscription school became inadequate for the needs of Lower Largo. A site on Donaldson's Wynd was selected for a bigger, more substantially-built school (see map below from 1866 which features both schools). The 1861 census for Lower Largo lists two school buildings: a 'subscription school (empty)' and a 'female school'. A newspaper piece (see further below) from 15 June 1910 Leven Advertiser states that "the Durham school was founded in 1859 by Mrs L. D. C. Durham". Mrs Durham spent time at Largo House between 1845 and 1868 and took a great interest in the local community and especially in education. In her later years, she sold the Largo estate to William Johnson of Lathrisk in 1868 and settled at Polton. She died in 1883 in Lanzo, Italy.
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The 1862 Westwood's Directory notes within the Largo section that "a new female industrial school" had been built in Lower Largo, with a Miss Robertson in charge. This new school also became known as the Durham School. Mrs Dundas Durham (1799-1883) is pictured below (courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, London). The marble memorial tablet to her within Largo Church is also shown below. 
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The Durham school remained in active use long after the era of the Durham family in Largo. While control of the schools at Kirkton and Lundin Mill transferred to Largo School Board in 1872 with the passing of the Education Act, the Durham school stayed under the control of the Kirk for many years thereafter. The 'Largo Village Book' of 1932, in its section about schools, after mentioning the schools in Kirkton and Lundin Mill, says:

"There is yet another school in Donaldson's Wynd. This is just above Lower Largo, known as the Durham School. This did not pass out of the Church's hands nearly as soon but remained under the management of the Kirk Session till after 1892. A lot of children used to go to the Durham School. There was always a school-mistress there and latterly the younger children went. A few years ago, however, it was closed as a regular school and has now been fitted up for classes, and here the Continuation Classes are held."

A footnote further explains that it was 1895 that the Kirk Session ceased to manage this school. The reason that it did so was due to the need for extensive repairs and improvements for which the Kirk Session had no funds. The Largo Village Book also tells us that the school evolved from a regular school into a continuation school earlier in the twentieth century. The newspaper archives tell us that the building was altered in 1911 to improve heating, lighting and use of space, plus fit it up for cookery and laundry lessons. The advert above from the 28 September 1911 Leven Advertiser lists some of the continuation classes available following the building's refurbishment.

​Below is a photograph of the Durham school (now Durham Hall) in the mid-1970s. Now 160 years old, the building is still serving the local community well.
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The above announcement appeared in the 6 May 1959 Leven Mail, to share the news that Saunders and Wood had taken over Upper Largo's Central Garage from Harris and Sons (the family who had run it for around four decades). Later the same year, the advert below from 17 June 1959 Leven Mail tells us that the garage offered 'motor sales and services' and that a 'six-seater car' was available for hire.
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However, in 1965, plans were drawn up for the modernisation of Central Garage, which was now in the ownership of  the Harley brothers. Above is the proposed front elevation, featuring new tall windows on the right that would allow a clear view into the car showroom for passers by. The floor plan below has the 'car showroom' marked on the right hand side as well as an angled 'showspace' at the far left, adjacent to the concrete forecourt. The modern garage lasted around three decades before its collapse and replacement with housing.

​The above 1920s photograph shows James Harris and Sons' 'Central Garage' on Upper Largo's Main Street, with a rather splendid vehicle emerging from the main entrance. The photograph is part of a larger advertisement (see foot of post) that appeared in the 'Guide to the Kingdom of Fife' by Andrew S. Cunningham. At the time the garage boasted space for 20 cars, a kerbside petrol pump, closed and open motors for hire as well as lorries and a charabanc.

James Harris was born in Collessie in 1869. While working as a coal miner, he met and married Helen Evans of Dunfermline in 1891. They settled in Largo, where James's occupations included carrier, coal contractor and a hirer of horse-drawn vehicles. By 1911 he operated one of Fife's first motor hire services. Later he became a pioneer of motor coach services. Circa 1921, with an expanding business and seven children, James converted the buildings shown above (once the site of an early 19th century brewery) into the garage, which he ran with his sons James, William and Benjamin.

In 1925, James opened a large garage on Commercial Road in Leven. The two-centred business thrived and, by the 1930s, the family operation had diversified to include a Buckhaven to St Andrews bus service and wide-ranging motor coach tours - see advert below from 24 July 1934 Leven Advertiser. The piece further below from the 30 November 1937 Leven Advertiser reflects the success and popularity of Harris and Sons, with 200 people attending the annual staff dance that year. 
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The 12 August 1987 Dundee Courier ran a piece headlined 'Expanding business in restoring MGs', illustrated with the above picture, about Mercury Motors on Largo Road, Lundin Links. Originally Jimmy Horne's 'Lundin Links Service Station', the building changed name around four decades ago. The Courier article remarked upon how staff numbers at the garage had risen from two to nineteen over four years as demand had risen for 'modern classics'. Specialising in the MG sports car, especially the MGB, enquires came in to Mercury Motors from all over the UK and parts of Europe. The marque had ceased production in 1981 and their popularity among collectors was rising. The garage tracked down old neglected examples and had the ability to completely rebuild these cars and offer 'as new' models.

