Serpentine Villa is located on the Temple at Lower Largo, at the point where a small road branches up to the beginning of the Serpentine walk to Upper Largo. The architect plans for the dwelling were drawn up in December 1876 by James Gillespie of St Andrews, for Captain David Watson. David Watson (1851-1939) was a ship master, like his father before him, Captain John Thompson Watson (1828-1892). Both men were Largo born and had long seafaring careers with the Empire Line of London (a topic that will be returned to in the future).

Watsons had lived at the Temple for some time and it seems likely that Serpentine Villa would have been built upon the site of an earlier cottage. It was constructed adjacent to 'Bombay Lodge', a dwelling that had been built several years earlier for another globe-trotter, civil engineer Thomas Craigie Glover. The year before commissioning the architect plans, David Watson had married Elizabeth Clark Philp (daughter of Benjamin Philp, commission agent and grain merchant who lived in Drummochy House). The couple were based in Anstruther while Serpentine Villa was built and finally moved into their Largo home circa 1880, in between the births of two of their sons. As David was usually on lengthy voyages, upon which his wife and family would sometimes accompany him, their Largo home was often occupied by friends and relatives. The 3 September 1891 Fifeshire Journal's list of 'summer visitors' below gives one example of this.

Census information shows that in 1881, Serpentine Villa was unoccupied. A decade later in 1891, Elsie Philp was living there with a servant and her nephews David and James Watson (ages 9 and 6). These were the two youngest of the four sons of Captain Watson. Elsie was one Elizabeth's maiden sisters. In 1901, the house was again unoccupied. Then by 1911, David, Elizabeth and two adult sons, David (now a banker) and James (a solicitor), were living at Serpentine Villa. David senior was described as "retired ship master" but in fact he did return to work for a spell during the First World War, before retiring for good. The newly available census data, for 1921, lists only David and Elizabeth at Serpentine Villa, with David being noted as "Shipmaster (Retired)". 

David Watson enjoyed his retirement years at Serpentine Villa. He played golf and was an elder of Largo Parish Church. He died at home on 19 December 1939 aged 88. His widow, Elizabeth Watson (nee Philp) remained there until her death in 1946 aged 97 and then the house was put up for sale. The advert below from 18 December 1946 Leven Mail states that the house would be "easily convertible into two flats or suitable for boarding house". The house was indeed flatted and had since been extended (see photograph above).
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Below we can see the original north elevation of the house as newly built. The rear of the house can be seen at the far left of the black and white image further below. At the foot of this post is an annotated image of the west end of the Temple, naming all the dwellings, from Temple Green to Serpentine Villa.  The Temple started with Burnside Cottages (the characterful white-washed buildings which were demolished in the late 1960s), then continued with the terraced row comprising Homelea, Thistle Cottage and Kincraig. The next dwellings were Temple Cottage (now Arndilly), Bay Cottage, Bombay Lodge (later Fernielaw Cottage and now Seascape) and finally Serpentine Villa - a building which has witnessed many changes in the past century and a half.
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Take a look at the three postcard images below. What do you notice?

Which features are common across the three and which are different?

Scroll below the photographs to learn more...

The first and oldest image is the one marked 'Cowie, Upper Largo and Lundin Links' in the lower right corner. This relates to Peter Cowie, the chemist and dates the postcard to circa 1905. It shows the Crusoe Hotel with its original roof style prior to the 1911 fire which resulted in extensive repair work including the creation of a new flat roof. This flat roof is evident in the second postcard scene. But close inspection of the second postcard, entitled 'Largo from Lundin Pier', shows that many elements of its scene are exactly the same as the first postcard - including the fishing boat tied up at the pier with the tall masts to the left of the hotel, the old footbridge in front of the viaduct, the people standing on the end of the pier and the two boats either side of them. 

