The above photograph was taken by the late Robert Carswell Paxton of Homelands. It may have been taken around 1902 when the Paxtons settled in Largo (initially staying at Drum Lodge). This is still in the days of the wooden footbridge (see left of image) which preceded the building of the road bridge. Incidentally, the photograph of the first car crossing the road bridge is also thought to have been taken by Robert Paxton, who must have been quite a keen amateur photographer.

The detail below shows a team of three painters working on the exterior walls on what appears to be a bright sunny day. Alexandra House (now the site of Lower Largo's one remaining shop) can be seen to the left of the Crusoe. Further below is detail showing Bridgend House, the Railway Inn and Belmont Temperance Hotel (in an elevated position to the right of the bridge over the railway line). Miss Mary Carswell was proprietor of the Belmont at the time of this photo. I wonder whether she may have been related to Robert Paxton's mother Janet Carswell. At the foot of this post is an advert from 1908 for the Belmont Hotel when the proprietors were the Misses Sawyer.

Does anyone remember welcoming in 1975 at The Law? This advert from the East Fife Mail tells us that Jimmy Spowart played the organ there every night during the festive season....

Back on the first day of 1896, the "time-honoured custom" of the Largo Brass and Silver Band playing around the three villages was still being observed (East of Fife Observer 3 January). That year the band (led by George Houison) made a special visit to the home of Johnny Laidlay at Strathairly. The Laidlays entertained their tradespeople, servants and friends to a Christmas treat that same festive season. Thomas and Sarah Wishart were likely guests at that event, as they met at this time while both working on the estate. 
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The distinctive external staircase on the landward side of the Crusoe Hotel (pictured above) was created when an additional loft storey was added to the granary building circa 1870. The image above shows it around 1930 when David Todd was the name written on the 'Railway Inn' sign. Note the community noticeboard area adjacent to the staircase and the chocolate advert on the side of the kiosk by the road bridge, as well as the old motor car parked outside the hotel. The Pier Pavilion was in place for the season too. 

However, going back to the years before the First World War, the Crusoe stairs led up to the 'band room' of the Largo Brass Band (also known as the Largo Prize Band and later the Largo Silver Band). The 1895 and 1905 valuation rolls note that the Largo Brass Band (secretary T. G. Wishart) were the tenants of the 'loft' (as it was described in 1895) or 'hall' (as it was described in 1905) within the granary. A reference to the stairs as the "stair leading to the Band Hall" can be seen in the sad news story below from 26 April 1895 East of Fife Record.
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Although the use of the granary loft by the Brass Band ceased with the outbreak of war, the use of the granary for entertainment purposes had been long-standing. Below is a snippet from 1856 (25 December Fife Herald) where a ball had been held there. No other suitable hall was available in the 1850s - the Temperance Hall in Lundin Mill not being built until 1886.

A couple of years later, on 14 Jan 1858, the Fifeshire Journal remarked upon a another ball held on New Handsel Monday in the granary. 
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Fast forward to 1890 and there was a smoking concert in the granary (29 Aug East of Fife Record). Perhaps the recently-built Temperance Hall would not have allowed such an event.
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More to come in future posts about the Largo Brass Band and about their secretary Thomas Graham Wishart.

This interesting series of paintings of Largo Harbour, signed by David Martin, feature the Crusoe Hotel (and adjacent granary) looking quite different. The landward side of the building is a storey lower than in later times and has a simple and functional appearance. When first built in 1824 the granary building consisted of only two storeys (see advert below from the Fife Herald of 7 October that year). The seaward (inn) end of the building was likely built around the same time - which was also around the time to the establishment of the steam packet services.

Featuring typical granary architecture, with small rectangular windows and a cart opening at ground level, the interior of this part of the building would have been similar to the image below of Dunbar's granary and store. It's easy to imagine the low beamed rooms with their stone walls filled with sacks of grain and other agricultural produce. 
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By the mid-1850s, the focus was on the imminent arrival of the railway. In December 1855, the shareholders and tenants of the Largo Granary Company had a dinner in Selkirk's Hotel (i.e. the Crusoe Hotel - the proprietor at the time was named Alexander Selkirk). The principal tenant of the granary then was Robert Hutchison 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 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.

