Above was how the 16 December 1885 Fife Herald described the day of the unveiling of the statue of Robinson Crusoe on Lower Largo's Main Street.  The piece continued:

"On the other arches were displayed such mottoes as "Weel may the Boatie Row" - a song which has special application to Largo; "Labour always conquers"; "Robinson Crusoe now we see, good and great at last"; and "May Cardy Works Flourish". A temporary platform, covered with evergreens, was erected in front of "Crusoe's Cottage" and there the ceremony of the day took place".

Such a special occasion demanded the presence of a high class photographer and John Terras of Markinch provided this service. Many images of the day have been preserved but this post and the next focus on a series of images of the parade route and its arches and mottoes. What has changed along the route since 1885?

There are a few differences at the very start of the processional route. Notably, the boats once frequently hauled up onto the street have long since been replaced by cars. The house through the archway has undergone significant remodelling. The convenience shop sits where the garden of Alexandra House once was. In spite of these changes, however, it's still a recognisable view - mainly thanks to the Crusoe Hotel on the right hand side and the slipway down to the beach.

The next 'then and now' location shows the old manse at 23 Main Street on the left while the two-storey building on the right (framed by the arch) is 'Berwick View'. Here was the business of Alexander Simpson, who was a shoemaker in 1881 but a grocer by 1891. His shop sign is visible in the 1885 photograph. Inch View Cottage lies beyond that on the right. In the old image, Butters Buildings can be seen through the arch on the left (lighter coloured building). The people standing watching the photographer include men, apron-ed women, children and babies in arms.

​A little further east from the first location, another banner was positioned. This time at the bend in the street where White Cottage sits on the right. On the left is the gable end of 57 Main Street (then known as No 1 Seaview). On the 1885 photo, in the centre behind the arch is a quaint old house that was known as 'The Castle'. Little did the occupants of this little house know then that this building's days were numbered. Several years later this property was swept away in a violent storm. 

A severe north-easterly gale intensified on 18 October 1898. The Scotsman that day described how the sea rose to a "tremendous height" and how huge waves had breached the sea wall at Kirkcaldy. The next day's Courier spoke of havoc on Kirkcaldy High Street which was "strewn with large blocks of stone, wood and other debris". Several vessels had been driven ashore along the east coast and it was even said that trains on the Forth Bridge were in danger of being blown from the rails. The St Andrews Citizen of 22 October had the headline "The Terrible Gale: Great Destruction of Property on the Fife Coast" and noted that "a few of the houses close to the sea have washed away all together". The shops at 52-56 Main Street were not built until 1887 and so do not feature in the parade photograph.

​To be continued.....

One long-standing family of old Largo (and in particular of the area shown above) were the Rodgers. Multiple generations of this family lived at 'Burnside House' on Mill Wynd - shown above (1) - while other family members lived in the old cottages that once stood where Lundin Links Police Station was built on Largo Road (2). Many of the Rodgers were weavers but once the railway arrived and the village began to develop, some worked for the railway or in shops.

James Craigie Roger (1830-1907) was a weaver and seasonal salmon fisher, as well as the first superintendent of the Lundin Golf Course. His grandson - Rev. Alexander Caseby - wrote about his forebears in 1970 for the Largo St David's Parish Church magazine, In the piece he noted that the long line of Rodgers in Largo "went back 200 years" (in fact records show they they went back further than that) and were among the first members of the church. He proudly claimed that "at one time there were 40 males bearing the name of Rodger from Temple to the Lundie Standin' Stanes, and from Largo harbour to Kirkton of Largo."  He described them as long-lived and industrious people, several of whom lived into their nineties. 

Rev. Caseby's mother was Maggie Rodger, daughter of James Rodger and Margaret Angus of Lundin Mill. She was born in Burnside House - apparently "like five generations before her". Rev. Caseby also shared his family history with the Courier newspaper - the letter below appearing on 9 October 1969.

In his piece written for the church quarterly magazine, Rev. Caseby noted that "of the 40 male Rodgers in the Parish of Largo long ago, not one male issue is left. From the female side of the clan, I find 14 out of 22 married. The married names are: Dall, Barnet, Kinloch, Irelad, Bremner, Wallace, Robb, Moyes, Angus, Burns, Tivendale, Waddle, Scott and Taylor. Their issues are to be found in all parts of the world".

Rev. Caseby (pictured below) was born at Bridge House Lundin Links (marked '4' above) on 19 January 1898. His parents Margaret Rodger and John Caseby had been married in Burnside House in 1886 by Rev David Malloch and had lived in Edinburgh before returning to Lundin Links in 1897 to set up a boot makers shop in Bridge House (4). This was where Margaret Bremner had had her shop before moving to the new Post Office.  The 1897/8 winter had been severe - stormy with deep snow. Ships had struggled to get out of Largo Harbour and local men had worked hard to clear the way through the snow to enable food supplies and other deliveries to get through. Later in life Rev. Caseby became a missionary in Livingstonia in Malawi before returning to Scotland. He and his wife lived at Ernest Cottage for a spell (his son Cyril being born there). He lived in various places around Fife over the years and died aged 93 in 1991.

