A bleaching green is an open outdoor space, upon which cloth was spread to dry and by whitened by sunlight. They were especially common in areas where textiles were produced. Linen weaving became the major industry in rural Scotland from the 1750s and in the Largo villages, linen hand loom weaving became a common occupation. The above image shows the bleaching green at the Temple (now a car park). The image shows a small amount of cloth spread out to dry in the corner of the green. The Old Statistical Account (1792) for Largo Parish describes weaving as "the principal manufacture" with "linen and checks" being most common. According to the book "Flax and Linen in Fife through the Centuries' by P.K. Livingstone, linen was "a fabric of plain weave, made from the stem fibres of flax" and check was "a pattern of cross lines forming small squares, as in a chess board". Some flax was grown locally but most was imported. 

Note that the above states that "almost every weaver, and a good number of others, have their bleaching ground, where they prepare linen". Hand looms weavers worked at home, in a room or outbuilding containing a large loom. Some may have used their own outside space for bleaching but others made use of communal bleaching greens. These common greens were leased to the feuars of surrounding properties under long-term arrangements. The linen manufacturing process involved many stages and was not complete until the cloth had spent time outdoors to bleach.

According to the 1932 'Largo Village Book', "up to 1850 there was a loom in every house in Lower Largo, Drummochy and Lundin, and much linen was made." In fact weaving was not limited to those places but also took place in Kirkton of Largo, along at the Temple and of course at Emsdorf. It may even be that the village of Emsdorf was feued from 1802 with weaving in mind. The majority of houses built there had deliberately low ceilings so that loom heads could be fixed to them yet could be easily reached by the weaver. 'Linen HLW' was by far the predominant occupation in Lundinmill (particularly around Emsdorf) in the 1841 census (see example page below).
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Some of the known communal bleaching greens around the Parish are shown on the map below. These are: 

1. Pump Green in Emsdorf
2. Green to the West of Drum Lodge (close to Joiner's Workshop)
3. Temple Green
4. The foot of the Serpentine (known as Tam's Den)
5. The Grove - Upper Largo

All of those of close to a water source - either a burn or a well or water pump, as the linen was sprinkled with water during the bleaching process.
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Woven linen was naturally a tan colour, so bleaching was essential. The linens were laid out on grass for several days. The cloth became whiter by the day until reaching an optimum level of whiteness. It was a slow process but one that was effective and did not result in any weakening of the fabric. However, having the product of your labours lying outdoors came with some risks. High winds, wandering animals and thieving hands could all be a problem.

The newspaper archives are full of reports of thefts from bleaching greens. A couple of examples are shown below. The story from Crail is from the 2 September 1824 Fife Herald and tells of the theft of a "web of cloth" (the web is the result of weaving the weft threads over warp threads) from the village bleaching green, the two women involved being "drummed through the town" as a punishment. The same newspaper on 20 October 1831 cautions readers in Cupar of a series of thefts from bleaching greens there. In 1839, two men were jailed for 40 days for stealing clothes from a bleaching green in St Monance.

The 'Largo Village Book' tells of how owners of the bleaching linen at Tam's Den near the Serpentine in Largo used to "sit on the banks all night in summer to see that no one stole the cloth". No doubt this type of supervision of the wares was a fairly common practice. 

The bleaching green in Emsdorf was known then as 'Pump Green', owing to the water pump sited there. The green covered a much larger area than the remnant left today would suggest.  As Esther Menzies wrote in her 1974 memoires, the green there 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....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."

One of the Emsdorf Place houses was for many decades named 'Green House' owing to its position adjacent to the green but the name was lost as the former use of the space faded from collective memories. Handloom weaving also vanished from the villages as power loom factories took over the manufacture of textiles. The bleaching of clothes became an indoor process thanks to the development of bleaching powders. However, traces of former bleaching greens and surviving weavers cottages still contribute to the character of the villages in Largo and many other towns and villages. Below is an evocative photograph of a green in Pittenweem being well-used in days gone-by.  If you know of other bleaching greens around Largo Parish, please leave a comment.
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On 18 August 1874 a marriage took place at Largo House between Robert Rintoul and Margaret Jack Jeffrey. Robert was the Glasgow-born proprietor of Lahill House (pictured above) and Margaret the daughter of John Jeffrey the Kirkcaldy linen manufacturer. The Jeffreys had taken the tenancy of Largo House in 1872 and had become well-known in the Largo area. After their marriage, Robert and Margaret settled at Lahill and in 1878 their daughter Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul was born. She would go on to become a pioneering ornithologist along with her great friend Evelyn Baxter. Two years later, on 30 March 1880, another daughter, Jane Helen (known as Jean) was born at Lahill. 

