Back in early 1898, the builders of Largo were experiencing brisk trade with "feus being taken up and built upon with almost mushroom-like growth", particularly in Lundin Links. The 24 February Leven Advertiser continued:

"....a visitor after an absence of five or six months takes a few minutes to find his bearings, new streets and villas having multiplied rapidly.

The newspaper piece went on to describe a number of villas under various stages of construction, including the following:

"There is now nearing completion a double villa for John H Bennet Esq, which is of a style common in England but not often seen here. It is called the Queen Anne or half-timbered style. The lower storey is built of red Cleghorn bricks, with freestone dressings; and the upper storey, though brick beneath, shows a timber structure on the face, with spaces between filled in with harl colours. The roofs are covered with red tiles from Peake & Co.'s Tileries, Stoke on Trent and the chimneys are finished with red chimney cans from Alloa. Each house contains five rooms, kitchen, bath, hot and cold water and the usual offices. Messrs Farmer Bros have executed the mason work in a very efficient manner; and the joiner work by Mr Robert Suttie, Methil shows good quality workmanship. Messrs C. Neaves & Son have made a first-class job of the tiles, and the same may be expected of Mr John Knox who is just commencing the plaster work. Mr Andrew Walker is the plumber; Mr R.B. Forrester the painter; and Messrs A. and A.C. Dewar the architects."

This describes the houses named Eastfield and Mayfield at numbers 16 and 18 Leven Road (pictured above). Built for John Harper Bennet, an Edinburgh gas meter manufacturer, 'Mayfield' was named after the area of the city from which his family hailed. Bennet had trained as an architect and worked as such in Edinburgh and London before changing career to join the gas meter business of his father in 1886. Perhaps discovering the delights of Lundin Links as a fashionable summer resort, as many city professionals did at the time, John Bennet decided to invest in the expanding village. He became increasingly involved in local life and was a director of the Largo Gas Works. It was he who officially opened the facility in 1909, giving a speech about the history of gas supply in the area. Bennet was Managing Director of Alder & Mackay Ltd gas meter manufacturers, Edinburgh, who supplied the meter at Largo.  In 1900 he and his family occupied Mayfield while renting out Eastfield to a Mrs C.R. Fleming.

​Although a former architect himself, Bennet had employed architects Alexander Cumming Dewar and Andrew Dewar of Leven to draw up plans for his double villa.  The distinctive style was clearly unusual at the time (as commented above it was "not often seen here"). And yet the Lundin Golf Club House had two years earlier been built featuring red brick, half-timbering and red roof tiles to a design by Peter L. Henderson. Further similar buildings followed in Lundin Links in the form of the Lundin Links Hotel in 1900 and what is now Peacehaven in 1907.  

Below is an advert from the 11 September 1931 Dundee Courier for the sale of Mayfield, with a description of the facilities at that time. Some further images of the properties follow further below.
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Drum Lodge on the sea-facing side of Drummochy Road dates back to the late 18th century and the days of the salt pans. Originally, there were large grounds associated with Drum Lodge (or Drummochie House as it was once known). This included extensive gardens immediately around the house (plot 36 on the 1850s feuing map below) plus 'park land' or 'meadow' to the south and east (plot 37 on the map). 

The circa 1900 photo above shows the tree-lined park/meadow in the background to the right of centre. This space was occasionally used for public events. The advert below is for an evangelical tent mission which took place in June 1901. This tent held 300 people and hosted a series of meetings which were "well filled". Mr Galletly was described in the 13 June Leven Advertiser as a "vigorous speaker" whose "addresses seldom fail to draw his hearers back again". 
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​ In 1899, Andrew Peebles had purchased Drum Lodge. He had invested in property in his native Largo for many years while working as a factor on estates in England and his interest in property development continued after he retired to Lundin Links. In 1908, the meadow owned by Peebles was feued and developed by local builder Walter Horne, who had already played a significant part in the development of Lower Largo and Lundin Links. The article below from the 21 Oct 1908 Leven Advertiser explains that the Drum Park scheme would fulfil "the great ambition of the city dweller is to have a summer holiday near the sea". 
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The execution of the scheme was slightly delayed by issues around drainage at the site. The Leven Advertiser of 13 Jan 1909 below explains that the council had some difficulties resolving the problem before agreeing to put in a new pipe on the foreshore. 