Burnside House was and is in close proximity to a property named 'Leaside' on Largo Road (marked '3' in the top photograph). A property dispute had broken out over use of the passageway that runs between the two in 1907. The 'eleventh hour' settlement reached between James Rodger and William Adam is described in the 29 January Courier article below.The passageway in question still exists today and can be seen in the detailed image further below. James Craigie Rodger (noted as "being ill" in the article) died on 20 March 1907 - just weeks after this case. 

​Burnside is the area close to where the Largo Road bridge crosses the Keil Burn. The maps at the foot of this post date from 1850s and 1960s respectively. The substantial 'Millburnlea' (marked '5' above) was built between Burnside House and the Keil Burn during the intervening period. 

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

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


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

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

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

Eighty three years ago today, the snippets above appeared in the Fife Free Press in the local news update for Largo. Both short stories relate to fresh beginnings - the first to the completion of new housing and the second to a the new impending holiday season.  While the replacement of buildings happens rarely, the annual preparation for the influx of holidaymakers was part of the rhythm of life at the time. 

The "old-fashioned corner" of the village referred to in the top news item was a small section of Lower Largo's Main Street known then as 'Butters Buildings'.  James Butters was a weaver/net maker/boatman who had died late in 1934. He (and his parents James Butters and Margaret Gilchrist before him) had owned a few dwellings and a loomshop for many decades, while living opposite at 'Cliff House'.  James senior was a fisherman. He and Margaret had ten children but only  James (1860-1934) survived into adulthood.  

The replacement buildings were built by Walter Horne, who was married to a cousin of James Butters (Agnes Guthrie).  Part of the new construction later ​housed the Cockleshell Cafe. interestingly, the "old red tiles on the roofs" were reused on the new building. Red roof tiles remain there to this day (see photograph below with the buildings in question to the right behind the tree).

​James Curr was born at Cupar in 1851 - the eldest son of Thomas Curr (cabinet maker and undertaker) and Christian Simpson.  Educated at Madras Academy, James began his career with Thomas Davidson (solicitor and Procurator Fiscal for the Burgh of Cupar). He went on to specialise in estate management (like his uncle before him) and from around 1870 he gained experience on estates around Scotland.

Late in 1882 the Fife Herald reported that  James had been appointed agent to Baroness Willoughby-de-Eresby and the Right Hon. Lord Aveland, covering their estates in Lincoln and Rutland. The newspaper noted that his "burly form and cheery voice will be missed in many a Parish around Scotland". On 23rd April 1885, James married Margaret Ligertwood (eldest daughter of another factor - Alexander Ligertwood) at Mount Hamilton, Ayr. Around that time, James relocated to Scotland with his wife - first to Kirkcudbrightshire, where his children Thomas and Margaret were born. Then, around 1890, he became factor on the St Fort estate in Forgan, Fife. His son Christopher was born there. Over these years, James Curr became an acknowledged authority on forestry, dairying and farm buildings. 

In 1902, James took up residence in Largo, acting as factor for the estates of Lathrisk, Largo and Monzie for Mr C.J.M. Makgill-Crichton. The following year, the Currs took up residence at 'Homelands' in Lundin LInks (pictured above) and remained there for around four years. Also a member of Fife County Council and a Justice of the Peace, Curr was much involved in local affairs. He was instrumental in the controversial division of Largo Parish into three wards - Kirkton, Lower Largo and Lundin Links in 1904. The newspaper clippings below show that there was considerable resistance to sub-dividing a parish that had been a single unit "for a thousand years".

The following year, the 'Fife News Illustrated Almanac for 1905' featured the photograph of James Curr shown above. Alongside this image was the description that James was "full of energy and enthusiasm, he hides beneath his handsome physical proportions a warm heart that prompts to many a kindly deed the world knows not of. His only relaxation is sailing or fishing in Largo Bay, where with a few friends on board his smart little yawl on a summer evening he may be seen at his best". 

However, in 1907 the health of James broke down. He removed to Glasgow - presumably to access suitable medical care.  James died from a kidney tumour at Bath Street in Glasgow on 28 December 1908. The 29 Dec 1908 Dundee Evening Telegraph, noted that "he has been cut down in the prime of life by an insidious illness that baffled all medical skill". 

