Woodside is a hamlet to the west of New Gilston, in the north east of Largo Parish. In the centre of the 1828 Greenwood map extract above, it is clear how the hamlet got its name. At the time the settlement was surrounded by trees on all sides. Woodside would have been a relatively new settlement when surveyed for this map. It is absent from the 1775 Ainslie map below, where the road between Hill Teasses and New Gilston is featureless.
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In 1808 a "Plan of the Estate of New Gilston" was drawn up by land-surveyor Alexander Lumsden. This plan shows the site that would become Woodside as a "planting" known as "West Muir". On the plan, this planting had been subdivided into 8 or 9 strips running north from the roadside (some in pen, others later additions in pencil). At the foot of the plan was a table listing these strips: a, b, c, d, e and f (then in pencil g, h and i). Names had been lightly added in pencil against those letters. Although difficult to read, the names against the plots included Ritchie, Carstairs and Pryde. This suggests that it was 1808 that initial plans were drawn up for the development of Woodside. It may have been some years later before the row of stone cottages reached completion.  

The 1841 census records 21 Houses and 108 persons living in Woodside - a mix of primarily agricultural labourers and coal miners and their families. There was also a blacksmith and a shoe maker. As the 1775 map above shows, the area already had a number of coal pits (New Gilston was created to house colliers employed at the Gilston Coalpits some 400 metres to its north). The early 19th century saw increased industrial activity in the area with further pits sunk at Teasses, Baldastard and Bonnyton. This activity must have led to the need for new housing for workers.

The description of Woodside from the Ordnance Survey 1855 Name Book is show below. It describes a "neat and clean village" with "houses which are of one storey" with small gardens attached. At the time there was "one shop in the village for the sale of groceries". The school was in New Gilston and the nearest Post Office at Upper Largo (from which walking postmen would serve Woodside). Although this record states that the village was "occupied chiefly by farm labourers", the census data from 1841, 1851, 1861 and subsequent decades records many coal miners in Woodside too. In fact for decades, the population seems to have been a fairly even split of miners and farm workers.

​The 1866 Westwood Parochial Directory extract below show that by that time Woodside had two grocers (William Pryde and Mrs William Leslie), as well as a dressmaker Miss Christine Pratt, and four carters (David Baldie, James Black, Thomas Laing and Thomas Morgan). All four of these carters had been coal miners earlier in life but were now employed to transport it. Miss Pratt also ran a Female Industrial School in the hamlet. One of the few mentions of this school was when pupils contributed entries to the annual horticultural shows at Largo. Mrs Leslie the grocer was Catherine Leslie, the widow of coal miner William. She was still a grocer in Woodside in 1891, aged 78 and died in 1898 aged 85.
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The most recent census results published date to 1921, when Woodside was home to a mix of farm workers, foresters, coal miners, crofters and employees of the nearby North British Railway Company. in 1933, the New Gilston and Woodside W.R.I. Hall was opened at Woodside. A substantial wooden construction, the hall "was formerly four houses, and was purchased in Largo for £35. It was transported to Woodside, where it was adapted to meet the requirements of the W.R.I. and erected by the men of the district. A new floor was laid." The Institute had been fund-raising for three years in order to obtain a hall. It remained in use for many years.

The pair of images above illustrate the changing face of Woodside over recent decades. The black and white photograph appeared in the book 'This is My Kingdom' by Charles Brister, published in 1972. Next to the image the author comments that "it is difficult to believe that these idyllic acres were once festooned with pit buildings". Although Woodside has not expanded in size since its initial development, many of the original dwellings have been modernised or replaced. More stories from Woodside are planned to follow in future posts but to round off for now, below is a rare example of a postcard from Woodside. The reverse side confirms that it was sent from Woodside, Largo and posted at Lower Largo. If you know of other Woodside postcards, or have any other old photographs of the place, or information on its history, please do get in touch.
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The name 'The Castle' is an ironic one for this diminutive structure but the name also has some basis, given its elevated position above the beach behind a high wall. It stood alone in its own plot, in contrast to neighbouring terraced dwellings and can be seen in a wider context in the postcard view below (white building to the right). 
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On Monday 17 October 1898 a "terrific gale" hit the east coast of Scotland, resulting in loss of life and property and a string of ship wrecks. The headlines from the Dundee Courier of 19 October above reflect the impact along the Forth and Tay - the coast "strewn with wrecks". It was this storm that brought about the demise of The Castle. A piece from the Leven Advertiser of 20 October sets the scene by describing the inundation of Lower Largo...