The arrival of the railway and the increasing popularity of Largo as a visitor destination saw the area prosper and at some point the granary acquired a third storey - a 'loft' added to the existing 'granary' and 'cellar and stables' . It is unclear what point in time the paintings above represent but certainly the landward end of the building had acquired a third storey by the early 1870s.

The photograph below dates to 1885 and the day of the unveiling of the Crusoe Statue. The outline of the old lower gable end can be made out in the weathered gable wall on the right hand side of the image. Standing on the far right is Sam Gillies, skipper of 'The Brothers' which was lost only a few months after this photo was taken. The Largo Granary Company seems to have wound up around the turn of the century and by 1905 hotel keeper Thomas Lumsden owned the entire building - although part of the old granary building had an interesting use at that time.....more of that to follow.
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This circa 1905 postcard view looks along Emsdorf Street from the front door of David Lindsay's grocer shop at the junction of Hillhead Street. In the immediate foreground to the left is an old wall (long gone) and to the right, up high, a street lamp holder. Also to the right, on the ground, are a wooden barrel and box, typical of the era. Back in the 1970s local resident Esther Menzies recalling this shop said:

"Mr Lindsay sold everything nearly - bran, parings, oatmeal, dried big cod, doormats, salt herring from a barrel in front of the counter and of course the ordinary groceries not packaged as they are today."

She commented upon how this area was really the hub of the village with Cowie the chemist next door and Robert Forrester's painter and paperhanger shop opposite. There were other businesses both on Hillhead and Emsdorf Streets. 

In addition to his many paintings of Largo, George Leslie Hunter also produced many sketches of the area. Lots of his sketches were recognisable scenes of the beach or still existing buildings. However, the one shown above focuses on the Pier Pavilion with little contextual background. It would have been a familiar scene at the time but now only those aware of Largo's local history would know what and where this is. The pen, ink and coloured crayon drawing is named The Pierrots, Largo and dates to 1923.

This drawing was purchased by the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow for its permanent collection, along with two others 
(Fife Landscape and Largo Harbour). As the book 'Hunter Revisited' by Smith and Marriner states:

"The Pierrots is one of a series of drawings Hunter did of the open air theatre near Largo jetty. Since his days in San Francisco he had maintained an interest in the theatre, as much as anything for its colourful spectacle. The Pierrots at Lower Largo staged a popular form of vaudeville entertainment for summer visitors; often Hunter depicts scenes of the audience milling around, capturing on paper the causal seaside atmosphere."

This is the striped 1920s version of the pavilion (see photograph below). The pavilion changed in appearance a few times in the decades that it graced the pier. At the foot of this post is another Hunter sketch of a similar scene. In this one, the pink cloud suggests an evening performance as the sun sets. I wonder whether the pier could ever witness such scenes again....

The photograph above was taken during the 1900s and is from the collection of George Washington Wilson & Co images held by the University of Aberdeen (ref: GB 0231 MS 3792/C5555). The Post Office building is largely unchanged to this day but the long-gone huge telegraph pole is strikingly in this old view down Links Road. The notice below, from the 6 June 1896 Fife Free Press, announces that the Post Office authorities had given approval for a branch Post Office at Lundin Links.

In fact plans had already been drawn up for the building itself over a year earlier, as the original architect drawings are dated May 1895. This time lag, plus the fact that the plans were entitled 'Shop and Dwelling House for Miss M Bremner' (with no mention of a Post Office), suggests that it was not known with certainty back in 1895 that this building would in fact go on become a Post Office, as well as a shop.

Perhaps originally Miss Bremner was simply re-locating her grocer shop from Largo Road to Leven Road (taking advantage of the westward growth of the village) and it was only some months later that the opportunity arose to incorporate a Post Office and to become Post Mistress. The Post Office function became operational from 1 October 1896 and as the notice below indicates it was "hoped that a telegraph office will long be added to the post office". 
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Turning attention to the single-storey building behind (to the left) of the Post Office - a comparison of  its appearance upon construction (it was built at the same time as the main P.O. building) and its appearance several years later, shows a few differences. The earlier right hand image below shows the rear building with 3 doors (from left to right these gave access to a general store, a coal store and a passage between these outbuildings and the main shop - see extract from architect drawing below).