In fact what became Drum Lodge Park (later shortened to Drum Park) was built in two phases. The east half of the development came first and was ready for the summer season of 1909. The 31 March 1909 Leven Advertiser noted that:

"Mr Walter Horne is to be congratulated on his latest addition to the house property of Drummochy. On the space to the east of Drum Lodge he has erected eight very fine dwellings. The houses are situated within a few yards of the high water mark and are sure to be well let during the summer months. The mason work is completed and the houses are in such a forward state as to indicate that they will be in the pink of condition at the height of the visitors' season."

Later that year, on 17 Nov 1909, the Leven Advertiser mentions "further building being started in Drum Park" and by the summer of 1910 these additional eight houses were complete. Many of the sixteen dwellings had been purchased by Edinburgh residents. The local papers of 1910 contain lists of 'summer visitors' and most of the Drum Park properties were filled by families from either the capital city or from Glasgow. 

The postcard image below shows only the east half of the scheme in place (comprising eight dwellings). Further below is a photograph showing the whole development soon after completion. Finally, there is a more recent image that shows Drum Park largely unchanged since its early days, aside from a few minor alterations to dormer windows and extra reinforcement of sea defences. 

It was clearly a 'scorcher' on the day that this postcard image was captured. In fact, even the sender of the postcard remarked (upon their August 1955 stay) that they were "having a lovely time here - weather perfect." Simple pleasures were the order of the day. Bringing out a deck chair to have a sit in the sun, enjoying the sea view, paddling in the sea or burying yourself in sand. More in the next post on the origins of these terraced houses.

The previous post looked at the beginnings of Largo Baptist Church and its evolution up to circa 1880. At that point there were actually two Baptist Churches in Lower Largo. The traditionalists that met in the Baptist Meeting House (known as West Baptist Chapel at the time) close to the Crusoe Hotel (pictured above in September 1966) and the more modern group that met in the church at the Orry, which they had built in 1867. The two groups co-existed between 1867 and 1927. Below is the list of ministers of the modern church at the Orry. Alexander Brown served for thirteen years up until 1881 but thereafter followed a series of brief appointments. In 1892, church membership was healthy and those members that resided in Leven felt it appropriate to create a new church based there. Rev. Alexander Piggot, left to lead this new church (which became the present Leven Baptist Church). After a short vacancy, the Reverend William Pulford arrived in 1893 and stayed for 36 years.

William Pulford studied theology at Bristol University and spent four years at Ford Forge in Northumberland before coming to Largo in 1893.  That same year, a porch was added to the main Largo church building at the Orry (shown in the image below). Initially, Rev. Pulford and his wife Alice were tenants at a Burnbrae Terrace property owned by Euphemia Philp. However, following the birth of their daughter Beatrice in 1894 and their son William in 1896, they moved to 'Frithville' close to the Orry, staying there for a few years. Subsequently, they lived at Anchorage further east, next to Craigiebank, for over a decade. Sadly, their son died in 1904 aged 7. Another son, Wilfred, was born in 1906. 

Around the end of the First World War, with the church building reaching its half century and William Pulford having been in post for 25 years, it was decided that the church needed its own manse. The notices below date from the 10 February 1921 and 7 July 1921 Leven Advertiser and Wemyss Gazettes and show that fund raising had begun at this time for the 'Largo Baptist Manse Fund'.  ​

The fund raising effort lasted several years, extending beyond the actual building of the detached bungalow at Drummochy, adjacent to the Net House in 1924. The house is shown in the 1970s image below to the right of centre behind the Net House wall (by which time two dormer windows and upstairs rooms had been added). The manse is shown from Drummochy Road in more recent times further below and also from the beach. In August 1927, a sale of work was held to wipe out the remaining debt on the manse fund. Meanwhile, also in 1927, pastor of the other baptist church, the West Baptist Chapel, retired grocer John Marr of Upper Largo, died aged 83. This event ultimately led to the two baptist churches reuniting as one again (based in the 'new' church at the Orry). 