The 1881 census recorded the household at Lahill Mansion House. Robert was described as a "Proprietor farming 726 acres of which 706 are arable, employing 15 men, 14 women and 2 boys". In addition to Robert, Margaret and their two young daughters, the household included a cook, house maid, table maid and nurse. There was also a visitor - cousin of Margaret, Charles Maxton, a linen manufacturer. Other staff were living in the Lahill Coachman's House and Lodge House. Two years later, in 1883, a son was born - Andrew Jeffrey Rintoul. Robert Rintoul (who had been the very first Captain of Lundin Golf Club when it was first founded in 1868, having learned golf on Dubbieside links) died on 26 January 1887 just before his son's fourth birthday. 
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Growing up Leonora and Jean were educated privately and had the opportunity to travel on the continent. At home, they were often mentioned in the papers as "the Misses Rintoul" when attending social occasions. Jean also featured in newspaper reports for her pianoforte solos and theatrical performances. On example above is from the 29 June 1899 Leven Advertiser in relation to a fund-raising event in Kirkcaldy. Perhaps it was at such an event that Jean met her future husband.

On 4 August 1910, Jean married Captain Thomas Kershaw Gaskell of the 89th Punjabis at Upper Largo Parish Church. She was 30 years old and he was 39. Reverend Duncan Macmichael and Reverend James Robert Burt (Macmichael's predecessor) officiated. Sister Leonora was a witness. The 6 August Fifeshire Advertiser described the wedding as "fully choral" and noted that there was "a large and fashionable assemblage" at this "pretty wedding".

Thomas Kershaw Gaskell was born on 1 October 1870 in Portsea, Portsmouth, one of 8 children. His father, also Thomas, was in the army and this required the family to move frequently, including a spell in Cupar in the late 1870s when young Thomas was still a boy. So he had a connection to Fife from an early age. Thomas junior served as Lieutenant in the Suffolk Artillery Militia from 1890 and was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers on 19 October 1892. He was promoted Lieutenant in the Indian Staff Corps on 12 January 1896, whilst serving with the 29th Burma Infantry. He was made a Captain with the 89th Punjabis on 19 October 1901. He was still a Captain at the time of his marriage.

Now widowed, Jean continued her active life in the Largo community and beyond. The newspaper archives record her opening fetes, hosting social events, assisting in the Girls Guildry, being involved in church events, presiding over the East of Fife group of the W.R.I., being part of the wartime work parties making provisions for the troops, acting on the Kirkton of Largo school management committee and continuing to entertain by playing the piano. In some of these endeavours she was joined by her sister Leonora Rintoul and friend Evelyn Baxter, both of whom were also extremely prominent in the W.R.I..

Another of Jean's interests was the newly-created Scotland's Gardens Scheme (a scheme which continues today). She acted as organiser of the scheme for Fife in 1930s and 1940s. Gardens were opened to the public in order to raise money for the Nursing Association.  Jean was able to arrange for gardens at houses such as Lahill, Strathairly and Cambo to be open to visitors. The notice below from the 10 April 1937 St Andrews Citizen notes an opening of the Lahill gardens - often timed to show the daffodils at their best each year.

In 1940, Jean bought Grove Cottage in Upper Largo, which was adjacent to both her sister's home, Balsusney, and the home of Evelyn Baxter, The Grove. The three properties can be seen in the map below. 
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In February 1943 Jean Gaskell was co-opted as a member for Largo and Newburn of the Anstruther District Council. The same year she was Secretary of the Wings for Victory committee for Largo. A few years later she funded the building of a hut within the grounds of the manse at Newburn Church to be used as a community hall. Groups using the hall included the Newburn Women's Guild and the Newburn Men's Club. 

In the weeks immediately prior to her death she conducted the opening ceremony of the Robinson Crusoe Social Club's Sale of Work in the Club House at Mill Wynd (see 11 Feb 1948 notice below from Leven Advertiser). She also attended a meeting of the local housing committee and made a recommendation which resulted in the naming of Durham Crescent (see 10 January 1948 Courier below). The Housing Supervisor had suggested the name Crusoe Crescent but Mrs Gaskell thought the Crusoe name was already overused and made her alternative suggestion.

When Jean Gaskell died on 27 March 1948 at St Margaret's  just days before her 68th birthday, the official record of her death described her as a 'housewife' but there was so much more to this talented, independent, community-spirited lady. Aside from the pursuits mentioned above, there were no doubt many other strands to her activities. Unfortunately, I have been unable to unearth a photograph of Mrs Gaskell so far - if anyone has a photo of her, please do get in touch.

The previous post looked at the life of General James Durham (1754-1840) and noted that one of the changes he made to Largo House was the addition of a coat of arms on the tympanum above the central upper windows. 'Coat of arms' is the popular term for what is more accurately a 'full heraldic achievement'. This post attempts to 'read' the heraldic achievement displayed on Largo House and understand the significance of the various elements of it. The component parts of the full heraldic achievement, including the shield, supporters, crest, and mottoes, will be described. 