1987 was the 25th anniversary of the first MGB. Cars produced by Mercury Motors could be "built to customers' individual requirements....stripped right down to the last nut and bolt". Virtually every component of the car could be replaced or reconditioned. Owner Ian Forgan (who started buying and selling cars in Kinghorn in 1973) said that "from start to finish it takes about eight weeks of solid work to produce one car but by the time it leaves here it will be almost as good as the day it left the factory."

The business is still going strong and still run by the Forgan family, although renamed 'Mercury Motorsport' in recent times. The business's current website states:

"Founded in 1973, Mercury are the longest established Classic Car Sales, Restoration and Repair business in Scotland. Our reputation for technical excellence and customer care is well renowned by proud classic car owners from across Britain and Europe. 

We are delighted to help you look after your cherished classic car be it for a straightforward MOT test, service, those little jobs that require a ramp, welding rebuild and restoration work.

We are also proud to offer our Build to Order facility which has expanded to meet the needs of those customers who are unable to find exactly what they're looking for using more traditional methods and instead prefer the alternative of purchasing the Classic Car they have always promised themselves - built entirely to their own detailed specification.  Primarily for classic MG and Classic Fords but we will consider rebuilding any classic car."

The wonderful photograph below (which was found on the Mercury Motorsport Facebook page) shows the garage I recall from my youth, with a long row of MG cars for sale. I certainly find it interesting that this modern business would not exist in its current location had it not been for the chain of events tracing back to the creation of the Claremont Garage back in 1908 and in particular the vision that Jimmy Horne had in the 1950s to move from Corner Garage to the new site in front of Largo House.
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The previous post featured 'Claremont Garage' at the corner of Largo Road, close to the junction with Cupar Road. Set up in the 1900s, this early motor garage paved the way for later Lundin Links garages. In the 1940s, James Crawford Horne (Jimmy Horne) revived the garage after the building had been used as a laundry, renaming it 'Corner Garage'. The above photograph, dating from 1964, shows the garage on the right hand side (as seen from the garden of Ernest Cottage). Note the garage frontage, which no longer exists today, as it was destroyed by fire later on in the 1960s. 

​The listing below from the 3 August 1949 Dundee Courier shows that Horne's Corner Garage was fully established by that date. By 1956 Horne had had plans drawn up for a bigger and better garage - or 'service station' - further along the Largo Road close to the newly abandoned Largo House. The images of the architect drawings further below show that this was designed to be a modern, purpose-built facility to meet the needs of the growing number of motorists - a step-up from the old garage that was built for the days when few owned a motorised vehicle.

The site and footprint of the new building are worth noting. The location, on a straight stretch of road, was far more visible to passing traffic and had room for expansion. The unusual tapering shape of the site reflected the plan to build a by-pass road behind the garage. Its intended path is shown in the map below, marked 'future trunk road'. This road never came to fruition despite years of discussion and planning.  
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The layout plan above shows a block of 5 lock-ups on the left and the garage and office block to their right. A two pump island with flood light sits in front between two access points from the main road. Below is the plan of the garage block, which comprised workshop space plus a store and an office/shop (with display shelves). It must have all seemed very modern at the time - does anyone recall the early days of this garage?

Meanwhile the old Corner Garage continued under new management once Jimmy Horne had relocated. The advert for it below dates to the 13 March 1968 East Fife Mail.  Over the decades it has changed use and ownership multiple times - services based there have included spray painting, cold store installation and a builder's workshop.
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The 8 September 1909 Leven Advertiser ran the above advert for John and David Hay's Claremont Garage in Lundin Links. This was located close to the corner of Largo Road at the Cupar Road junction and can be seen in the recent image at the top of this post. Like Wishart's in Upper Largo this was an early motor garage plus cycle works - looking after the need of early adopters of the motor car while still servicing more manual means of transport. Another example of an advert for the business is below from the 24 Aug 1910 Leven Advertiser. Note that they were agents for Darracq Motor Cars and 
Royal Enfield. There were also private lock-up garages to let, given that few people would have had a garage at their own house. Also, cycles could be hired - no doubt something that summer visitors would have taken advantage of.

The name 'Claremont Garage' came from one of the semi-detached villas neighbouring the garage, which John Hay resided in (marked '1' on the map below). Hay rented both the house and the garage from proprietor William Clayton. William's father, Robert Clayton, a wool spinning business owner, had retired to Lundin Mill in 1880 and had purchased 'Hallwells'. The large plot of land that Hallwells sat on was developed over time, eventually incorporating the garage, the two semi-detached villas and other cottages and outbuildings. The 1964 map below shows the buildings in question and their nearest neighbours.