After the alterations (see later left hand image), the left hand door remained but the second (coal store) door had been made into a window; a new door had been put in to the right of the new window and the passageway door had become another window. Presumably, this was to make the 'telegraph office' (later known as 'telephone exchange') better integrated with the main Post Office (rather than separated by a passage) and to allow light into what was now a working area where staff would eventually work shifts connecting phone calls.
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The telephone came to Lundin Links late in 1903 (see above newspaper snippet from 19 Sept Fife Free Press that year). The Post Office itself took the phone number 1. 
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The above notice from 15 June 1929 Fife Free Press outlines plans to extend the telegraph line from Links Road towards Lundin Links station. Below is some general information about how telephone lines and exchanges worked.

The telephone exchange moved out of the building adjacent to the Post Office around 1950 and shifted again in 1971 to it current location on Cupar Road. 

Do you recognise the location of this former chemist shop in Lundin Links? This is not at the corner of Links Road and Emsdorf Street where the present chemist's is located. This one was on Hillhead Street in the premises which now contains the Doctor's Surgery. Peter Cowie occupied this space within in David Lindsay's building in the early 1900s. He also had another chemist shop in Upper Largo.

The son of a farmer, Peter Cowie was born in 1871 in Turriff, Aberdeenshire. By the age of 19, he was a chemist's apprentice in MacDuff and ten years later a chemist in his own right in Turriff. However, the death of Upper Largo chemist Charles Thomson late in 1901 (aged only 31) saw Peter Cowie relocate to Fife and take over the chemist on the north side of Upper Largo's Main Street (believed to be in the shop shown below, number 25).

​Shortly after coming to Largo, on 6 February 1902, Peter married Mary (Polly) McConnachie at the Fife Arms Hotel in Turriff. The couple lived at the Upper Largo shop until Peter's death at the age of 47 on 14 March 1917. In July 1917 James Bowie took over the Upper Largo chemist shop. Moving across the road to larger premises a few years later. Peter Cowie had been in poor health for a few years prior to his death and had given up the Lundin Links shop by 1915 - leaving Andrew Hogg as the only chemist in Lundin Links (the Emsdorf Street shop that remains a pharmacy to this day). The little shop on Hillhead Street later became Jeannie Turbayne's sweetie shop.

Below is the full 1909 advert for Peter Cowie, Chemist and Druggist. Note the dark room available for free use by amateur photographers. Also see the telephone numbers at the foot of the advert, reflecting that these were the very early days of telephony. Finally, at the very end of this post is a 'then and now' image of number 4 Hillhead Street. ​
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The "Mars" training ship was part of the landscape of the Tay for sixty years from 1869 until 1929. Serving as a training place for boys, sent there to remove them from circumstances of poverty and/or crime, with the intention that they would learn new skills, equipping them for a better life - potentially in the navy. The Mars had been built in 1848 at Chatham and had served in the Crimean war. But twenty years on it had become outdated and so had been relegated to the reserve fleet. 

In fact it was exactly 150 years ago this week (May 1869) that orders were given for the 'Mars' to be brought forward from the reserve at Sheerness as a training ship for boys. There were already a number of other training ships dotted around the country at the time and Dundee was selected as the location for this latest addition. Following a two month refit, the Mars arrived in Dundee in August of 1869 to much anticipation. It could accommodate 400 boys.

The daily routine on board involved being awoken by a bugle call at 5 am in summer (6 am in winter), before stowing away the hammocks and assembling on deck for prayers. Then a wash in cold water followed by an hour of deck scrubbing before breakfast. An inspection took place before the boys dispersed to either a schoolroom or workshop for the day - with a break for dinner at 1pm and then for tea at 5pm. At 6:30pm there was time for such activities as reading, swimming, football, boxing or draughts. Supper was served before bed at 8:45pm. Skills such as carpentry, metalworking, blacksmithing, shoe making, tailoring, rope making and sail making were taught on board.

Boys from all over Fife, other areas of Scotland and further afield spent time on the Mars. Above is the case of two brothers from Lundin Links who were sent there for theft (Dundee Courier 20 Jan 1915 and Dundee Evening Telegraph 19 Jan 1915). While running messages around the village, the boys - who resided at Paradise Place - had stolen various items including clothing, household linen, shaving equipment, hens and game, and a bicycle. At the time George Dewar was aged just eleven (James presumably either slightly older or younger). They were to stay on the Mars until they turned 16.

