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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The previous five blog posts have charted the history of Lower Largo's Crusoe Hotel, from its 1824 origin as a granary to the more modern era of the 1970s. The years from the 1980s to the present day will remain fresh in many people's memories. If you have your own stories or photos that you would like to share, and add into the archive of the hotel's history, please do get in touch, either by commenting on this post or hitting the 'contact' link on the sidebar (or footer on mobile version of site). 

The circa 1980 photograph of the hotel above shows the building returned to a creamy-white colour after its mustard-yellow 1970s incarnation. The newspaper photograph below shows the 'Flying off the Pier' event, which took place on 27 July 1980, with the hotel in the background. These events always drew huge crowds despite the fact that little actual 'flying' was achieved.

Nationally, the period 1980 to 1983 saw what was considered to be the most severe recession since the Second World War. So it was a challenge, in 1982, when the state of the pier became a concern. A 31 March 1982 East Fife Mail report stated that then Crusoe Hotel proprietor, Lockhart Bruce, owned the pier. Mr Bruce explained that the economic recession made it impossible to direct money to pier repairs. So discussions took place with the Community Council on potential ways to use the hotel to raise money for a pier fund. Repairs were carried out later that year.
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The most significant alteration to the hotel building in recent decades was the extension added above and behind the seawall between the main building and the pier (see below). The photograph above was taken in 1989, the same year that then owner Bob Jurgensen submitted a planning application to the District Council for alterations and extension to the hotel. Permission was granted with some conditions (such as a requirement to use traditional materials in the build and to ensure that the façade of the existing building and the extension matched). The works were completed in 1991. The images below show the extension shortly after completion from the front and just over a decade later from the rear.
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A couple of years after the hotel was extended, Bob Jurgensen decided to create a tourist information point and exhibition within the hotel. This was to mark 300 years since Alexander Selkirk went to sea in 1693. The exhibition consisted of six panels which outlined the life of Selkirk and highlighted other figures of interest such as Daniel Defoe and William Dampier. The exhibition space was designed to provide the ambience of the galley in which Selkirk sailed and there was originally even a hatch through which visitors could view his desert island.

The mid-1990s advert below for the hotel notes that it had recently featured on TV programme 'Wish You Were Here'. If you remember that - please comment. The advert draws heavily on the desert island theme. At this time the restaurant was named the 'Castaway Restaurant' while the 'Juan Fernandez Bar' continued alongside the 'Crusoe Bar'. The 'Man Friday's footprint' in the floor is also mentioned. Even with the extension, the total number of bedrooms (12) was fewer than it had been in the past, due to the fact that en-suite facilities had been introduced.

The photograph above shows the Crusoe Hotel fenced off while up for sale in the autumn of 2020, having been placed in administration. It was purchased by the present owners in the spring of 2021 and in the last couple of years, the hotel has been significantly renovated and refreshed. The images below show a selection of before and after images to provide a flavour of the most recent round of changes. The Crusoe Hotel has emerged looking fit for the future, while acknowledging its past (and of course retaining the Robinson Crusoe theme). As the building approaches its bicentenary next year, the story of the former granary looks set to continue for many years to come.
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In the early 1920s, the Crusoe Hotel building approached its centenary looking more modern than before. Now with more bedrooms and varied catering options, including a tearoom, the once old-fashioned hostelry was enjoying popular appeal. The 'stables' that existed within the building in 1920 had become a 'garage' by 1925. This was also the heyday of entertainment at the pier pavilion. Both the pavilion and the hotel even featured several times in sketches and paintings by Scottish colourist George Leslie Hunter (see examples below).

​In the book 'Hunter Revisited' by Bill Smith and Jill Marriner it is noted that: "The little town of Lower Largo provided another favoured painting ground for Hunter. This tiny stretch of the Fife shoreline - its cottages and large, square granary block (now part of the Crusoe Hotel) backing in to the sea, its sandy shore dotted with large outcrops of rock, its jetty and small harbour at the mouth of the Keil Burn and people enjoying the sea air - provided a constant source of challenge for Hunter." The painting above is 'Summer's Day, Lower Largo' dated 1921 which depicts a bustling beach scene.

The 1921 census lists 14 people in residence at the Crusoe Hotel on the night of 19 June. Proprietor, Howard Barnes Moss, his wife and eight-month old son, headed up the list, followed by three 'servants' (on-site members of staff). The hotel guests were a civil engineer, two tweed manufacturers with their spouses and children and a spinning mill manager. Three years later, in 1924, the Barnes-Moss family emigrated and the hotel was bought by Miss Marion Brown. She had run the Royal Hotel in Comrie with her sisters Jessie and Elizabeth for the previous seven years (St Andrews Citizen 19 April 1924). The Ayrshire-born sisters continued the recently-established tearoom element of the hotel.

However, in April 1926, the hotel was sold once again - this time to Robert Dick. He had been a joiner by trade but, owing to an injury in the First World War, he was unable continue in that profession. Having gained experience in the Victoria Inn in Lochgelly, he became owner of a public house on High Street, Innerleven, in 1924 at the age of 31. When he and his wife Margaret Guild and their children relocated to Largo two years later, a long period of unchanged ownership at the Crusoe began.