The fishing boat rounding the pier end is KY 56, which is Fisher Lass. This was not a Largo boat but belonged to Andrew Taylor of Buckhaven. So striking was the image of Fisher Lass, that it was reused again in the third postcard scene. This final image dates to a time after the roof of the Crusoe Hotel had changed once again. The flat roof proved to be leaky and so a pitched roof replaced it in the mid 1930s. In this image you can also see the road bridge over the Keil burn. 

All the photographs were taken for Valentines of Dundee - the printing company that became Scotland's largest manufacturer of picture postcards. Valentines hired a team of photographers to travel the country capturing local views for postcards, which would then be sold directly to local newsagents, Post Offices and other businesses, such as Cowie the chemist. A team of travelling salespeople used catalogues to promote the images to every town and village. But, of course, local scenes did not remain unchanged over time. The addition of a new building, for example, would require a photographer to be dispatched to take new photos. Sometimes a new image would not be as appealing as the one it was replacing and so an amalgamation was created in an early form of image editing. 

You can see by careful studying of the pair of cropped images below, that the rowing boat and buildings to the right are the same, as is the railway bridge and the Belmont Hotel building beyond the roof of the Crusoe Hotel. However, the Crusoe Hotel with its new flat roof has been added to the version on the right-hand side. Some retouching has had to be done immediately above the flat roof to fill in the gaps left by the removal of the former chimney stacks. Some rework has also been done to the pier to disguise the join on this composite image.
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Central to the image above, with sail at half-mast, is KY 240 - Sultan. Owned by Thomas Lawrie (1853-1951), and 43 feet in length, mariners' almanacs show that KY 240 was active at least between 1887 and 1901. The photograph dates to before the 1894 construction of the footbridge over the railway line. The original Largo Station building can be seen in its elevated position in the background. There are several other boats in the harbour. The only other legible registration is KY 1837 - the middle of the three smaller boats to the left of the Sultan. This small boat is the Wilhelmina, belonging to David Ballingall. A wider-view photograph of this scene is shown below. Note the three smartly dressed gents standing at Cellar Braes close to the Net House (long before the construction of its raised sea wall). You can see how easy it would be to stumble into the water from here, particularly in the hours of darkness. Such an accident happened in 1935 to a Mr McNeil. He was visiting from Edinburgh and mistook the lights at Methil docks for the way back to his lodgings at Drummochy and fell over the edge onto the rocks below (while the tide was out). 

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KY 240 was not the only 'Sultan' to be based at Largo. The 1887 register shows both KY 240 and another Sultan with the registration KY 1427. The latter vessel, which likely predates KY 240, was owned by Alexander Gillies (1823-1898). He was a lifelong fisherman (and son of another fisherman, David Gillies). His mother was a Selcraig and so he was linked to Alexander Selkirk of Robinson Crusoe fame. The photograph below shows Alexander's Sultan in a scene dating to the 1880s. KY 1427 was out of register in 1888 and it appears to have been sold on and re-registered as A 503 on the Aberdeen register. Later this vessel was sold to a Stonehaven-based fisherman before finally being broken up in 1902. 

The name 'Sultan' was given to quite a number of vessels around the country over the decades - perhaps chosen because of its association with strength and power. Could the building of Largo's original Sultan have coincided with a news story of the time, such as the 1867 visit to the UK of the Ottoman Sultan or his subsequent death in 1876? There was famously a 'Turkish Fleet' of paddler steamers on the Clyde in the 1860s named the Sultan, Sultana and Viceroy. The name certainly seems to have been fashionable at the time. Repetition of local boat names was not uncommon. Could the newer Sultan have been viewed as a successor to the original? Was owner of the later Sultan, ​Thomas Lawrie (pictured below), a crew member on the original Sultan? If you know more about these two Largo fishing vessels and their owners, please leave a comment.
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Can you spot the boat hiding in the photograph above?  The image features the oldest of the buildings of Largo's former mill complex by the viaduct. The building with the brick chimney housed the gasworks, forge and cooperage. If you look closely at the trees on the left-hand side, obscured by foliage is the line fishing boat Jane, with its registration 940 KY just visible. For a short time, registrations of 2nd class boats such as this one were displayed with the port of registration after the number. The Jane belonged to William Ballingall who had a daughter named Jane born in 1869.