In 1915 John Hay died at the age of 36 and the garage was advertised for let. By that time, the First World War had begun. The garage lay empty and in 1917 owner William Clayton, a marine engineer, was killed. He was one of fourteen to lose their lives on a cargo ship named 'Barnton' when it was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine in the Bay of Biscay on 24 April 1917.  The cargo steamer had been carrying iron ore from Bilbao to the Tyne.  The inscription 'Mar. Ch. Eng. W Clayton' appears on the Largo War Memorial.
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1. Claremont (house)
2. Aviemore (house)
3. Claremont Garage (later Clayton's Garage, then Corner Garage)
4. Hallwells
5. Ernest Cottage
​6. Keilside Bakery

Not long after the war ended, the garage was restarted by William Clayton's son, Thomas. The advert below announcing it open appeared in the 25 March 1920 Leven Advertiser. Another advert below dates to July of the same year. Thomas Clayton was aged only twenty at this time. The garage still hired out cycles and also re-tyred prams and had a Daimler Landaulette for hire. 
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Also around this time, Thomas Clayton and his brothers developed a love of film and entertainment and soon went on to run the La Scala cinema and entertainment on the Pier at Lower Largo. The valuation rolls indicate the changing use and ownership of the garage building thereafter. While it was still described as a workshop run by Bill Clayton in 1925, by 1930 the Claytons had sold the garage and it was let by the new owner to Daniel Ramage (who also operated a bus service and ran the Upper Largo garage for a spell). It had acquired a petrol pump by 1930. Ramage moved on in 1934 and the garage was unlet in 1935. In 1936 the building became the Lundin Links Laundry, run by William Mann. However, the Second World War cut this enterprise short, with William Mann joining the RAF for a spell and not resuming the laundry business post war.

Around the end of World War Two, the building returned to use as a garage, when Jimmy Horne took it over - more on that in the next post.
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The previous post looked at the summer visitors to Largo in 1875. The list back then was fairly long but nothing in comparison to later lists such as the 1910 example below. Of course between 1875 and 1910 many changes had taken place in the villages. The feuing of Lundin Links had taken off around the turn of the century. The parade of shops had become established on Leven Road. Many of these shopkeepers made a point of advertising in the local paper right alongside the list of visitors - including Miss Bremner at the Post Office, Douglas the Butcher and Lindsay's Grocer. David Lindsay also had a boot and shoe warehouse that catered for the holiday makers with footwear "for seaside, golf, bowling, tennis".

In 1875, Lundin Mill had 13 houses listed as occupied by summer visitors. By 1910 there were 95 including many multi-occupancy boarding houses and the Lundin Links Hotel. A number of leisure facilities had been laid on by 1910, including tennis courts, a bowling green and the Montrave Hall. The Lundin Golf Club was long-established but flourished with the increase in summer visitors. Many regular visitors were also members of the club. Lundin Ladies Golf Club moved to its current location around this time and no doubt was well-used by many of the holidaymakers too. 

Meanwhile in Lower Largo, the list had also lengthened by 1910 (though less dramatically) from 33 to 46. Notable developments there since 1875 included Rock View, Beach House and Edina View on the sea-side of Main Street, as well as new properties on the seafront by the Orry such as Sunnyside.  Shops here also took the opportunity to advertise, including John Nicoll the grocer and Armit the boot maker (offering sand shoes and canvas shoes).

​Edinburgh and Glasgow were definitely the main sources of visitors. All houses listed now had names - none were described as 'Mrs So-and-so's', as had been the case in 1875. With so many return visitors each year, one benefit of these lists was that families could see who else was staying and reunite with acquaintances made in previous years.

The postcard scene above, from the Valentine's series, has much going on within it worth comment. It can be dated to between 1911 (when the flat roof was created on the seaward end of the Crusoe Hotel) and 1914 (when the postcard was sent). A huge Union Jack flag can be seen flying from the hotel's flag pole. The tide is fairly high and there are fifteen boats within shot - a mixture of working vessels and pleasure craft. A couple of rowing boats appear to be setting off via the channel between the pier and the Lundies (the rocks to the right of the pier). 

Below we can see a woman in what is probably the uniform of a domestic servant or nanny - black dress, white apron and white lacy cap. Whether she is in charge of the boy to the right is unclear. The road surface is rough and uneven, and the obstacles in the shape of mooring posts, ropes and baskets are many. Cart wheel tracks can just about be made out rounding the corner past the Railway Inn onto Main Street.
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​The other area of zoomed in detail below shows the structure and surface of the pier in good detail. There are several mooring posts and some evidence of fishing gear. People including a boy plus a dog are enjoying watching the hubbub of the harbour. Also notable are the long wooden poles and laddered 'A' frame structures piled up against the harbour W.C. wall. Perhaps someone can comment on how these would have been used?  

All in all, I love this atmospheric scene and only wish I could step back in time and walk through it - taking in the sights, sounds and smells!