Another local case, three years later saw a 12-year-old Leven boy sent to the Mars after taking 16 golf balls from the golf club house at Lundin Links. This offence, together with his previous convictions, saw him also being sent there until he reached the age of sixteen. His three friends were let off much more lightly. 
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For many years, the Mars boys spent a month in the summer at Elie, staying in the granary building.  More on that here:

http://www.eliehistory.com/explore/mars-training-ship-elie-gordon-douglas/

On at least one occasion, they made it to Largo. The Dundee Courier 16 August 1895 reports that Mars Training Ship Band played at the Largo Flower Show, in the grounds of Largo House. ​Music was a big part of life on the Mars and competition to get into the band was fierce. Performances were given all over Scotland. When the Mars reached the end of its life in 1929, before it was taken to Inverkeithing to be broken up, an auction was held to dispose of various stock and equipment. Many of the brass band instruments were purchased for use on HMS Unicorn and some are still in use to this day. 
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A model of the Mars is on display at the McManus Galleries in Dundee along with other memorabilia.
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For more about the Mars Training Ship see "We'll Send Ye Tae the Mars" by Gordon Douglas (2008) and "The Mars Training Ship" by Linda McGill (1996). Also the website 'Sons of the Mars: ​http://www.sonsofthemars.com/

Comely Bank is situated directly opposite Largo St David's Church on Main Street, Lower Largo. It is shown above from the beach (to the left of the church). It was under construction at the time of the 1881 census as it was recorded as '1B' (i.e. house being built) next door to Balfour Cottage (the lower height house to the right of the church in the top image above). The builder appears to have been Andrew Masterton who was involved in the construction of several properties around that time. 

By the time of the 1891 census, the head of the household at Comely Bank was John Watson. He had been made a widower earlier that same year when his wife Magdalene (nee Simpson) had died aged 40 of tuberculosis. John was living in the house with his nine children, ranging between the ages of 2 and 17. However, the family did not stay much longer and by 1895 Miss Ann Jeffrey Smythe was tenant at Comely Bank. The Watsons moved to Edinburgh.
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In 1900 Comely Bank was advertised for sale (see 12 May Scotsman above) and it was purchased for £508 by Mr Jenkins of Stirling 'for clients'. The clients were the trustees of "The Stirling Children's Home" - a home founded by Annie Knight Croall (1854-1927) (pictured) in Stirling, which was looking to establish a branch home by the sea. The Children's Home was officially opened by Sir John Gilmour of Montrave on 17 May 1901. The institution was "intended to serve as a convalescent retreat and a place where boys trained in Whinwell - the Home in Stirling - can finish their education and be prepared for their life battle in the world." (18 May Dundee Evening Telegraph). The opening ceremony was held in the U.F. Church and had a large attendance including General Briggs of Strathairly, Colonel Anstruther Thomson of Charleton, Rev. Atkinson of the U.F. Church and Rev. Pulford of the Largo Baptist Church. Musical entertainment was provided by the children and a tour of the home was given.


By this time, Miss Croall had already had twenty five years experience of running the Stirling Children's Home. Her work with neglected or orphaned children began when she had found a baby on a back street, left by its mother who had gone into town for a drink and had been arrested while there. The children that stayed at Comely Bank attended Kirkton School in Upper Largo - some of them are shown listed in the admissions book excerpt below. Miss Croall's homes were dependent upon voluntary subscriptions for support. Covering costs was an ongoing challenge. When Miss Croall wrote her memoirs, these were entitled "Fifty Years on a Scottish Battlefield", referencing the struggle to get her home going, keep it going and secure adequate funding. 

The 'Branch Home' at Largo ran until around 1910. Comely Bank was 'unoccupied' in the 1911 census and by 1914 the advert below appeared in the Scotsman newspaper. The house was eventually bought by Margaret Davie who set up a shop and ran it from Comely Bank for many years.

Meanwhile, the main children's home in Stirling continued. In 1917 Annie wrote to the Stirling Observer newspaper (17 July) that, of the individuals that had come to her as babies over the decades, sixteen were "now young men fighting for their King and country; over 100 are married in good comfortable homes with babies of their own; over 100 are in good service, some of them in splendid positions". Annie died on 1 June 1927 at Whinwell House, aged 72 - she was described as 'Superintendent - Children's Home' at the time of her death. The Stirling Children's Home continued to be run by a board of trustees until 1980 when responsibilities were transferred to the Aberlour Childcare Trust.
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