During Bob Dick's time at the hotel, he possessed Alexander Selkirk's gun. He made this available for handling, fascinating his guests. He managed to attract the attention of the national press several times over the years, regaling tales of the "exploits of the old mariner who made Largo famous". It would appear that much of his information came from a descendent of Selkirk's who was at the time residing in Lundin Links and also from an old acquaintance from Bob's days in the west of Fife, the late Dr Selkirk of Cowdenbeath.

The proprietor was also happy to tell of the building's history. He described the hotel as standing "solidly on the edge of the North Sea" where "wild winter gales" and "certain tides" would on occasion "whirl surging seas round it and leave it as an island". Its role "as a warehouse for distribution by sea of Fifeshire's potatoes and grain before the railway came out from Leven" was also celebrated. Bob Dick liked to speculate about how the original Robinson Crusoe might have found his establishment "a haven of comfort" and a "paradise". Certainly, locals and visitors of the time flocked to the hotel and pier. Scenes like the 1930s one below were a regular occurrence in high season.

The previous post described a period of transition for the Crusoe Hotel - from a small inn within a granary to an expanding hotel, playing host to fashionable functions for the the many summer visitors and golfing fraternity. The hotel already had its iconic picture of Robinson Crusoe in goatskins on its landward gable end and it had become a popular destination. When John Harris bought the Crusoe Hotel in April 1898, seven decades of Largo Granary Company ownership came to an end.

Harris set about upgrading the premises and the 19 July 1898 Dundee Courier notice above told of "entirely new management" and "redecorated and refurnished" rooms. The hotel now filled a large section of the old granary building and had its own stables. Yet, despite seemingly favourable circumstances, Harris advertised the hotel for sale the year after buying it. The advert below from 25 August 1899 Glasgow Herald provides scant description of the hotel but makes a point of stating that "a good business is being done" and that there were "satisfactory reasons for selling". Could the truth be that the seller had concerns about the future of the business?
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The timing of the decision to sell is interesting because, at this point, the Lundin Links Hotel was under construction. The building of the new hotel in Lundin Links had become a protracted affair. The old village inn had been bought in 1897 by James McTavish, the son-in-law of keen golfer and Edinburgh-based tailor, Sam Duncan. Duncan was an associate of architect of the new hotel, Peter Lyle Henderson. Indeed it was Duncan and Henderson, together with former owner of the old inn, William Bethune, who had the vision of demolishing the old establishment and building a modern, up-market hotel to cater for golfing summer visitors. 

James McTavish had married Margaret Duncan in 1896. The intention was that they would own and run the hotel. Construction of the new hotel was advanced when, in March 1899, McTavish was declared bankrupt.  The bankruptcy was connected to the infamous ‘Pattison crash’.  McTavish had previously worked as a clerk for the firm of Pattison, Elder & Co – a whisky distiller and wholesaler that was mismanaged and collapsed taking many other businesses and individuals with it (McTavish held many shares in the company and was liable for some of its debts). 
 
The Lundin Links hotel "in the course of erection" together with "the old building" was advertised for sale in April 1899 (see 8 April Scotsman notice below). The two buildings were purchased by the three individuals mentioned above (Duncan, Henderson and Bethune) and the Leven Advertiser on 27 April reported that following the sale of the hotel "the operations at Lundin Links Hotel will likely proceed on the same lines as originally intended, the purchasers being, it is believed, gentlemen who from the first had an influence in starting the enterprise". With the Lundin Links Hotel's construction back on track, John Harris knew he would be facing competition - not least because Peter Henderson, the architect, now co-owner of the new hotel, and former Captain of Lundin Golf Club was an influential figure, once hailed in the golfing songs performed at annual smoking concerts in the "good old Crusoe Hotel".

​In 1901 the dispute was settled out of court and Cessford did not remain at the Crusoe for much longer. Aside from the court case, complaints had been made about how the house was conducted. The St Andrews Citizen reported that "every Sunday intoxicated persons had been seen to come out of the premises". Mr Cessford had also apparently left his young niece in sole charge of the hotel on a number of occasions. The result was that his 'hotel licence' was cut down to a more restrictive public house one.

A fresh start was made in the Spring of 1902 when Dura Den-born Thomas Lumsden purchased the Crusoe, although it took until October 1903 for the hotel license was restored. Lumsden brought a period of stability to the hotel and catering for pic-nic parties became a speciality. The hotel managed to co-exist with the Lundin Links Hotel (now run by Sam Duncan junior). The advert below from the 12 June 1906 Courier shows that both hotels aimed to appeal to golfers, offering 'moderate' charges.

In January 1911, Thomas Lumsden suffered a set back, when a serious fire caused £1,000 worth of damage to the hotel. As the 14 January Fife Free Press above noted, the fire was spotted as the Lumsdens were retiring to bed in the evening and ultimately flames shot dramatically from the roof. The Buckhaven Fire Brigade attended more than an hour after the alarm was raised and were hindered by the tide being out. The roof had to be cut away to enable water to access the source of the flames. The upper storey was completely gutted. The lower floors were saved, as was the adjoining band hall, but water damage to furnishings and stock was great. The fire was extinguished by 4am the following morning. No clear cause for the blaze was found. Extensive rebuilding would be required. On 2 April 1911, the census recorded Thomas and Catherine Lumsden and their two daughters Catherine and Susan living at neighbouring Rock View, while the hotel was denoted as 'B' meaning being built (or in this case rebuilt).
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The hotel emerged from the incident with seven extra bedrooms and a modern-looking new flat roof. Around the same time the ​Pier Pavilion became a feature on the adjacent pier. However, the hotel's march into a new era was impacted firstly by the outbreak of the Great War and then, in July 1916, by the death of proprietor Thomas Lumsden died aged 65 years. His widow Kate continued the business until 1919, before deciding to retire.  In March 1919, the hotel was once again advertised for sale, this time highlighting the "splendid summer trade". 