The above photograph shows the Slee family of Edinburgh on holiday in August 1933, with part of the Temple visible in the background. The family came to Lower Largo annually from the early 1930s until the Second World War. Their visits began when the children had whooping cough and the doctor suggested some sea air. A book named "Two Generations of Edinburgh Folk" by Dorothy Slee (1993), describes the holidays as follows:

"Granny rented a cottage at Largo for us for a month and it was such a success that we returned there annually for six or seven years. The little rented cottages were at the far end of the village of Lower Largo, just across a narrow road from the beach. Happy and carefree, we spent more of our time on this beach - building sand castles, paddling, looking for crabs in the rocks, or floating in a large rubber inner tube".

The book was part of the 'Flashbacks' book series designed to reveal the daily lives of individuals in the context of their own time and place. Dorothy worked at the National Museums of Scotland who co-produced the series. The concept of the series was that everyone can contribute to the "total sum of knowledge of human history" and that "local and personal history" should be set alongside political and other kinds of history.
 

The second photograph above shows some members of the family sitting outside their rented cottage. It has since been demolished and replaced by the modern home that is now 5 The Temple. You can recognise the neighbouring house (number 7) which looks the same today.  Later in the Dorothy Slee's book there is a description of the entertainment on offer in Largo at the time:

"At the other end of the village by the Crusoe Hotel there would be pierrots and a Punch and Judy show to visit, where we would stand enraptured by the strains of "Oh, oh, Antonio" or "Why am I always the bridesmaid never the blushing bride?"....We would sometimes climb up Largo Law and always have a picnic at Shell Bay which meant a trek along the beach laden with picnic gear and, most importantly, Grandpa hugging the large yellow melon."

Below is the spot where the above photo was captured - the group sat by the low wall in the left hand foreground.

On the face of it, not much has changed since the above postcard view, entitled 'West End Lower Largo', was captured in the early 1930s. However, the use of the buildings on the right has changed significantly. In the 1930s, the painted sign above the shop on the far right reads "Leven Reform Co-operative Society Ltd", while the one to the left of it states "Peter Scott" who had a grocer shop there. In the centre of the 1930s shot, with the ladies standing outside doing a spot of window shopping, was "Mrs Davie", the ladies' and children's outfitter. Today there are no shops on this stretch of the street - all have been converted into housing long ago.

The buildings on the left hand side, originally known as 'Seaview', pre-date those on the right hand side by a good couple of decades. The buildings on the right (originally named 'Forthview Place') were built in 1887. The grocer shop above, labelled "Peter Scott", was originally occupied by Robert Alexander. He had been working as a grocer in Kirkton of Largo in the shop run by James White (who died in 1878) and his family. Robert married James White's daughter Janet in 1882 and they had a son, James White Alexander, in 1884.

As part of their move to the new Lower Largo premises seen above, Robert Alexander applied for a porter and ale license for the shop (see 19 Oct 1887 notice in Fife Herald below). However, this was unanimously refused because "within two hundred yards from this shop were two public houses and a fully licensed grocer's shop" (14 Nov 1888, Fife Herald).
The neighbouring shop (that would become the Co-op) was originally a milliner's shop run by Agnes Guthrie (nee Gilchrist). She was the wife of harbour master at the time, Henry Guthrie. 
​

On 5 April 1891, when the census was taken, Robert, Janet and James Alexander (aged 6) were recorded at "Forth View Place Grocer's Shop". However, the very next month Robert Alexander died. He was aged only 33 years old. By this time the grocer's shop was licensed and in October 1891, Janet Alexander applied for a transfer of the license. She retained ownership of the business and had tenant grocers run it. In 1895 the tenant was Thomas Cooper. In 1905 it was Edward Guthrie. From 1906 Peter Scott was tenant grocer.

Janet Alexander died in May 1912 and her son James became owner of the shop. James had been working as a journeyman grocer under Peter Scott for a spell but was described as a fruiterer in Kirkton of Largo just before he went off to fight in the First World War. James Alexander was never to return - dying on 3rd May 1916. His name is the first in the alphabetical list on the Largo War Memorial. Peter Scott remained at the grocer's premises until the 1930s (becoming the proprietor rather than tenant during the 1920s). Willie Gould took over the grocer's around 1932.

Woodwell House was situated on the brae or wynd behind the Lundin Links Hotel, opposite Fir Park. The house's original name was 'Wynd House' but this was later changed to another descriptive name, determined by its location next to a well and opposite the woods. The house was located for practicality - low-lying, right up against the road, tucked into the side of a slope. Unlike many houses in the village, this one was not positioned for the pleasant view or quiet location. It was likely built soon after the 1790 creation of the turnpike road through Lundin Mill. Handily sited between the inn and toll house to the south west and the mills and brewery to the north east. The feu upon which Woodwell House was built stretched far behind it, up and over an elevated ridge, towards what would become Emsdorf Street. 