Heraldic visual designs have been used by families, places and organisations for centuries to symbolise their identity. The origins of such designs date back to medieval times when a warrior dressed in a full suit of armour including a helmet would have been entirely anonymous without some visible symbol to identify him. His shield provided a large flat surface upon which to display a pictorial means of identification. A family's arms can evolve through the generations to reflect lines of descent, adoption, alliance, etc. General Durham registered his own coat of arms in 1792 and it carried variations from the arms of his Durham predecessors. It must have been after the death of his father in 1808 that he had his own arms mounted on the frontage of Largo House. Below is an annotated image of it as it appears on the tympanum of Largo House (which being stonework does not reflect colour aspect of the arms).

Below is a representation (from a medal) of General Durham's father's coat of arms. Its shield bears only the Durham and Rutherford quarters. This medal, which was awarded to James Durham for archery around 1752, is held at St Andrews University Special Collections and can be viewed on-line in detail here. General Durham's younger brother Philip Charles Henderson Durham had his own coat of arms registered in 1818. The full heraldic achievement featured the same shield layout as his father's (i.e. the one on the medal below) but had different elements added that were more personal to him. More on that some other time. 

​Despite all the variations in the Durham arms over the centuries, it is the arms of General James Durham (1754-1840) that has been displayed in Largo for around two centuries and can still be seen (albeit obscured by trees) on the tympanum of the ruins of Largo House. As it is difficult to view the ruins today, here is a link to a short drone film over the Largo House ruins from the Vintage Lundin Links and Largo YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/IS6jlq8dPAc

James Durham was born in Edinburgh in January 1754 - son of James Durham (1732-1808) and Anne Calderwood (1734-1797). He is pictured above in a painting by George Watson (1767-1837). James had four younger siblings - Thomas, Philip, William and Margaret. He entered the army aged fifteen in 1769, joining the Second Dragoon Guards as a Coronet The extract below from the 22 February 1840 Naval and Military Gazette charts his army career from that point, until he obtained the rank of General in 1830. Notably, in 1794 Durham raised the Fife Fencibles, an early military force based in Fife. With them he served chiefly in Ireland. ​

​Durham married Elizabeth, daughter of Colonel Sheldon of Flitwick, Bedfordshire in 1779. It was in 1808, upon the death of his father, that a fifty-four-year-old James Durham inherited the Largo Estate. Now at a less active stage in his military service, he resided almost constantly at Largo and was involved in many practical improvements to the estate. He also set about making improvements to Largo House itself. In 1815 he had the stable block built to designs by Alexander Leslie and James Leslie.

After the death of his wife Elizabeth in 1826, James married for a second time in 1827 to Margaret, eldest daughter of Colonel John Anstruther Thomson of Charlton. The pair made significant additions to Largo House in 1831 by extending extensively to the rear of the building and adding the conservatory to the west. Another significant, if smaller scale, change made during General Durham's era was the addition of a coat of arms to the tympanum on the frontage of Largo House (more on that in the next post).

Durham had a great interest in antiquities and was responsible for the restoration of Largo's Pictish Stone within the grounds of Largo House, the saving of a portion of the Norrie's Law Silver Hoard and the placing of a plaque on Sir Andrew Wood's Tower in 1832. In 1837, he had a cannon brought to Largo from the sunken HMS Royal George following salvage work on the wreck. The loss of the ship had been the worst naval disaster in British home waters since the Mary Rose, 237 years beforehand. James's brother Philip was one of four lieutenants saved from the Royal George. The cannon, which had lain for over half a century (since 1782) on the seabed, was brought to Largo House where it was displayed right in front of the house, drawing much interest.  Durham also owned an original manuscript of John Lamont's Diary which went missing from his library around 1830 (see 25 March Fife Herald entry from that year below). This 17th century diary contained much every day information about the Lundin family of Lundin. Lamont's brother Allan was factor and chaplain to the family. 
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Among the other roles carried out by James Durham was a stint as Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St Andrews. He fulfilled the role of Convener for the County of Fife for a spell right up until his death. General James Durham is pictured below in his later years. He died at Largo House 6 February 1840 at the age of 86. Having left no heir, he was succeeded in the estate of Largo by his nephew Thomas Durham Calderwood of Polton. James Durham's second wife Margaret died at 44 Moray Place, Edinburgh in 1847. Both James and Margaret were interred in the family vault at Largo Kirk. James was arguably the last custodian of Largo House who truly cared for the building and had a strong personal connection to it, given that he spent his childhood years there and that it was his father who had it built. He certainly invested heavily in caring for and extending the house and adorning it with meaningful artefacts. Perhaps the story of the decline of the mansion really began with the death of General Durham in 1840.

'Homelands Cottage' or 'Gardener's Cottage' was built within the grounds of the circa 1860 villa 'Homelands' on Leven Road, Lundin Links. The building provided the necessary ancillary 'offices' that came with such a substantial property in the second half of the nineteenth century. Originally the structure would have incorporated stables, a gig house and lodgings for the coachman. As recently as 1905, when James Curr owned Homelands, coachman James Pringle lived in the cottage. The 1895 advert above from the Glasgow Herald describes Homelands as available to let with 'stables' and 'cottage'.