"The tide and fierce billows washed the main street, and at the harbour and the Crusoe Hotel the thoroughfare was impassable, the hotel for a time being entirely isolated. Each window had to be boarded up and the door barricaded and made watertight. At Drummochy the sea made a clean sweep over the embankments and menaced the houses, and rising higher than the footbridge, tore up the roadway. Thousands of tons of earth and rock were torn away; right on to the links the face of the shore was almost entirely changed. Largo pier has suffered from many gales but never has it presented such a ruined appearance as today."

The article goes on to mention how many outhouses abutting the beach were damaged and the one property which was completely destroyed...

"This was a dwelling owned by Mr Selkirk, and tenanted by Mrs Cooper. It was undermined and the wall fell in - at present only the gable next to the street is still standing."
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Other houses had tiles stripped off and windows driven in but for this little house the damage was terminal. The photograph below shows how vulnerable the building (and the outhouses close to it) would have been to a raging sea.​

The tenant of the property, Mrs Cooper, was the widow of grocer Thomas Cooper. Thomas Cooper had died earlier in 1898 from meningitis aged 36 years. His widow Helen Cooper (nee Mitchell) carried on running the licensed grocery business at Forthview after his death, and continued to do so after the storm. While she and her children lived above the grocer shop, she perhaps used the destroyed property as a store or sublet it to summer visitors. Helen Cooper went on to die in tragic circumstances five years later, in 1903, aged 33 years. The grocer shop was later run by Peter Scott and then William Gould. The shop can be seen in the postcard view below - between Mrs Davie's shop and the Co-operative. It is now 56 Main Street. Part of the plot where The Castle stood can also be seen below, on the far right foreground. 

The site of The Castle was not rebuilt upon but became the garden of the house on the opposite side of the road. Nowadays it is adorned with the striking 'Malagan' sculpture (2008) and a decorative garden gate - the work of local artist Alan Faulds. On his website, Alan explains that Malagan was inspired by a trip to Lithuania in 2006, in which tall wooden roadside structures named Roofed Poles caught his attention.

Speaking to Fife Today in 2008, Alan explained that “they were sometimes erected to commemorate a particular event...for example, during Soviet control, a deportation of someone to Siberia might result in the erection of a Roofed Pole. Usually it would be swiftly removed by the authorities.” He continued "I wanted to make something that carried that power.”

The finished piece incorporates a variety of influences from Mexican, Hindu, Baltic, Indian and ancient Greek art and the name Malagan relates to sculptures from Papua New Guinea. I wonder what the former tenants of The Castle would make of the creative use of this space today.

Above is a 'then and now' comparison of the west end of Lower Largo's Main Street. In the black and white 1960s view, cars are parked on the left side of the street, leaving the right side clear for pedestrians. Nowadays cars only park on the right and spaces are generally at a premium. Several attics have been converted during the period between the two pictures, with dormer windows added to a few homes. In the middle distance, the height of Alexandra House (where the Rio Cafe was) has increased over time. That extra storey was added in 1965, dating the postcard to before then. The Crusoe Hotel comes into view at the end of the street then and now.

Close inspection of the detail in the distance reveals the 'Wall's' ice-cream sign that hung outside Potter's Newsagent on Defoe Place. There newspapers, groceries and postcards were on sale and there was a Post Office and a public telephone inside. In fact, the early 1960s postcard featured was probably bought from this shop, as the sender was based directly over the street at Edina View (where a cross marks their location). The reverse side of the postcard is shown below. It is stamped 22 August 1967 and was sent to Kent.  An X marks the 'boys bedroom' in the upper flat within Edina View, The message reads:

This is a new card I have got - not great but it shows the back of our house. Weather just grand - only 3 wet days so far. On the beach since 10am this morning except for lunch time at Crusoe. Just off to phone you and it is still glorious. Bob off today, Mr and Mrs L here for 10 days. Love to all, Muriel and gang.