Above is a 1970s photograph of Goodsir House on Lower Largo's Main Street (facing the Orry), which is held in the Canmore archives. This house was built for Dr John Goodsir (1746-1816) in the late eighteenth century. Dr Goodsir was in medical practice at Largo (and surrounding area) for 46 years. There were already Goodsirs in Largo before the doctor was born. His own father - also John Goodsir (1719-1780) - was born, married and died in Largo. John senior and Janet Walker were married at Largo Parish Church by Robert Ferrier on 19 December 1745. His work as a tenant farmer took him away from Largo for a few years. He was based in Wemyss Parish at the time of his marriage and the newlyweds settled there initially. Their two eldest children - John (the future Largo Doctor) and James - were born where they lived at Muiredge (see John's 1746 birth record below). 
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So, Dr John Goodsir lived in Largo from around the age of seven and attended local school. He went on to study medicine at Edinburgh University, returning to Largo around 1770. In 1773, John married Agnes Johnston of Markinch (see marriage record below). Their first child was born within a couple of years and they went on to have eleven children, all of whom were born in Largo (although not all survived into adulthood). 

Of Goodsir's children, three became surgeons and, of those, one had a son that became Professor of Anatomy at Edinburgh University. This grandson supplied recollections of Largo's Dr John Goodsir - see newspaper pieces below from the 31 December 1868 Falkirk Herald and 7 December 1905 Leven and Wemyss Gazette. These give us interesting insights to the man ("tall, gaunt, wiry") and his lifestyle ("Dr Goodsir would start off from Largo on Monday...and not return home till Friday"). He travelled on horseback over a wide area, a lamp at his knee to light his way in the hours of darkness. Moreover, in spite of his demanding vocation, he found time to to "occupy the pulpit" at Largo Baptist Church for twenty years (more of that another time).

Medical practitioners of the time would, of course, have charged fees for their services. Medical men drew up tables of fees based upon a number of factors, including the financial situation of the patient and the distance that had to be travelled to reach them. Perhaps the fact that Dr Goodsir was on the move during the week helped to keep fees down. Perhaps he planned his weekly route to minimise unnecessary extra travel. Charges also varied between day calls and night visits and the nature of the treatment required. A 'grand operation' such as an amputation carried the heaviest fee. Lesser procedures (perhaps stabilising a fracture) would entail a mid-range charge, while something such as dressing a wound would be at the low end of the scale. An apprentice doctor would charge less than an experienced one.

Goodsir's successful medical practice and huge work ethic enabled him to acquire various properties in Largo over the years. As well as Goodsir House (built circa 1780s for his growing family), and Doctor's Vennel (where he is said to have had his Largo surgery), Goodsir also had neighbouring 'Court House' built to house medical students that he taught (according to the book 'Largo 21' by Largo Field Studies Society). Below is an extract from the sasine register of 1799, showing that Dr Goodsir also owned property on the south side of Main Street. After his death his children and grandchildren continued to own property in Largo for many decades.

​During Dr Goodsir's long career he must have touched the lives of so many individuals, both in Largo and beyond. A man dedicated to both his profession and his faith, he would have been remembered long after his death in November 1816. Below is the record of his burial at Largo Kirk and further below is an engraving of the man himself (by William Coutts). It seems fitting that his name lives on in the village to this day.
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The previous post highlighted a painting which featured 'Doctor's Vennel'. This characterful corner of Lower Largo no longer exists in its original form but is remembered fondly by many. Found at 81a Main Street, tucked behind 'Court House', this former row of historic buildings was also known as 'Doctor's Wynd' and 'Court House Close' over the years. The 'Doctor' reference derives from the fact that the vennel was adjacent to (the still remaining) 'Goodsir' house, which was the home of Dr John Goodsir over two hundred years ago.

The above sketch of the vennel was created by Ken Lochead (1936-2006), the East Lothian-based watercolour artist, during the era when the Largo Pottery was located in these buildings. However, further back in time Doctor's Vennel accommodated four dwellings. The census extract below from 1901 shows the four households recorded then, between 'The Court' and 'Goodsir House'. At this time all four of the households were headed up by older, retired individuals - a former loom weaver, a former oil mill crusher, a former domestic servant and 74-year-old Isabella Lawrie (who lived with her net worker daughter).