However, as the need to keep horses for transport was replaced with the possibility of owning a motor car, the building was converted into a garage plus a home for the gardener (needed to tend the extensive grounds). In 1911, the cottage was occupied by gardener Thomas Forgan, and his wife Mary, their children and Thomas's father William, a widower. The census entry is shown below. The Forgan family lived there for decades, some of the children being born in the cottage. By the 1950s, and throughout that decade, gardener Alexander Dalrymple lived in the cottage with his wife Georgina. He regularly won prizes for his blooms at local flower shows and was also active in the adjacent Lundin Bowling Club. The 1960s saw David Johnston and his wife Grace based at the cottage. If you know more about these or other residents of the Gardener's Cottage over the years, please comment.

There were periods in the history of Homelands, when both the main house and the cottage were unoccupied. For example, in the censuses of 1901 and 1891 both premises were empty. However, in 1881, when Homelands was occupied by retired farmer John Walker, the Gardener's Cottage was home to servants Gosman Graham and Agnes Wilson. Both the 1871 and 1861 census list the houses as unoccupied.

The 1894 map detail above shows the layout of the Gardener's Cottage, with the rectangular footprint that we can see in the photos below. There was a small outbuilding to the south west, remnants of which can also been seen in the images below. A footpath ran from the south west corner of the cottage plot into the north east corner of Homelands. The Gardener's Cottage also looked onto the walled garden that was between Homelands and the main road. The gardens and grounds were an important part of Homelands - in the words of Robert Paxton's great-nephew, Ian Marshall.....

"The house was always full of flowers, at all times of year.  There was a gardener and his family who lived above the garages which had been stables, next to the public Bowling Green.  There were two big greenhouses and a large and productive vegetable garden between the house and the wall along the Leven Road.  There were well-stocked flowerbeds on the south side of the house, and on the east, and a great variety of trees and flowering shrubs.  Potted plants were prepared in the greenhouses and brought into the living room, which was always scented.  There was a grass tennis court on the lawn facing the sea, which was used by the family for many years."

​The cottage, 29 Leven Road, is now in the process of demolition, in order to make way for phase two of the Homelands Trust-run fully accessible self-catering lodges. Since opening in 2014 the Homelands lodges have been in great demand, hence the development of five additional accessible lodges on the Trust-owned land. This new era for Homelands and its cottage is one which the Paxton family, and in particular Isabel Paxton, who left the family home and grounds to charity for the benefit of those living with disability, would have wholeheartedly approved of.
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Lower Largo of the 18th century would have looked quite different to present day village. The painting above gives a good impression of the thatched and pantiled buildings, of various shapes and sizes, constructed from local stone and crowded into the available space. In the background of this view, the former Largo Relief Church would have stood. This was the church that preceded the 1871 former church building on Main Street.

The origins of the Largo Relief Church date back to a vacancy at Largo Kirk in Upper Largo in 1768 which led to the controversial appointment of Reverend David Burn. The portion of the congregation that were strongly opposed to this choice protested by leaving the church. These folk initially met in the open air to worship as an independent group but in 1770 they applied for (and were granted) pulpit supply from the Relief Church of Edinburgh. Soon afterwards, the newly formed congregation were given land from Mr Durham of Largo House upon which to erect a Church. Work soon began on the church building marked 'U.P. Church' on the 1866 map below.

This church would have been a simple rectangular structure, with entrance porch and internal balcony. The reminiscence below (which appeared in the 18 November 1884 Dundee Courier) tells of how the construction of the church was very much a community affair. Materials for the building were gathered from the beach by men, women and children, to supplement the mason's supplies. The total cost came to a modest £18 4s.

The building of the church was swiftly followed by the construction of a manse for the minister, the Reverend Robert Paterson, which still stands at 23 Main Street (pictured above). This would have originally had a thatched roof. A forestair to the rear provided access to the upper floor. For a long time this would have been one of the highest status dwellings in the village. 

The previous post about Largo St David's Church mentioned how, at the time when the old Relief Church building was dismantled, the remains of a former minister had to be removed from the site. This referred to the third minister of Largo Relief Church, James Gardiner, who held the position for 38 years, from 1805 until his death in 1843. He succeeded Rev. James Stuart who died in 1803.