The purchaser this time around was Yorkshire man and ex-RAF officer, Howard Barnes-Moss. With pre-war experience in both running a hotel in Falmouth, Cornwall and a Turkish Baths with Billiard Room in London (see below), he wanted to conduct the business as a proper hotel, with greater emphasis on catering and intended creating a new tea-room within part of the former granary. The move north to Scotland coincided with Barnes-Moss starting a new life with his second wife, Maria. Their two youngest children would be born in the hotel in 1920 and 1922. In Part 4, we will pick up as the hotel approaches its centenary.

In Part One of this series, on the history of the Crusoe Hotel, the origins of the building as a granary in the 1820s were covered, as well as the establishment of an inn. Early innkeepers included George Duff and Alexander Selkirk but it seems probable that James Gilchrist was the innkeeper to introduce the 'Crusoe Hotel' name to the establishment in the early 1870s. In 1881, former farmer John Forrester began his long run as hotelkeeper. Born in Newburn in 1820, to William Forrester and Jane Hodge, John was a farmer until the age of 60.

He had just completed a seven year lease at Auchendownie Farm prior to taking over the Crusoe Hotel. Perhaps it's no coincidence that a former agriculturalist should take over an inn within a granary building that he would have known well. Hotel-keeping offered an alternative occupation for his later years, as well as employment for his wife and children (some of whom would continue in hospitality for the rest of their lives). A number of changes to the building took place during Forrester's tenure. Looking at the pair of photographs above, there are several differences.

The top image dates to circa 1880 and the lower one to closer to 1900. As demand for granary storage space declined, but the need for visitor accommodation rose, the hotel expanded into the attic floor of the seaward end of the building. New larger dormer windows were created, a new slate roof put on and new chimney pots added. The hotel exterior was freshly painted and its sign spruced up. The later image features the 1888-constructed fishermen's bothy set into the wall by the pier as well as the 1894 station building (elevated to the left). The chimneys of the circa 1890 Edina View can been seen just about the Hotel roof.

The shift in use of the building from granary, to hotel and other leisure pursuits, didn't end there. In 1890 a 'smoking concert' or 'smoker' took place in the granary loft. In aid of the Lundin Golf Club building fund, this event saw a "bevy of ladies" convert the space into "a beautiful apartment decorated with flags and bannerettes, floral devices and trophies of clubs and cleeks". Over 150 visitors and residenters were present. The Dundee Courier of 26 August elaborated further and included an accompanying sketch (below) of the scene at Largo pier:

"For the first time in its existence, Largo indulged one night last week in the luxury of a "smoking concert." ...The old Crusoe Hotel was gaily decorated with flags, and the interior...was very prettily set out with floral decorations, mottoes, and lanterns.....It is fully expected that the proceeds from the concert will free the clubhouse from debt."

Such was the success of the event that it evolved into the "Annual Festival of the Lundin Golf Club" running over a few days in what was now being referred to as the "Hall of the Crusoe Hotel Buildings". The 1891 festival involved not only a smoking concert in the granary but also a 'children's frolic' for 200 youngsters and a dance for adults. The song below, composed by a golf club member, was sung at the concert. Note the people mentioned in the song include architect and regular visitor Peter Lyle Henderson (who did go on to become Captain of the Lundin Golf Club) and William Hearsey Salmon of Homelands, who was Captain of the Lundin Ladies Golf Club in 1891. The 'good old Crusoe' is honoured in the final verse.

The following year, 1892, the Crusoe was decorated with "Moorish Temple decorations" for the Golf Club Festival. Each evening's entertainment saw the railway viaduct "illuminated by lime lights". Large flags were supplied by Mr Clapperton of Edinburgh. A new golfing song had been composed by club poet Robert Johnstone. Again there was a concert, a children's frolic and a golfers' dance. The new song for '92 includes reference to "Crusoe's charming hall" and the "jolly golfers". The final verse, printed in the 1 September 1892 Fifeshire Journal, was as follows:
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Now let all the wide world know
That the charms of Largo grow
Ev'ry year there are new "beauties" to behold; 
Since our Ladies Links were made
There is quite a grand parade
Of our charmers, who at Golf can ne'er grow old

By 1893, the hall in the Crusoe Building, was referred to as the "Band Hall" because the Largo Brass Band had taken a lease there. Other tenants of the granary portion of the building were Thomas Buttercase (Potato Merchant) and Gordon the Poulterer from Leven. For the smoking concert in the Band Hall, once again a new golfing song was composed. The lyrics are shown below and once again feature Peter Lyle Henderson and the old Crusoe.

The present-day Crusoe Hotel occupies the entirety of a building that was originally built as a granary in the 1820s. Constructed so that local landowners and farmers had a safe and secure place to safely store grain, close to transport links (i.e. the harbour), the granary originally comprised two levels. Storage facilities that protected produce from damp and vermin, as well as theft, went a long way to ensuring a good price could be obtained for crops. Granaries of a similar design were springing up along the Fife coast around this time, including at neighbouring Elie and Pittenweem. The images below show the similar style of the Elie structure (top) and the Largo granary. 