It sounds very much like a holiday maker that is writing but the birth notice below from the Leven Mail in December 1961 suggests that Bob and Muriel were full-time residents of 2 Edina View. 
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Annotated in the image below are Edina View (1), Rock View (2) and Beach House (3). These flats had long been a popular venue for summer visitors, having been built for Andrew Selkirk in phases circa 1890, on the site of some old and run down properties. Lists of summer visitors - like the example further below from 25 August 1898 Leven Advertiser - show their popularity at the time with folks escaping the city for a few weeks. 
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The Belmont Temperance Hotel, pictured in the centre of the image above, once stood adjacent to Largo railway station. The snippet above from the 8 August 1890 East of Fife Record, details the circumstances that would eventually lead to the building of the hotel. The piece highlighted the "enormous" demand for accommodation in Largo but also pointed out the lack of options for those looking for only a short stay. While a couple of hotels existed, these had a small number of rooms, plus, these were "licensed premises" and many visitors at the time would have objected to that. 

The temperance movement, which encouraged abstinence from alcohol, had been established for decades. The local lodge of the Independent Order of Good Templars - the Robinson Crusoe Lodge - had been established in 1872 and was still very active in 1890. Lundin Mill had once had its own small Temperance Hotel. Against this backdrop, a proposal was made to build a new temperance hotel. Specifically, it was to be close to the beach at Lower Largo. By the summer of 1890 it was thought that a suitable site at Drummochy had been identified. However, that particular plan did not come to fruition and teetotal visitors had to wait a little longer.

There was no record of a temperance hotel in the census of 1891 but by July 1893, the local papers were listing summer visitors staying at the Belmont Temperance Hotel on its elevated position between Largo Station and the north side of Main Street. A storm in August 1893 resulted in a Norwegian vessel running aground at the Temple. Her crew were given hospitality at the Belmont Hotel under the care of hotelkeeper Mary Carswell. The 1895 valuation roll shows that Andrew Masterton, joiner, was the property owner, suggesting that he was responsible for its construction. 

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The 1 April 1903 Scotsman newspaper ran the small advert above stating that the hotel was "under new management". A W Urquhart was named as proprietor. However, by 1906, it was all change once again when there was another auction of furniture from the hotel (see notice below from 26 April 1906 Leven Advertiser).

Finally, a period of stability began when Miss Margaret Pippet Sawyer and Miss Mary Elizabeth Sawyer took over the Belmont in 1906. The sisters were born in the English coastal town of South Shields and were daughters of a mariner turned hotelier. Before coming to Largo they had lived in both Leith and North Berwick (where the family had run a temperance hotel). The article above detailed one of their early bookings at the Belmont - a tea party for a temperance group (30 June 1906 Fife Free Press). The advert below dates to their era. At the time that the 1911 census was taken, a 29-year-old Margaret Sawyer (also known as Marguerite) was the only resident at the Belmont Hotel. She and her sister later moved to Elie, where they ran various holiday accommodation over the years, both eventually marrying.

The 1920 valuation roll had Mrs J MacDougall and Miss J MacDougall as tenants with Catherine Clayton still the property owner. The 1921 census tells us that this was Jessie MacDougall and her daughter Jessie Mary. Also present for the census were four visitors and a servant (house and table maid). In December 1921 the wedding reception of the only daughter of the minister of Largo Baptist Church, Rev. Pulford, took place at the hotel. The hotel was advertised for sale in both 1920 and in 1922 (but apparently never sold as Catherine Clayton was still listed as owner in 1925). 

By summer of 1923 the hotel was under new management with Hugh and Janet McLean taking over the reins. During their time in charge, the Scottish colourist George Leslie Hunter was a guest on more than one occasion. Hunter's choice of a Temperance hotel is significant as his friend, art dealer and biographer, Dr Tom J Honeyman was a big supporter of the Temperance Movement. It's fascinating to imagine such a well-known artist producing familiar artworks featuring local scenes from this base - his hotel room full of his art materials, rough sketches and works in progress. 

​The story of the Belmont came to an abrupt end in the early hours of Friday 22 January 1926, when the hotel was gutted by fire. Only Hugh and Janet McLean and their child were occupying the hotel at the time. The "magnitude of the blaze attracted many spectators" in what was a unique spectacle for Largo. Later the same day the report below appeared in the Dundee Evening Telegraph.
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The side by side maps below show the hotel in 1912 when still standing (left) and the equivalent site in the 1960s (right) when the empty outline of the shell of the building was still marked on maps. The hotel building outline with its sea-facing bay windows is in the centre of the map extracts (below the F.B. which marks the foot bridge over the railway line). Further below are images of some traces of the old hotel which remain on the foot path up to the car park at the old station. A modern private dwelling, aptly named Belmont House, now occupies the plot of the former hotel.
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The series of images above illustrates the changes in village life around the viaduct over the Keil Burn at Lower Largo. This view, looking north from the gap between the Crusoe Hotel and the start of Main Street (see map below) has inspired both painters and photographers. This perspective offers layers of interest - from the Railway Inn in the foreground, through the viaduct, to the changing buildings beyond. The earliest image at the top was taken during the 1885 celebrations to mark the unveiling of the Crusoe statue and features the oil and cake mill framed behind the arches.
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The artworks by George Leslie Hunter represent just two of the many pieces he produced over the years that he frequented Largo in the 1920s. Local subject matter that Hunter captured included the pier and harbour, the pier pavilion, the beach, Drum Lodge, Dunkirk, the mill, street scenes and the viaduct. People he knew and places where he stayed also featured amongst his work, such as the Woman in the Hat and Beach House.