The house and garden were owned by Andrew Dall in the 1840s. He was a stone mason, so perhaps he (or a relative) was the builder of Woodwell House. After Dall died in Lundin Mill in 1843, aged around 67 years, his widow became the proprietor. On the 1850s feuars map of Lundin estate, the plot is registered to "Andrew Dall's widow" (as were two other feus very close by). On the feuars map the house has an annex adjoining it - added at some point to provide additional space. In the 1851 census, Andrew's widow Ann and daughter Cecilia were living in the house. It would be passed down the family for multiple generations.

Another of Andrew's daughters, Elizabeth, married coal miner Thomas Black and lived in the house from around 1855. They were still there in the both the 1861 and 1871 census, along with their children (most of whom were likely born in the house). One of their daughters, born in 1857, was named 'Helen Lundin Brown Black' - her middle names presumably taken from the then minister of the Free Church in Largo, Rev. Robert Lundin Brown.

Elizabeth Black died in 1879 aged 54. By the 1881 census her widower, Thomas, was living in the smaller part of what was then named 'Wynd House'. One of his daughters (Ann) lived in the main part of the house with her second husband William Cowan (a flax scutcher), her 3 children from first marriage (to Walker Harris), plus their 2 children together.  In 1891, Ann Cowan was in the main part of the house with six of her children, while two lodgers were in the annex. By 1901, the house has been renamed 'Woodwell House' although still occupied by Ann Cowan, two of her daughters and a domestic servant. The annex was occupied by one lodger - local police constable, William Mitchell.

In the 1911 census three Cowan sisters were living at Woodwell - Rose Ellen, Edith and Caroline, along with Edith's husband John Warrender. Their mother Ann Cowan (daughter of Elizabeth Dall and Thomas Black) lived at Earnest Cottage just down the road from her daughters until she died there in 1915 aged 69. The children of Ann Cowan collectively owned Woodwell for decades after that. Edith and John Warrender lived in the main house, while the annex had various tenants. Peter and Agnes Bloomfield lived there in the early '40s until Agnes's death at the house in 1943 aged 81. The Bloomfields relatives, John Mackie (gardener at Kellie Castle) and his wife Janet Younger, then lived there. Janet Younger Mackie died at Woodwell in 1944. 

During the late 1940s and early 1950s the house was occupied by David and Jane Erskine and their daughter Jessie. When Jessie married John Aitken in 1950, they lived in Woodwell House also, until it was condemned. Both the Erskines and the Aitkens were rehoused in Durham Cresent, Lower Largo, when it was newly built. Although that marked the end of an era for Woodwell House, the site was reconfigured to become a garage/workshop - in which form it can still be seen today on the east side of Largo Road (see image below).

A topic covered before, but worth revisiting, is the intricately designed house by James Campbell Walker shown above. It is Bourtree Brae House on Crescent Road in Lundin Links. It is now fairly well disguised with its large extension to the right and porch around the front door, however, many of the original features still remain. Lots of information about the building of this house is included in the 1868 book entitled "Villa and Cottage Architecture: Select Examples of Country and Suburban Residences Recently Erected" published by Blackie & Son. Below are the relevant pages from the book. It's fascinating detail on what was one of the few houses built under the stalled Standard Life development scheme of the late 1850s.

This wonderful painting by James Riddel R.S.W. (1857-1928), entitled "Auld Reekie from Largo", features the view from an elevated position close to Largo Station looking down over the roof of the Railway Inn to the Net House (surrounded by drying fishing nets) and beyond to Edinburgh. It's an unusual perspective of a familiar place, so to help with interpretation of the painting there is an annotated sketch of the same view below.

The features numbered above are:

1. The Net House                       2. Demolished House (see below)                      3. Largo Harbour
4. Railway Inn                             5. Station Wynd House                                         6. Bridgend House

The 'demolished house' is the dark coloured one to the left of centre in the background of the George Washington Wilson photograph below. Remains of the old wall can still be seen but the site is now used for sitting and enjoying the view (see present day image below).

Returning to the Riddel painting....it featured in the reprint of a book 'Traditions of Edinburgh' by Robert Chambers (published in 1868). Within this book is a reference to the origins of the name 'Auld Reekie', as follows:
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"This highly appropriate popular sobriquet cannot be traced beyond the reign of Charles II. Tradition assigns the following as the origin of the phrase : An old gentleman in Fife, designated Durham of Largo, was in the habit, at the period mentioned, of regulating the time of evening worship by the appearance of the smoke of Edinburgh, which he could easily see, through the clear summer twilight, from his own door. When he observed the smoke increase in density, in consequence of the good folk of the city preparing their supper, he would call all the family into the house, saying : 'It's time now, bairns, to tak' the beuks, and gang to our beds, for yonder's Auld Reekie, I see, putting on her nicht-cap!'"