In 1846, George Duff became ill and eventually died of consumption (tuberculosis). His wife Ann, moved up to Kirkton of Largo to run the inn there, while the inn at Lower Largo harbour was advertised for let (see below from 30 April Fife Herald). It transpired that the man named in the advertisement, village grocer Alexander Selkirk, took over the lease of the eleven-apartment inn. He continued to rent the inn from the Largo Granary Company for many years. 
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Meetings of shareholders and tenants of the Largo Granary Company often took place in the inn (now sometimes referred to as 'Selkirk's Inn'). The 13 December 1855 Fifeshire Journal above details one such meeting. On this occasion, the focus was on the imminent arrival of the railway. The success of the East of Fife Railway was toasted at the event and those that had not already subscribed to the scheme were encouraged to do so. Note also the reference to the Crimean War and British allies France and Sardinia. The principal tenant at this time was Robert Hutchinson of Kirkcaldy. In 1830, at the age of 21, Robert Hutchison opened an account in the name of Robert Hutchison and Company and began trading in wheat, barley oats, flax, butter and flour. By 1856 the company would own all the land in East Kirkcaldy where the present flour mill now stands.

The arrival of the railway and the increasing popularity of Largo as a visitor destination would have further boosted the inn. In the 1860s and 1870s, David Russell of Silverburn, owner of Largo Mill, was a major tenant at the granary. He used the building to store imported seed for crushing, as well as oil and oilcake for export. At some point around this era the granary seems to have acquired a third storey in the form of an additional loft space.  

Alexander Selkirk died in 1867 aged 67 and the advert above for 'inn to let' dates to the 30 Jan 1868 Fifeshire Journal. Shortly after this, James Gilchrist is recorded as the innkeeper at the harbour. His mother was a Selkirk too. I strongly suspect that James could he have introduced the Crusoe name to the inn. The name first appears around the mid-1870s. It was in 1872 that James's brother Robert Gilchrist was involved in the creation of the Robinson Crusoe Lodge of the Independent Order of Good Templars. Clearly the family were keen to commemorate their Selkirk relative and make use of the well-known Crusoe name.

James Gilchrist died in 1873. His wife Margaret appears to have been in charge for a short while but in 1875 the tenant innkeeper was James Methven. The next innkeeper, John Forrester, had the inn for a much longer period. The next post in the series will pick back up by looking closely at his time in charge of the inn - now styled the Crusoe Hotel (see advert below from the 2 April 1875 East of Fife Record).
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Margaret Baird Paxton was born on 17 February 1902 at Drum Lodge, shortly after her parents and elder sister Jessie had returned to Scotland from Texas, where her father was a rancher. Two years later her younger sister, Isabel, was born and in 1907, the fourth sibling, Emily, completed the family. The Paxtons bought their long-term home, named Homelands, in 1908. As a young teenager, during the First World War, Margaret would have been involved in the Red Cross Work Party which was based in her home and co-ordinated by her mother. The piece below, from the 17 September 1914 Leven Advertiser, tells of an early consignment of gifts from the local group. By the end of the war, over 12,000 garments had been supplied by the work parties in Largo.

The Paxtons were involved in many charitable activities and supported several improvements to the district. For example, Mr and Mrs Paxton provided and equipped a hut to act as a social club for ex-servicemen in 1920 and funded a pitching and putting course at Lundin Golf Club in 1923. The Paxton ladies frequently ran stalls at fetes for various causes. The Royal National Lifeboat Institute was a cause that they supported regularly. Margaret was a frequent cast member in the productions of the Lundin Links Amateur Dramatics Group and was active in Largo S.W.R.I. One cause that was especially close to Margaret's heart, however, was the Girl Guiding movement. She was captain of Largo Girl Guides for many years, going by the name "Eagle Owl", and was for a spell Girl Guiding's 'Camp Secretary' for the whole of Scotland.

In 1926, Margaret's parents gifted the community a cottage for the residence of the Largo and Newburn District Nurse. The cottage stands behind the Parish war memorial (in a location chosen because it was as close as possible to the centre of the nurse's district). Robert Paxton passed away in October 1926 before the building was completed, so Mrs Paxton and her three daughters saw the project through to completion. 

When the District Nurse's Cottage opened in March 1927, the Leven Advertiser (12 March) noted the sunny southern outlook towards the Bass Rock, the telephone which was installed "so as to facilitate communication with doctors and patients" and the way in which the nurse's rooms had "been furnished with a completeness and comfort which leaves nothing to be desired." The report continued "the forethought and care which Mrs Paxton and the Misses Paxton have lavished on the cottage are evidence of how much it has been a labour of love to them". Two small gardens were laid out - one for the nurse and the other for the caretaker. The nurse's garden was tended by the Largo Girl Guides, under Margaret's direction.
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Margaret was very close to her sisters, so when elder sister Jessie set up a pioneering nursery school in Methil in 1935, Margaret supported her. Having gained experience in the nursery, Margaret was inspired to take action to meet another great need - for residential accommodation for children. She set about planning a children's home. Such a home would be for those requiring full-time care, perhaps because their parents were ill or because they had been rendered temporarily homeless. 