A few decades after Hunter, Tom Gourdie captured many views of the changing landscape in Fife. During the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, he set out to record streets and buildings due for demolition in a time of rapid architectural change. His subject matter included old houses, boat building yards, harbours, collieries, gasworks, mills and churches and covered places across Fife including Kirkcaldy (where he had his studio), Dysart, Leslie, Aberdour, Burntisland, West Wemyss, Kelty, Lochgelly, St Monans, Pittenweem, Anstruther and Lower Largo. By the time an exhibition of his work took place in Kirkcaldy Galleries in 1967, 30 of the 50 featured scenes had already been lost, with others earmarked for demolition (according to the 16 February 1967 Scotsman).

Gourdie developed an interest in industrial architecture early in life, after spending a year in the Fife Coal Company’s architect’s office as a teenager. His Largo piece above exemplifies this interest, with the gasometer and part of the gas retort house prominently framed by one of the viaduct's arches. Unusually for Gourdie's paintings, there are quite a few people featured in the painting. Their presence adds to the sense of this being a working harbour area. Perhaps Gourdie anticipated that this would not always be the case. Of course, the steam train crossing the viaduct represents another part of life now lost to history.

The above pair of images show a 'then and now' comparison of the view from the beach at Lower Largo, up through the Orry towards Goodsir House. The black and white postcard view dates to the 1940s, after the designation of the Orry as a "regulation parking place" by the District Council in 1939. There are only a couple of cars parked there though, in spite of the busyness of the beach. The present day view features far more cars - and dinghies. The Largo Bay Sailing Club building, to the right of Sunnyside, is a later addition. The club was first mooted in 1959. Following a period of fund raising, the club built its permanent club house (pictured below) in 1968. Another noticeable change is the number of attic conversions carried out over the decades, as people seek to maximise their sea views.

In the zoomed in pair of images above, there are three distinct layers of housing. The late Victorian homes, with their bay windows, sit behind the sea wall (Laurel Bank on the left and Sunnyside on the right). They replaced older structures that previously stood on either side of the Orry. Beyond that, in the centre, on the far side of Main Street is the much older Goodsir House, named after its distinguished former owner Dr John Goodsir. Sitting on higher ground beyond that, are the late 1920s dwellings of Durham Terrace. The detail below shows the scene to the east and a beach busy with activity, including an improvised game of cricket.

The 'Milk Walk' or 'Milk Path' (or sometimes Milk Road or Milk Run) links Upper Largo to Buckthorns Farm. Already a clearly marked "Foot Path" on the 1850s map below, the path begins at the gate pictured above at the east corner of South Feus and runs east to Buckthorns Farm. Historically, the farm kept dairy cows and so was an important local source of milk. The section of path shown below links (through the Buckthorns farmyard) with the onward path south to the coast, where it then connects to the Fife Coastal Path (along the former railway line).

Still clearly marked on more recent maps, like the one below, the path follows the stone wall which marks the boundary of the properties to the south east of the village. The other side of the path is bounded by a fenced field, often used for arable crops. Open views south across the fields to Largo Bay can be enjoyed. 