James Gardiner was born around 1782 in Stirlingshire. The year after arriving in Largo, he married Dysart-born Elizabeth Ramsay. The record of their marriage is shown below. Their first child, Catherine, was born in 1807, followed by Robert (1809), Janet (1811), Isabella (1813) and James (1816). At the time of the 1841 census (the only one in which James appears), James is described as a clergyman, living with wife, Elizabeth and two daughters, Catherine and Isabella. Janet had died in 1828 aged 17. 
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During his 38 years as minister Reverend Gardiner would have witnessed many events among his congregation - births, deaths and marriages. He would have presided over many special occasions, including the example above of a soiree held in the church (or 'meeting house') in 1838. As he aged, an assistant and successor was sought and from 1840-41 Rev. Gardiner had a co-minister - Rev. James Hamilton. However, this succession plan did not work out and Hamilton left Largo. Gardiner remained in post until his death at the Relief Manse on 28 February 1843. At his request, he was laid to rest within the church that had been so central to his existence for most of his lifetime. A tribute to him was recorded in the Session Minutes - remarking on his faithful and devoted service:

"He preached, as he felt, he lived as he preached, and he died as he lived in the firm and blessed hope of a glorious resurrection."

Gardiner was followed by Reverend Bryce Kerr who was ordained one month after the death of Gardiner. However, he died only eight months later, at the young age of 27 years (on 25 November 1843). Throughout the 1840s, there had been much discussion around the proposed union between the Relief Church and the United Secession Church. This came to pass in 1847, when the United Presbyterian Church was formed and the church at Lower Largo took on that name. 
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In 1852, the now U.P. Church underwent refurbishment, as the 6 May Fifeshire Journal reported. The building was 80 years old by this point and in spite of these "considerable repairs", including the installation of new iron pillars to support the balcony, the church's days were numbered. Two decades after the repairs, the church building closed for good and was dismantled. The 18 July 1872 Fifeshire Journal used phrases such as "very ugly" and "tumble-down" to describe the old church. However, the fact that it had endured for a century and seen nine ministers serve the community that had played such a key role in its construction makes it a remarkable building in my opinion. 
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South Feus in Upper Largo is described as "a quiet byway of diverse, early 19th century properties, which enjoy the open view south across the Forth" in Glen L. Pride's 'The Kingdom of Fife: An Illustrated Architectural Guide'. However, this is not quite an accurate statement, as the oldest house on this street dates to 1790. Many properties are indeed early 19th century but others are of a different age. The top black and white postcard image above shows the west end of South Feus around 1900. The most obvious change, when looking at the same view today, is the invasion of parked cars.

Although the street features several architectural styles, a number of the houses share the distinctive feature of drum-shaped dormer windows (also found on a few Main Street properties). These are typical of the late Georgian period. Daniel MacCannell's 'How to read Scottish Buildings' tells us that "dormers that are round or oval (if viewed from directly above), each containing one standard sash window and slated around the rest of their circumference, are very frequently seen on Edinburgh buildings from the end of the eighteenth century". These remained in fashion until around 1840 when bay fronted dormers became the norm. So the properties with those features are most likely early 19th century.

When viewed from the south, you can appreciate variety of architectural styles that make up the grouping. The 'Upper Largo Conservation Area Appraisal and Conservation Area Management Plan' drafted by Fife Council in 2012 states that:

"In the early 1800’s growth occurred in response to the ferry at Lower Largo and later the railway station and its resort status together with adjacent Lundin Links. The villas and house along South Feus are a reflection of this. The 1861 Parochial Directory for Fife & Kinross notes: ‘Both Lower and Upper Largo are favourite resorts as sea-bathing quarters, a number of the inhabitants letting out a portion of their premises to summer visitors.’"

This suggests an early phase of development triggered by the establishment of a regular steam boat ferry service in the early 19th century and a later stage of new building on the back of the 1857 arrival of the railway.  However, the first dwelling on the street predates both of those events. Back around 1790, the house now known as The Grange, but formerly known as Bayview, was built for Adam Wilson. Wilson was the factor for James Calderwood Durham (1732-1808) of Largo House. The role of factor was basically to undertake the day-to-day management of the estate, often overseeing improvements, as well as ensuring the repairs and maintenance, collection of rent, etc were carried out. It was a position of some standing and in this case the factor was given a home in-keeping with the importance of the role.

There is a memorial stone to James Calderwood Durham in Largo Kirk, stating that he had "for many years directed the improvements of this county". His factor Adam Wilson would have facilitated many of those improvements. In 1800, Wilson married farmer's daughter Christian Edie but their union was to be short lived. Adam Wilson died the next year and was buried in Largo Churchyard on 30 September 1801. Christian went on to live to the age of 93, passing away in Upper Largo in 1866.

By the time of the 1854 Ordnance Survey map of Upper Largo (above), Bayview (now The Grange), in its sizeable plot, in the centre of the street (by the '150' contour line), had been joined by other houses on each side. Those included Largo Cottage to the west (left) with ground stretching back to the Main Street; and to the east (from left to right) Southview, Seafield and Carlton. There is evidence that many of these early homes would have originally had thatched roofs. Thackstanes can still be seen below several chimneys​. ​Known as 'New Feus' for a time after this phase of development, the name had evolved into 'South Feus' by the 1870s, although sometimes the term 'The Feus' was also used (as was the case in the 1891 census).