Margaret enlisted the help of a large committee to support her plan and in due course an Executive Committee (see above) was set up to administer the business of the home. Upper Largo's Dr William Eggeling acted as honorary medical officer. A large dwelling close to Homelands had become vacant, called Aithernie House (today known as the Old Manor Hotel). This was owned by Silverburn's Sir David Russell. Aithernie had four public rooms (all facing south), ten bedrooms, three bathrooms, electric light, modern central heating and a wash house with laundry. The map below shows how close Aithernie was to Homelands. 
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In December 1936, Margaret wrote to Sir David Russell to say that she was "very anxious to start a children's home in Largo" as "there is no place in Fife to which necessitous children may be sent and there is a very great need for such a home". She stressed that she had "come across some very deserving cases recently". ​The initial plan was to accommodate up to 36 children. The first year's expenses were covered by friends of the Paxtons, and the hope was that wider public support would be secured once the home was up and running and could demonstrate its worth. 

In turn David Russell wrote to his lawyer enclosing the letter from Margaret Paxton. In it he emphasised that he had known the Paxtons for many years and found them to be reliable. He also referenced Jessie's good work with the Methil Nursery. He closed by saying that with regard to the proposition "he was inclined to consider it favourably". Soon afterwards, all was signed and sealed. The 11 September 1937 St Andrews Citizen below tells of the imminent opening of Fife Children's Home. 
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Six months after opening, there were twenty children in residence between the ages of 2 and 11, along with six staff (Miss Paxton, her assistant, a cook and three nurses). Margaret and her assistant Miss M. Scrymgeour Wedderburn were voluntary workers. Below are descriptions of some 'typical cases' at that time. 
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Above is a photograph of some of the early residents of the children's home. Meals were taken outdoors, when possible, to get the benefit of fresh air and sunshine. The benches and tables were no doubt hand-made by local people and the children's bibs hand-made too. One of the glasshouses in the Aithernie garden can be seen. The grounds would have been carefully nurtured over many decades and at one time would have produced a great variety of produce.
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The piece above is from 19 February 1938 Fife Free Press. The work of both Jessie and Margaret Paxton was innovative and was followed with great interest. Of course, in the 1939, the outbreak of war brought new pressures on both ventures. At Fife Children's Home there were new reasons for children requiring assistance, as fathers were called up to join the armed services. One example was a widower with six children who went to serve in the Navy on a minesweeper. Three of his children went to stay with grandparents, while three came to reside at Aithernie. Two refugees from Austria, aged 2 and 4 also came to the home. Their fees were paid by two members of the home's committee.

In July 1940 another brochure was created to highlight the work of the home in the hope that further support would be forthcoming from farther afield. Below is an extract from this brochure. While daily life had continued much as before, gas mask drills and air raid precautions were now required. 
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1941 proved to be a difficult year for Margaret. The headline above, from 6 August Leven Mail, reports on the Annual Meeting of the committee. The clear message was that the home may have to close if not better supported. In the October of the same year Margaret's mother, Margaret, died at Homelands aged 78. Unsurprisingly, all those circumstances combined, took their toll on Margaret's health and in 1942 she had to spend some time in a nursing home to recuperate.

The sixth AGM for Fife Children's Home took place in 1942. The health of Miss Paxton was referenced, as were the direct and indirect impacts of the war. Ongoing challenges included food rationing, meeting blackout requirements and air raid precautions, staffing shortages and financial issues. While day nurseries were eligible for a war-time grant, the home was not. Yet somehow the home continued to function.

However, early in 1943 the home had to close for a six-month period. This had come about because Margaret had suffered a breakdown, having had do the cooking and attend the children at night, on top of her usual role as superintendent, due to staff shortages. In July 1943, Fife County Council made a grant of £100 to Aithernie Home and it was able to reopen. At the seventh annual meeting a few weeks later, Margaret expressed her regret at the circumstances which had necessitated the closing of the home. Now, however, the home was full up and had a long waiting list. Thirty-eight cases had been dealt with during the year, nearly all being the children of service men. The health of the children had been good and they had been vaccinated against diphtheria. 

​At the eighth annual meeting of the subscribers to Fife Children's Home in 1944 it was once again noted that Miss Paxton's health had not been so good. It was likely that Margaret continued to be overworked and was unable to give herself the time she really needed to rest and recover from earlier ill health. There had also been "very serious staffing issues". Above is an advert from 1944 for a cook for the home. Nevertheless, splendid work had been done with a considerable number of children benefitting from a stay. The war was still ongoing and sadly two key committee members had died during that year - ex-Provost Barron of Leven and Mrs Rowand of St Andrews. 

The ninth annual meeting took place in 1945. In the summary of the year, it was noted that several valuable subscribers had been lost by death and that staffing difficulties persisted. There were a few vacancies on the General Committee. Seventy children had been cared for over the year, with the waiting list remaining long. The "absence of so many men overseas had produced a very serious social problem" and many mothers found themselves having to work. The clipping below from the 12 September 1945 Leven Mail shows some of the year's highlights. An insight into the support given by local people was also given when Margaret described a "constant supply of vegetables" from Mrs Fleming and the "many friends who darn and re-foot socks and make and mend the clothes" as well as knitting, sending food and holding fundraising events.

