Continuing the series of posts charting the history of Aithernie House (now the Old Manor Hotel), we pick up when Aithernie was leased to Margaret Paxton to run as a children's home. The spacious building with its broad southern outlook across the Forth was ideally suited to Miss Paxton's purpose, with its four public rooms (all facing south), ten bedrooms, three bathrooms, electric light, modern central heating and a wash house with laundry. The large gardens were another reason for Miss Paxton choosing the property. The children would spend a lot of time outside in the fresh air and sunshine, as the image from the brochure for the home, shown above, illustrates.
In December 1936, Margaret had written 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". The venture seems to have done well until the outbreak of war brought the pressures of food rationing, the need to meet blackout requirements and air raid precautions, staffing shortages and financial issues. The health of Miss Paxton was also a concern.
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 ongoing staff shortages. By 1944, Miss Paxton's health was still not good and staffing issues were serious. In 1945. it was noted that several valuable subscribers had been lost by death and that staffing difficulties persisted. The following year, 1946, after nine years of operation, the home had to close for good. During its existence, Fife Children's Home had cared for between 500 and 600 children between the ages of 2 and 10 years.
During the decade that Aithernie had operated as a children's home, over in Leven, a new hotel had become established. A new company had been formed to equip and run the former Braeside House (shown on the map above) as a hotel. The Leven Beach Hotel opened in 1937 with all mod cons, including hot and cold running water, central heating radiators and electric lighting. The 24-room venue also featured a sun porch, oak panelled hall, tartan carpet, a grill-room restaurant and a garage at the rear to accommodate 16 cars.
Such was the success of Leven's Beach Hotel, that the company behind it - Beach Hotel (Leven) Limited - sought to open a sister venue. Aithernie House fitted the bill in terms of both its size and facilities, as well as its views over Largo Bay. The company bought Aithernie and received its hotel licence for in November 1947 (see below from 1 November Fife News).
As the notice below from the 7 July 1948 Leven Mail shows, the Lundin Links Beach Hotel opened on Saturday 10th July 1948, offering lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. So began the building's new life as a hotel, which continues to this day, almost eighty years later.
Soon the new hotel had expanded its offering to include dancing, weddings, parties and other social functions (see 4 November 1950 Fife Free Press above). Christmas dinner also became a regular fixture. The advert below dates to 1958.
Dinner dances became a regular Saturday night event and many local clubs and organisations held their social nights in the hotel. Both the Leven and the Lundin Links Beach Hotel were a popular choice for wedding receptions and Golden Weddings alike. The full page feature above for both the Leven and the Lundin Links Beach Hotel dates to the late 1960s and was part of the 'All About Fife' Summer Guide.
Over the decades that the building operated as the Beach Hotel there were of course improvements and the facilities kept up with the time. The notice above from the 9 October 1974 advises of a short closure for redecoration. The advert below appeared in the 25 June 1976 Fife Free Press. By this time, the days of the Beach Hotel, Lundin Links were numbered. A change of name and style was just around the corner. More on that to follow.
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