Carlton, 8 South Feus, was so named after the birthplace of Emma Clayton - i.e. Carlton, Huddersfield, Yorkshire. She was married to Robert W. Clayton who owned this property as well as Hallwells in Lundin Mill. Their son was William Clayton, a marine engineer, who died in WW1 and was married to Jessie Clayton, who began La Scala cinema after she was widowed. La Scala was run by her sons Bill and Thomas Clayton for many years. The gable end of Carlton can be seen in the postcard image below, looking west along South Feus.
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A later addition to the street was the building on the right of the above image - St Leonards. South Feus had long been home to the village doctor, with Dr George Lumgair settling there in the 1840s at Largo Cottage. He lived out the rest of his life there and his wife Frances died at Largo Cottage in 1900. Lumgair's assistant Dr Stuart Palm married his daughter and had St Leonard's built in 1880. Palm became the village doctor after Lumgair's death in 1884 and remained so until his own death in 1908. Palm's successor Dr William Eggeling also resided at St Leonard's. Another late 19th century building, which filled a gap to the west of Largo Cottage, is Viewfield (number 20), dated 1893. 

The newspaper piece below from 30 September 1908 tells of a day of celebration on South Feus. The newly installed doctor, Dr Eggeling, returned from his honeymoon with his wife Ellis Mitchell Wood. The couple were given "a right royal reception", their house was decorated with bunting and a crowd of well-wishers awaited their carriage. That evening the brass band marched along South Feus.

South Feus is said to "turn its back on the village to enjoy the uninterrupted views south across the Firth of Forth". Its elevated position with expansive views of Largo Bay made it a popular place for summer visitors to stay and the address often features in the newspaper archive lists of visitors coming from places like Edinburgh and Glasgow to enjoy the sea air. However, rather than turn away from the village, this street and its residents has always been an integral part of Upper Largo, being home to many people key to the local community from the estate factor, to a series of village doctors, and several local joiners. Peter Broomfield and his son Agnew Broomfield lived at the west end of South Feus, as did the Donaldson joiners in more recent times. The 1964 map of the street, below shows the properties in more detail. What the map conceals is the two centuries of village history connected to this short row of buildings.
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Postscript: Many thanks to John Band for leaving a comment pointing out that there is a blocked up access point to Largo House opposite the west end of South Feus (shown in the annotated photograph below). This would have allowed Adam Wilson (and subsequent factors) easy access from their own home on South Feus.  Look out for it next time you are passing!

Manderlea is a substantial building on Links Road, Lundin Links, overlooking the 18th green of Lundin Golf Course. The above postcard view shows Manderlea in the inter-war years. Note the many large windows facing towards the sea. Below is a photograph showing the building today (on the far left), next to its neighbours to the east. Like several other large dwellings in the village, it began life as a boarding house, before being restyled as a 'private hotel' and ultimately undergoing conversion into flats.
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Back in 1905, when Lundin Links was experiencing a spell of development, as a fashionable summer resort, a Mr Robb commissioned Walter Horne to build an eight-bedroomed house immediately to the west of Westhall (a villa built in 1894 which had stood alone for a decade). The small insert from 11 August 1905 East of Fife Record below pinpoints the date.

​The work on this house kept Mr Horne's men busy all through the following winter and an update appeared in the 15 February 1906 Leven Advertiser (below) as the work neared completion. This specified that the house was to be a boarding house to be run by Miss Robb. In fact, the establishment was run by sisters Janet Dall Robb and Mary Ann Robb. They were the daughters of ploughman James Robb (who was born in Kilconquhar but whose mother Janet Dall was from Largo).

​The sisters had previously worked in domestic service in Edinburgh but some change in fortune seems to have enabled them to establish their own enterprise. Manderlea was ideally situated, close to the station, the golf links as well as the beach. The Misses Robb remained at Manderlea throughout the First World War, although it was unclear how the boarding house was used during that period. Perhaps the premises were used as accommodation for soldiers, as was the case at nearby St Catherine's and Fir Park. However, soon after the war ended, the boarding house passed into new ownership.
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Interestingly, the electoral register of Fife for Spring 1920 shows both Mary and Janet Robb and future owners of the boarding house, John and Jane Balmer, living at Manderlea. After this brief handover spell, the Robb sisters moved on. John Balmer and his wife Jane (nee Short) became long-term proprietors of Manderlea. The advert below appeared in the 1925 Post Office Directory.

The Balmers had married in 1904 at Coates House in Newburn, where Jane had been born in 1880. Her Dorset-born father William Short had long been the gardener there. John Balmer was born in Westmorland Cumbria and it was there that the couple initially settled there after their marriage. Eldest daughter Nora Jane Fernie Balmer was born there in 1907, followed by second daughter Phyllis in 1909. At the time of the 1911 census, John was a 'confectioner' in Cumbria.
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Several years later, the family returned to Jane's Largo roots, where John and Jane ran Manderlea for the rest of their lives. Over the decades many visitors enjoyed their hospitality and the view from Manderlea. During the Second World War Polish soldiers were billeted at Manderlea, as they were at other large houses and boarding houses in the village, such as Lindisfarne. The Misses Balmer became regular attendees at the Scottish-Polish Association events, held from the 1940s onwards.