The above snippet from the 1 July 1916 St Andrews Citizen relates to a World War One military service tribunal, where applications for exemption from conscription were heard. In this case, it was the dairyman at Buckthorns whose case was heard. From this case we gain an insight into the dairy operation at the farm at this time. There were 18 cows, attended to by David Blyth, from 4:30 each morning till 6pm. The milk was sold from house to house in Lundin Links and Largo. John Bisset was the tenant farmer at Buckthorns at that time. Moving forward to 1928, the piece below from 17 November Leven Advertiser advertises John Bisset's "displenishing sale" at Buckthorns where, among other things, 31 milk cows, were available. 
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Scotland has thousands of heritage paths, which were used for a variety of purposes (trading, funeral processions, postal delivery, pilgrimage or military for example (read more here). As an important part of our rural heritage, foot paths like the Milk Walk should be walked regularly and the history recorded, in order to prevent them being lost. In 1971, the Largo Field Studies Society published a booklet named "Suggested Walks for the Visitor to Largo District", giving notes and directions on interesting local walks on country paths. If you have a copy of this booklet, please get in touch. It would be helpful to revisit this information and bring it up to date. The Milk Walk has been included in the Fife Core Paths interactive map.

The drone photograph below shows the Milk Path running diagonally through the centre, between the harvested field and the partially tree-lined former 'Grove' bleaching green. According to the Largo Village Book of 1932 by Leonora Rintoul, the Grove had a well which was "much used for watering the linen which was bleached there". Once the need for a bleaching green ceased, it was only a matter of time until the ground was developed. Evelyn Baxter built her home, named The Grove, there in 1914 and her lifelong friend and fellow ornithologist Leonora Rintoul built adjoining property Balsusney there in the 1930s. Since then a number of other dwellings have followed in this tranquil corner of Upper Largo. 
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Henry and Maggie settled at 27 Dudley Avenue, Leith, and started a family. The Largo connection resumed, with the family becoming annual summer visitors, always renting a house at the Temple. In 1901 for example they were listed in the press as summer visitors, residing at Park Cottage, Temple. In both 1902 and 1904 they were listed as summer visitors at Mount Cottage Temple (see 14 July 1904 Leven Advertiser above). Being a musical family, they actively participated in the annual concert organised by the summer visitors to Largo to raise funds for local causes.

A growing affection for Largo eventually led to Henry Alexander buying ground (marked on the above map) at the Temple from David Barker in 1907. There he built Gayfield (named after the Square where he spent the later years of his childhood) adjacent to Springbank. Soon after completion of the house, in 1911, there was a gable wall dispute with Springbank, which had formerly owned by James Ballingall (see piece below from 1 March 1911 Leven Advertiser). As the photograph further below shows, Gayfield abuts its neighbour to the east. 
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The 1911 census described Henry as a "commercial traveller (biscuits)", meaning that he was acting as a sales representative for a biscuit manufacturer, arranging sales to retailers. It could well have been either Crawford's or McVitie and Price that he worked for. Although Henry was still living and working in Edinburgh at this time, the family regularly spent time at Largo, especially in the summer months.

The First World War broke out in 1914 and in July 1915, aged 46, Henry enlisted. He was demobilised in April 1920. Following almost 5 years military service Henry decided to make a permanent move to Lower Largo. The opportunity arose in 1921 when, following the death of grocer John Nicoll, the grocer shop at what is now Appleton House on Lower Largo's Main Street (pictured below) became available. 
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William Thomson Dawson was born in Buckhaven in 1876 to shoemaker John Dawson and Elizabeth Thomson. The family lived at Harbour Head. By the age of 14, William was employed as a clerk. A decade later in 1901, the census still described his occupation as 'clerk'. A keen sportsman, he was considered one of the finest footballers in the district. William was also active in the local lodge of the Independent Order of Good Templars (I.O.G.T.). The newspaper piece below from 23 October 1902 Leven Advertiser tells of an I.OG.T. social which was attended by both William and his future wife, Grace Williamson of Largo. Both William and Grace were musically talented and likely became acquainted through this shared interest. On Christmas Day 1903, William was married to Grace, the third daughter of Drummochy plasterer Alexander Williamson, in Edinburgh by Reverend James Robert Burt of Largo Parish Church.
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At the time of the 1911 census, taken in April, William was recorded as living in Balmoral Cottage, Buckhaven with his wife and two children, six-year-old John and one-year-old Grace. William's occupation was 'Tramway Accountant', for the Wemyss and District Tramways (a scheme initiated in 1906 by Randolph Wemyss extending from Leven to Kirkcaldy). Later the same year, on 7 October 1911, Dawson was promoted to the position of General Manager, following the retiral of his predecessor. Under his management, the company both flourished and weathered various storms. He would remain General Manager for the remainder of the existence of the tramway.