Janet Hamilton Paxton (known as Jessie) was born in 1895 in San Antonio, Texas, USA. She was the eldest child of rancher Robert Carswell Paxton and his wife Margaret Donald Baird. Robert Paxton was born into an Ayrshire brewery-owning family. While his elder brother George continued the brewery business, Robert emigrated to America in 1878, aged about 25, to become one of the first settlers in Terrell County, Texas.  The area which he settled is now known as the Longfellow Ranch. Robert established a sheep station prior to his marriage to Margaret Donald Baird at the age of 41 on 25 October 1894 in Kilmarnock. On the marriage certificate his occupation is ‘sheep farmer’.  Their first child Jessie was born the following year. Robert eventually diversified into cattle as well as sheep. Terrell County would go on to become one of the USA’s largest sheep and wool producers.

​In July 1899, Robert, Margaret and a 4-year-old Jessie travelled from New York to Glasgow. While Robert's sheep and cattle ranch continued, the family sought a return to Scotland. Two years later in the 1901 census, Jessie and both her parents were recorded at 25 Blacket Place in Edinburgh. This was the rented home of Robert's sister Janet Muir Paxton. Robert Paxton's occupation was given in the census as "Ranchman in Texas". By 1902 the Paxtons had identified Lundin Links as a suitable place to live and were renting Drum Lodge. During the 2-3 years that they family lived there, Jessie's sisters were born - Margaret Baird Paxton on 17 February 1902 and Isabella Carse Paxton on 22 June 1904. The Paxtons then moved to Elphinstone on Crescent Road in 1905 (pictured below) and the family's fourth daughter and youngest child, Emily, was born there in 1907. The following year Homelands came up for sale and it became the permanent family home.

​Robert continued to travel periodically to Texas, while also being involved in local life in Fife. He was Captain of Lundin Golf Club 1908-09 and appears in the photograph above at the opening of the Lundin Ladies new course on 15 April 1910. Jessie is likely the young woman in the centre back row with the wide-brimmed hat, standing between her parents. At the time of the 1911 census both Jessie and her father were absent from Homelands. It's probable that both were in the USA.

Tragically, on 3 April 1912, the Paxtons' youngest daughter Emily died at Homelands, aged 4. That same year Robert sold the Texas ranch. However, this was not the end of the USA connection and in 1914 Jessie travelled to visit the country of her birth aboard the ship Colombia, from Glasgow to New York. Shortly afterwards, the First World War began and the Paxtons swung into action to support aid efforts.  For four and a half years, the Lundin Links Red Cross work party was based at Homelands, with Mrs Paxton as convener. The Paxton family became firmly established in the community of Lundin Links and beyond. The three Miss Paxtons were all involved in amateur dramatics and well as charitable activities. The photograph below from the 9 February 1931 Dundee Courier shows Jessie (front row, extreme right), Isabel (next to Jessie) and Margaret (centre, back row) coming second in the Scottish Community Drama Festival (Kirkcaldy Section) in the Adam Smith Theatre, as part of the Lundin Amateur Dramatic Society team.

It was in the early 1930s that Jessie Paxton found her calling in life. The Leven Advertiser of 15 Feb 1938 refers to how she was first inspired by “a casual visit to a home in London run by former pupils of St Leonards School, St Andrews". Jessie then spent a couple of years training in London, most likely at the Rachel Macmillan Nursery School College in East London. To view a short film of a typical day there around that time - click here.  It was in 1930 that the training centre was given full college status, so Jessie would have been one of the early graduates.

Rachel and Margaret McMillan were sisters and nursery school pioneers. Both born in the USA to Scottish parents, they returned to Scotland as children. As young women they became suffragists and socialists, eventually focussing their attention on the needs of young children and the belief that they needed the opportunity to develop and learn by being healthy, clean and well fed. They ran the first nursery schools in the country, placing great importance upon imaginative play, time outdoors, nourishing food and allocated time for sleep.

​Although Rachel died in 1917, Margaret continued their work, writing several books about nursery education. She gave many speeches about the needs of the poorest children in society and the value of nursery education. By the end of the First World War, Margaret McMillan was considered an expert in nursery education. When she died in 1931, she had established a philosophy of nursery education and nursery schools as open-air institutions that continues to influence practice today. You can read much more about her life here.

Sharing this genuine interest in the welfare of the very young, and now with the necessary training under her belt, Jessie Paxton searched Fife for a suitable premises in which to open her own nursery. The rent-free use of Lindsay's Square Hall and two adjoining houses in Methil (marked on the map below) was granted by Charles Carlow of Fife Coal Company. The buildings were adapted for use as a small nursery school (with a playroom, bathroom and kitchen). Furniture for the nursery was made by three unemployed men (Messrs Deblin, Cargill and Allan) who were members of the Leven Unemployed Social Service Centre at Albion House. They spent several weeks making tiny tables, chairs and stretcher beds which were painted bright blue.

Toys were also made locally, and food donated by generous supporters. Eighteen children aged between three and a half and four years old started on Tuesday 26 November 1935, with younger children starting the Monday after. The above photograph from the 29 November 1935 Courier shows a beaming Jessie with two of the first pupils. The facility was opened without any expenditure from public funds. The initial expense of adapting the building and early running costs came from private subscriptions. Efforts were made to keep costs relatively low and parents of pupils paid just one shilling per week. In the early days, aside from two young nursemaids who received wages, all work was voluntary. Despite all of that, the nursery was viewed with hostility from some parts of the community (and that persisted for many years among those that saw pre-school child welfare as the domain of parents).