John Balmer died at Manderlea on 17 November 1954 aged 75, with Jane passing away just two months later, also at Manderlea, on 14 January 1955 aged 74. While daughter Nora went on to marry in 1956, to Robert Gemmell, younger daughter Phyllis remained at Manderlea and was still living there when the large house was converted into five flats and renamed 'Manderlea Court' around 1974. Phyllis died in a car crash on the Leven to St Andrews road on 5 August 1989, aged 79. Nora had died in 1984 aged 76. A few years ago two of the Manderlea Court flats were combined back together. Below are images of the building from the 1970s (in black and white) and as it is today, looking very fresh and modern for a building that is now well over a century old.

The previous post looked at the early life of local joiner and building contractor, Robert 'Bert' Band. In this part, we pick up his life story in 1958, when Robert and his wife Catherine's first child Jane was born. In the same year the family moved into a newly built local authority house at 11 Woodlaw Park in Upper Largo. Soon after moving to Upper Largo, Robert was offered a job with Robert (Bob) Donaldson's joinery firm in the village. He worked for Donaldson's for the next seven or so years. During this time, the young John Donaldson joined the business and was apprentice to Robert Band.

In the 1960s the family expanded with the arrival of Neil in 1960, John in 1964 and Helen in 1967. The mid-60s saw Robert build nine timber 4-berth chalets at the caravan park, as well as a shop. In 1968, Robert made the decision to become self-employed. The same year saw the family move to 15 Pitcruvie Park in Lundin Links and saw further development at the caravan park - with the construction of purpose-built ladies and gents toilets and showers and the conversion of the cottage back into a dwelling. 

Early jobs as a self-employed joiner included alterations to Briary Cottage on Upper Largo's North Feus (forming a large roof dormer and attic bedrooms). There was also the conversion of cotter houses at Blinkbonny. As Robert's reputation and work load grew, he employed his first two joiners, Bruce Sibbald and Roy Jamieson and expanded his workshop at the caravan site. The three men set off further afield than usual in 1971 for a job up in Sutherland - at a croft named Rhinivie at Bettyhill. The project, to modernise a cottage, was for Mrs Jean Barclay, owner of Barclay Brothers builders in Colinsburgh. The following year Robert built his own home, seen through the viaduct arch in the postcard image below, with the balcony, and named it Rhinivie. This was completed in October 1972 and became the family home for many years.

In 1973, Jean Barclay sold Barclay Brothers builders, including their yard in Colinsburgh (previously the site of a gasworks), to Robert Band. The firm Robert Band Limited was formed. Barclay's foreman builder and stonemason, Victor Howie and another employee, Thomas Myles, stayed with Robert Band's firm for many years. The firm took on its largest project to date in 1975, after winning the contract to upgrade and modernise John Wood's Hospital in Upper Largo. The work involved taking the building back to its outer shell, aside from the central hall, constructing new rear stairwells, replacing windows and forming new flats at both ground and first floor levels. The John Wood Trust had sold the nearby farm of Monturpie to finance the project. 

The business was something of a family affair, with Robert's wife Catherine assisting with the paperwork and eldest son Neil joining the firm in 1976 as a joiner apprentice. Many apprentices were taken on over the years in various trades. They attended day release at Kirkcaldy Technical College, while learning practical skills on site or in the workshop. Many apprentices won the annual 'Best Apprentice Award' for their chosen trade at the college and many stayed on with the firm long-term. At its height 25-30 tradesmen and apprentices in joinery, brickwork/stone masonry, slating/tiling and plastering were employed. Robert Band Limited carried out a great number of projects throughout Central and East Fife. Among the notable projects in the Largo area were: 

• Various alterations to the Lundin Links Hotel, including the cutting down in height of the large redundant chimneys, roof repairs, and internal upgrading of the main stairwell.
• Alterations to the Old Manor Hotel, including the removal of the entrance conservatory and its replacement on the original stone base with a steel framed and slated roof vestibule, plus work on the function rooms and upgrading of the chef's cottage (later the separate restaurant known for a while as The Coachman's).
• Works to upgrade the Upper Largo Hotel - covered in the 14 January 1976 East Fife Mail (see below).
• Upgrading of the Montrave Hall to add new masonry outer skin and tiled roof.
• Repair and reconstruction work to Sir Andrew Wood's Tower (which received a Saltire Award).
• Alterations and extension to the Durham Hall.
• Alterations to East Lodge, Church Place, Upper Largo and adjacent former Largo House laundry.
• Alterations to the Royal Bank of Scotland in Lundin Links, including extending the bank into the adjacent former Gulland's Tea Rooms (the bank manager's garage on Crescent Road being turned into a temporary bank (later becoming The Finishing Touch curtains and blinds supplier).
• The construction of the lower section of Seatoun Place in Lower Largo.