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

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

​On 3 January 1931 the Dawsons held a party at Lyndhurst for forty children of the employees of the tramway, who were conveyed to Upper Largo by bus. After a "sumptuous tea" there was "an impromptu programme of songs, dances and games". Many of the children gave "delightful songs and recitations". Each was given a gift before being returned to their homes (6 Jan 1931 Leven Advertiser). On 30 January 1932, the Wemyss tramway system ceased running and was replaced by a service of buses run by W. Alexander and Sons. William Dawson had been General Manager for 21 years and four other employees had been with the tramway since its beginning in 1906. William continued to live at Lyndhurst, working for Fife Electric Power Company for a time, becoming a Justice of the Peace and acting as a director of East Fife Football Club.
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William Dawson died in Edinburgh on 7 June 1943 and his wife Grace died on 13 August 1944 at the Leven home of her daughter Grace. Both William and Grace were buried at Upper Largo cemetery where the gravestone proudly tells of William's management of the Wemyss and District Tramways.
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The pair of images above show Emsdorf Road in Lundin Links, looking towards the former grocer shop at the start of Hillhead Street. The top image dates to the early 1900s, while the colour photograph is recent. In over a century, the buildings have not altered much but several details have changed. The road surface has been modernised, bus stops have been introduced and the gardens have matured. The houses of "Emsdorf Place" as it was known (on the right) look newly-built in the older picture, with the plants yet to start growing in their gardens. 
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However, the most significant change is the loss of the old stone wall that once surrounded the old bleaching green (shown centrally in the image detail above). Known locally as Pump Green, this was once the hub of the village of Lundin Mill. This was where the communal water pump was situated that villagers would use on a daily basis. It was where linens and clothing were set out to dry. The green must surely have been connected with the linen hand loom weaving industry originally. When the village of Emsdorf was built around 1800, comprising mainly weavers' cottages, this facility would likely have been constructed as part of the development.

The best account of Pump Green was recorded in 1974 by Esther Menzies (nee Hunter), who was born in Rose Villa, Woodlands Road, in 1895. At the time that the new Lundin Mill Primary School was built, she shared her early memories, aiming to highlight how much life in the village had changed over the years. She was born just before the rapid expansion of Lundin Mill into Lundin Links. In her words, Pump Green was... 

"surrounded by a high stone wall following the line of the posts and chain there at present but protruding in an arc for several yards at the south end.  There was a gap of about four yards with an iron pump with a turning knob right opposite Laurel Bank. The washing was laid out to bleach in the curved end and we did not play on the green if the washing was there.  At other times it was a playground.  The grass patch beyond was near oblong.  It was crossed by paths - one leading round by the curved wall to Emsdorf Place Houses, another at the east edge in front of their doors and another from Woodlands Road cutting through to meet the one passing alongside the Pump Green wall and leading up to the Hillhead."

Pump Green was one of several local bleaching greens where linens were laid out to be dried and whitened by sunlight. I wonder whether the white smocks worn by the youngsters in the photo were dried on the green. The map below dates to the 1850s and shows the green's curved wall, pointing south, with the 'pump' marked at the top end. There are weavers' cottages in all directions - Hillhead Road to the north, Emsdorf Crescent to the east, Hatton Terrace (the old name for the terraced cottages on Emsdorf Road) to the south and Emsdorf Street to the west. 

Painting a further picture of life in Lundin Mill around the turn of the century, Esther Menzies said...

"This little patch brings back memories of a type of life entirely gone. Near the curved wall of the Pump Green the Punch and Judy man set up his show and we children stood or sat on the grass fascinated with the antics of the dog and the puppets. Here the tramps (we called them gangrels) squatted for their meal....Here too the organ grinder would rest with his barrel organ (hurdy-gurdy was the name then) after going round the streets. The men with their knife-sharpening machines rested there."

The green was scythed by Jimmie Brown from Hatton Law and the grass was carted away for his horse.
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A glimpse of the wall of Pump Green also appears in the photograph above, on the extreme lower left. The image was captured at the entrance to David Lindsay's grocer shop. He was the original proprietor of this shop, which then sold items such as bran, oatmeal, dried cod and salt herring from a barrel and parings. The stone wall was demolished soon after these images were taken, presumably to allow the easier passage of the increasing traffic. The water pump moved to corner of Woodlands Road, as the 1912 map below shows (marked W.T. for water tap). The former Pump Green was left as open space with undefined edges until post-1930s, when it was neatly edged and generally tidied up. The line of "posts and chain" mentioned by Esther Menzies are gone but the area remains a small attractive green space to this day.
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