​In February 1936 Provost William Smart wrote in the Leven Advertiser about a typical day at the nursery. An extract from this report is below. Being too young to read, each child had their own unique picture to identify their peg and other belongings. They wore light brown overalls, had porridge for breakfast and played singing games afterwards. A nutritious lunch was followed by a spoonful of malt and halibut oil. A toothbrushing drill preceded rest hour, where pupils napped on individual beds with their own blankets (an unpopular part of the day for the older ones).

Toys available included blackboards, string beads, peg boards and wooden blocks - designed to train the hands and eyes. Tea was brown bread with jam and milk drunk out a bottle with a straw. The floor was blue linoleum and the walls painted yellow at the top and brown below. The fire blazed to keep the place warm. Smart described a "happy and joyful picture" with children aged 2 to 5 "eagerly busy". ​Jessie, her nursemaids and a long string of tiny tots became a familiar sight in the streets close to the nursery as they took their daily walk. In those early days, many of the bairns attending came from families struggling with overcrowding, poverty or poor health (or sometimes all three). Gaining a place at the nursery could revolutionise their lives.
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While the nursery thrived, the surrounding houses of Lindsay's Square had been earmarked for demolition. Built to house miners, these were now very old and, with their dirt floors and lack of plumbing, were no longer deemed fit for human habitation. Their demolition began in 1935 and continued into 1936. The disruption of this work, going on adjacent to the nursery, must have been considerable. Initially, it was hoped that the redevelopment of the site would include provision to expand the nursery, allowing more children to attend. By 1937, there were 48 children in the Methil nursery and a waiting list of 60. Miss Paxton spoke of one three-year-old boy that used to stand at the gate every day, tears running down his face, saying "I'm wantin' in. I'm wantin' in". He eventually got in but there were many more like him still waiting.

Around the time that the County Council had purchased the old Lindsay Square housing from the Fife Coal Company, the Council's Education Committee had formally recognised the nursery and begun to provide a grant towards running expenses. So, it seemed hopeful that an additional building for the nursery to expand into might be created within the redeveloped Lindsay Square area. However, the priority of the Buckhaven and Methil Town Council was to build houses. Their suggestion was to wait and assess the available space after the housing had been completed. Jessie, believing that the need for additional space for the nursery was both great and urgent, began negotiations with other potential sites. By November 1938, the waiting list had grown to 115 children.

The nursery now had to deal with the disruption of the construction of the new housing at the site (which would become St Andrew's Square) and as the 1930s drew to a close, the Second World War put an end to all plans to extend or relocate the nursery. Wartime brought fresh challenges, around food supply, staffing shortages and general uncertainty. However, Miss Paxton's nursery continued to operate through that difficult period and emerged ready to revisit expansion plans. Finally, on 5 September 1949 a second nursery opened at Kirkland Drive. The premises were a former National Fire Service hut, purchased from the Freemasons and adapted for its new use. The number of children attending across the two sites rose to almost 100,

The 7 September 1949 Leven Mail covered the opening and included the two photographs below. Reconditioned rocking horses had been brought up from the Lower Methil nursery and other toys had been brought in by well-wishers, including a beautiful miniature horse-drawn carriage. Each child had their own particular favourite plaything. The new nursery started with 13 children but would quickly progress to accommodate 25 to 30. Even with a second building, there were ongoing calls upon the Buckhaven and Methil Council to find a more substantial and permanent premises for the nursery.

When the Kirkland Drive nursery was targeted by vandals in May 1954, Miss Paxton explained that "this was not a very surprising discovery" as "they have been doing this sort of thing since 1936" and that she had lost count of the number of windowpanes that had had to be replaced over the years. On this occasion, vandals had smashed a rocking horse and barrow, strewn the laundry about and broken three windows. The little ones arriving the next morning were puzzled as to why this had happened, and the poignant image above appeared in the 2 June Leven Mail. The little boy is holding the broken handle of the rocking horse.
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Jessie's vision and determination were recognised when she was awarded an MBE in 1956 for her pioneering work. This was yet another parallel between the life of Jessie Paxton and that of Margaret McMillan, who was awarded the CBE in her lifetime. Both women were born in the United States but educated in Scotland, both effected great changes in the nurture and early education of young children. Each was resilient in the face of setbacks, was willing to challenge various forms of authority and ultimately took on a level of responsibility that took a toll on their own health. 

Jessie also provided inspiration for her younger sister Margaret Paxton who also focussed her energies on the wellbeing of children, opening a children’s home. More on that in a future post. Methil nursery bairns often made the trip to Homelands to play on the lawn there and run around in the sunshine or to visit the beach. At Christmas there was a party or a pantomime, often in Methil Parish Church Hall. Finally, in 1960, the long-term future of the nursery was secured when a new purpose-built facility opened, funded by Fife County Council. This replaced the two existing nursery buildings, both of which closed.

The new nursery was the 26th school building constructed in Fife after the war. It was officially opened by Police Judge Andrew Goodwillie, vice-convener of the County's Education Committee. For the first time, a quarter of a century after starting out, Miss Paxton's nursery finally had a new and properly funded building. She remarked that she had always dreamed of having such a school and that "never in my wildest dreams did I expect a spacious and magnificent place such as this." Jessie and her staff moved to the new nursery and worked under the Fife County Council Education Department. By this time, some of the early nursery bairns were parents of the new nursery pupils. 