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​Isabella Lawrie lived at the end of Doctor's Vennel for decades. Her dwelling was right next to the natural spring - located through the opening at the far end of the vennel (see photograph below from the book 'Seatoun of Largo' by Ivy Jardine).
Water emerged from the spring within a carved hollow in the vertical bedrock into a stone trough (a feature which remains to this day - see colour image further below). Having direct access to a natural spring that never ran dry made Isabella Lawrie (maiden name Sime) the ideal person to wash clothes for those without such an amenity. Indeed the 1891 census extract below lists her occupation as 'washerwoman' (as it also was in the census of 1871 and 1881). She was married to merchant seaman James Lawrie. Isabella died in 1912 aged 87.

In the late eighteenth century, there were at least three washerwoman in Largo Parish - each living next to a water source. In addition to Isabella Lawrie, there was Grace Cornfoot in Kirkton of Largo, close to the water pump at Church Place and Margaret Wallace, who lived right next to Pump Green in Lundin Mill. They probably all also made use of the communal bleaching greens that were common at the time.

Among the other residents of Doctor's Vennel were Andrew Drysdale - a carter who lived there in 1911, and further back in time several hand loom weavers, labourers and fishermen. The series of photographs below are from the 'Canmore' website, which is part of Historic Environment Scotland. Taken when the buildings were in a run-down state, these images pre-date the establishment of Largo Pottery at the site. More to follow on the pottery in the next post.
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The painting above (entitled 'Harvest in Largo') is a view from what is now Bourtree Terrace/Bourtree Brae, looking over the rooftops of Lower Largo to the south west. Painted around or before 1910 by John Blair, the artist was sitting in what was then a field between the old Durham School and the Main Street. The bellcote of Largo St David's Church dominates the skyline and there are many boats our in the bay. 

The annotated sketch of the same view highlights the following buildings: 
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1. Rear of Durham House                2. Goodsir House             3. Balfour Cottage (obscuring Comely Bank to the rear)
4. Grocer and Co-op Shops             5. Court House                  6. Downfield
7. Largo St David's Church              8. Doctor's Vennel

Also in the distance to the far right are the long-gone Butter's Buildings.

The 1912 map below helps to clarify where the painting was taken from and the direction of the view. Bourtree Terrace is shown on the map below but is absent from the artwork, showing it was created before the creation of the map. John Blair was a landscape artist born in Berwickshire in 1850, who died in Edinburgh in 1934. At the time of his death the Berwick Advertiser (18 Oct) noted that "his watercolours, well-known to connoisseurs all over the country, depicting often the quaint picturesqueness of fishing villages, met wide appreciation". It's wonderful when an old painting, taken from an unusual position, gives an insight to life in the villages in days gone by.

Once known as 'East House', the last house at the east end of the Temple has undergone significant alterations over the years. Above is a painting from the mid-1960s by Derek Hansen showing the house in a transition phase - between the original traditional weaver's cottage of the mid-1800s and the extended modern home that it is now (see below). The 1960s version of the house had already seen a series of windows added to the east-facing gable end. Originally, there were no windows on the east side - as can be seen in the John Blair paintings of circa 1910 further below.
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The above pair of images show the east end of The Temple circa 1900 (above) and 2019 (below). The scene is largely unchanged - bar the alterations to a number of the buildings and the lack of boats at this end of the beach these days. However, evidence does remain to this day of the use of the sandy gap between the rocks by fishermen. Below is a close up of an old mooring ring (in foreground).

Maps of this area show the narrow but useful gap between rock strata in line with the end of The Temple - showing why boats were once a common feature here. 
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​The houses in the centre above, with the red roofs can be dated to 1857. The building named 'Seabrae' has the inscription shown below. 

Following the previous two posts - Sentimental Journey and A Postman's Lot - this post looks at a third short film made by the late Ernest Mackie. Another collection of postie-related antics, 'Carry on Postman' can be viewed here.

If you are trying to work out where in Largo is featured from 1:39 into the film, don't even try.....it's 7 Bowling Green Street in Methil (with Denbeath Miners' Welfare Institute at the street end). However, the vast majority of the filming takes place in Lower Largo with post mistress Elizabeth Grassick and postmen Wattie Blyth, Edward Stephen, and Ernest Mackie himself, in the lead roles.

Does anyone recall any Ernest Mackie films other than these three? Do you have a copy of them?  Anyone willing to assist with finding, converting to digital and sharing more of these gems, please do get in touch.