The image above shows Seatoun Place phase one in 1984 close to completion. The intention had been for Seatoun Place to be a two-phase development, with the development of the former mill dam area being the second phase. However, before that could happen, Robert Band Ltd was forced into liquidation, as a result of non-payment for works carried out earlier to modernise 40 flats and cottages at Denbeath. One sad day in 1985, the plant, equipment, vehicles and property belonging to the firm were sold.

After taking some time to regroup, Robert and Neil Band formed a new joinery business, working mainly from their own workshop at Dumbarnie Farm, outside Upper Largo. A notable job was to carry out alterations to 'The Grange' on South Feus. Robert and Catherine Band bought the former market garden and small cottage adjoining 60 Main Street, Upper Largo. Their younger son, John, drew up the plans for turning this into a larger dwelling in 1987 and the house was given the address 60B Main Street.

Bert Band retired in the late 1990s to enjoy life with Catherine and his growing number of grandchildren. He passed away on 10 February 2009, aged 74, and was buried in Upper Largo cemetery. His former apprentice, John Donaldson, carried out the funeral, remarking that of all the funerals he had overseen, this one had been the hardest. Many of Bert's former employees were in attendance to pay their respects to the man who had made them the tradesmen and men that they had become. 

Known to most as Bert, Robert Band was a local joiner and building contractor remembered fondly by many. Over the decades, he worked on a huge range of local buildings around Largo and beyond. Based for many years under the viaduct, at the caravan park at Lower Largo, he was the developer of Seatoun Place. This two-part post will look at Robert's life - beginning with the early years in this first part, before moving on to look in more detail at some of the projects he completed as a self-employed joiner and contractor, and his later life, in part two.

​Robert was born on 10 October 1934, at his maternal grandparents, William and Isabella Beveridge's, small holding at Muirtonhills in the Parish of Auchterderran, Fife (a model of the small holding, made by Robert's son John, is shown below). His parents, Neil and Helen Band lived on the adjacent Pitcairn Farm where Neil was a cattleman and ploughman. Such an occupation meant that the family moved around various farms, following opportunities of work. In 1947, they arrived in Lundin Mill, where they resided in a tied cottage associated with Lundin Mill Farm, located in the long-demolished Paradise Row, off Mill Wynd.  

The image above shows Paradise Row, to the left of centre, behind the line of washing and in front of the higher building behind. It ​also shows the home to which the Band family moved the following year. Known as Dunkirk Cottages this building is in the centre of the photograph which the light coloured frontage facing towards 'Paradise Row'. Lundin Mill Farm House can be seen in the distance to the right of Dunkirk (directly above the horse). Robert attended Leven Secondary School in Mitchell Street, where he showed a flair for woodwork. On leaving school in 1948, aged 14, he began a joinery apprenticeship with Robert (Bob) Stout at Aberhill Joinery on Wellesley Road. During his apprenticeship Robert made hundreds of sliding sash windows, staircases, doors, etc and made many a trip down to Donaldson's Sawmill for timber (using only a two-wheeled hand cart). 

Upon completing his apprenticeship, Robert went straight into his National Service. He enlisted in 1955 with the 67th training regiment at Hadrian's Camp, Carlisle, where he completed his basic training, before passing out and joining the Life Guards. He was granted leave to marry Catherine Philp on 9 June 1955 at Largo Parish Church (see notice below from the 18 June 1955 Dundee Courier). Robert had assisted Catherine's parents, who owned the Largo Bay caravan site, to develop their site. He helped with alterations to the former Mill Cottage to create toilets, a shower block, site shop and office, as well as construction of the garage/workshop alongside this. The images further below show Robert in his uniform at Largo Bay Caravan Park, while on leave to be married (left) and Robert and Catherine as newly-weds in 1956 by the viaduct at Lower Largo (right). Their first home was a Travelmaster caravan on the Philps' caravan site, situated on the spot where the family would build their own home years later.
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Less than one month after marrying, Assault Trooper Robert Band (service number 2312506) was flown to Egypt, to be part of the military force defending the canal zone there. He spent his 21st birthday on the banks of the Suez Canal. A spell in Cyprus followed and, later, time at Combermere Barracks in Windsor where Robert qualified as a regimental cook. After serving 2 years and 22 days with the Life Guards, his military service came to an end. Despite being asked to become a professional soldier with the regiment, Robert was eager to return to his civilian life as a joiner. He resumed employment with Bob Stout as a foreman joiner in charge of the new local authority housing scheme at Muiredge, Buckhaven. Remaining on the army reserve list for four years, he was never recalled. Part two to follow....
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