Two years after the new nursery (pictured above) opened Jessie Paxton (pictured below) passed away in a nursing home in Edinburgh aged 66 after a spell of ill health. Notices of her death from the 4 April 1962 Leven Mail are shown below. After her death the nursery was renamed the 'Paxton Nursery' and it continues with the same name, in the same building, to this day.

The impact that Jessie had is still felt today and many continue to remember her with great fondness. She was a courageous woman who had a vision, persevered to make that vision a reality and devoted her life to its continuation. She was the first to introduce the new 'nursery movement' to Fife and had the resolve to do what she thought needed doing. Overcoming initial hostility to the scheme, many inconveniences, sporadic vandalism, wartime hardship and a constant struggle to secure premises and resources, Jessie paved the way for other nursery schools to be established and to become fully accepted as a key part of Fife's educational provision. 
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​The personal tribute to Jessie below was written by George Simpson Barron, draper and ex-Bailie of Leven and was published in the 4 April 1962 Leven Mail.

The previous five blog posts have charted the history of the Lundin Links Hotel, from its 1900 opening to the more modern era of the 1960s. The years from the 1970s to the present day will remain fresh in the memories of many, if you have your own memories or photos that you would like to share, and add into the archive of the hotel's history, please do get in touch, either by commenting on this post or hitting the 'contact' link on the sidebar (or footer on mobile version of site). The black and white images of the hotel above and below date to the mid-1970s and belong to the Canmore collection of Historic Environment Scotland. J.W. Mathison was still in charge at the hotel at this time. He advertised Christmas Dinner in 1975 at £2.50 plus VAT per head. A night's accommodation was £5.25 for a single room and £8 for a double.
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Above is a typical advert for the hotel from 1980, setting out the entertainment for the week ahead. A mix of private functions, music nights, high teas and bar lunches would have been typical of the time. The price of £1.75 for a full supper with live music sounds like a good deal. Early in the 1980s the Jurecki family, who also had several other local businesses in both Lundin Links and Lower Largo over the years, ran the hotel. The adverts below date to 1982 and you can see the 'under the care of M. J. & R. Jurecki' note on all of these. Also notice the reference to 'our new Papillion Restaurant' and the 'Double L'.
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​A longer spell of ownership occurred between 1991 and 2002 when Ian Ladd and Lyn Barron-Ladd owned and managed the Lundin Links Hotel. Stating that they wished to appeal to both local clientele and those from further afield, in 1992, they embarked upon an extensive facelift for the property. The ground floor was redesigned to create a new restaurant and to double the size of the bar area - which was renamed the 'Side Door Bar', following a naming contest. A dance floor, CD juke box and pool table were installed. The reception area was moved and a new replica arched doorway was created by John Donaldson the joiner. The images below, which appeared in a full-page advert in the East Fife Mail, illustrate the changes. The downstairs restaurant initially specialised in Tex-Mex food.

​The final owners, from 2010, were Claire and Martin White. The hotel finally closed its doors in January 2014. ​It was incredibly sad to see the hotel slowly deteriorate over the years that followed. Without wishing to dwell on recent events, the final photographs below show the hotel boarded up and then its remains after the fire that took place on 17 August 2022 (and before the demolition which began on 1 September and was carried out by Austin Wilkinson Demolition). A distinctive landmark for almost a century and a quarter, the hotel may now be physically gone but the good times that it provided will live long in the memories of a great many people.
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The 1950s (covered in the previous post) seemed to be a decade of glamour and success at the Lundin Links Hotel. The Sixties began on a strong footing and in fact an annexe building was required to cope with demand for rooms. Mr and Mrs Muriset had purchased Glenairlie on Crescent Road around 1950 as their home and several years later they were able to buy Bourtree Brae House next door. As the image below shows, the house was within sight of the hotel and only a short stroll away. 

​The hotel produced a promotional pamphlet highlighting the enviable location on Largo Bay - "a veritable Scottish Riviera" - which had "been compared to the Bay of Naples". Both the cuisine and the wine cellar topped the list of features within the hotel itself - "some very fine vintages". New baths had been installed and the "latest type of bedding". Aside from the bedrooms, there were two "delightful, restful lounges" and a ballroom and recreation room. Heating was a mix of real fires, electric fires and radiators. Other services available included the option to be met at the railway station by a hotel porter, the attention of a doctor by arrangement and large garages one minute away (on Woodielea Road). As always, the hotel emphasised the proximity to golf courses. Other sporting pursuits were also mentioned, such as tennis, bowls, sea-bathing, fishing, boating and angling. Even motoring was considered a pleasant pastime for the holiday-maker!
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However, change was afoot. Firstly, in 1962, after thirty years service, manageress Miss Cameron died. Three years later the railway line through Lundin Links and Largo closed to passenger services. In 1966, the Murisets decided to retire - 34 years after taking on the hotel. Never again would anyone come close to retaining ownership of the hotel for such as lengthy period. Huge changes had taken place during the era of Freddie and Jean Muriset. In the East Fife Mail of 9 November 1966 Mr Muriset commented that there had been a 100% increase in the number of people eating out at hotels and that quality of food had greatly improved.  He also remarked that "running a hotel is very much a 24 hours a day job". The couple had certainly devoted a huge chunk of their lives to the Lundin Links Hotel and had enjoyed doing so.