William Ballingall was born in Largo in 1847. He was already described as a fisherman in the census of 1861, aged fourteen years old, while living at the Temple. On 6 October 1867 he married Isabella Gillies, with Reverend David Malloch officiating. William was a fisherman and the fathers of both he and Isabella, John Ballingall and Alexander Gillies, were both also fishermen. Their daughter Jane was born in 1869, followed in 1873 by Margaret (who died aged 14 months), Annie in 1877 and Isabella in 1880 (who died aged ten months).

In June 1882, the couple had a son, John, however later the same year, Isabella died of tuberculosis, leaving William with three young children. Sadly, in 1883, aged just ten months, baby John died too. William was remarried in 1888 to Eliza Tivendale in Edinburgh. She was the daughter of Lundin Mill shoemaker Alexander Tivendale. The couple went on to have two sons, Alexander and William.

The fishing boat Jane appears on 'The Scottish Fishermen's Nautical Almanac and Tide Tables for 1889' but is absent from the 1901 edition. Willam did however have another vessel listed in the 1901 almanac, named the Tidy (KY 1830). Tidy was smaller than the Jane and may have been the boat in use when WIlliam, along with John Ballingall and John Gillies discovered a wrecked fishing boat in 1896. It was 24 February that year when a drowning accident took place in Largo Bay. The 28 February East of Fife Record below reported on how three Largo men (half-brothers David and Thomas Melville and David's brother-in-law Thomas Ballingall) had been line fishing in calm sea conditions in a 16-feet boat when tragedy had occurred.

William and John Ballingall who discovered the upset boat were cousins of Thomas Ballingall. They along with John Gillies had to provide evidence at the subsequent inquiry into drowning. William and his brother John had been fishing in Largo Bay on the day in question. Several boats were out including the one with the three men that lost their lives. William had observed them shooting their lines but later on his crew noticed a wrecked fishing boat and approached it. They drew in the mast and found the body of one of the men entangled in the ropes. The other two were missing. There was very little wind on the day and the witnesses could not account for the reason behind the accident.

William was still described as a Line Fisherman in the 1901 census and was living with Eliza and their two sons. ​Eliza died on 2 March 1911 and in the census of later the same year, William was a widower living on Lower Largo's Main Street (opposite the Crusoe Statue) with two sons, aged 19 and 14. Both William and his elder son were recorded as line fishermen. William died on 27 December 1923 aged 76, at his home on Main Street, Lower Largo. It seems likely that earlier in his life, William may have been among the crew members of one of the larger deep-sea fishing vessels, such as David Ballingall's Forget-Me-Not, which was crewed by family members with the surnames Ballingall, Gillies, Melville, Watson, Hutton and Wishart.
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The vessel in the image above is the Largo Bay, registration number KY 376. This 51-feet long fishing boat was built for George Wood and Alexander Simpson of Largo in 1885 at James Miller's boatyard in St Monans. Below is the report of her launch, from the 1 January 1886 East of Fife Record. The other boat referred to in the newspaper piece, which Mr Miller had on order from two other Largo fishermen, was the 55-feet Jane and Minnie (KY 400). George Wood had previously had another fishing boat named Welcome which was 44-feet in length but he sold this shortly after taking delivery of the Largo Bay (see advert further below from the Kirkcaldy Times of 5 May 1886).
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George Wood was born in Largo in 1850, the son of tailor Robert Wood and his wife Janet Ritchie. He married Ann Simpson (who was a net worker) in 1872. She was the daughter of fisherman James Simpson and his wife Hannah Lawrie and was the sister of Alexander Simpson (born 1855). So, co-owners of the Largo Bay, George Wood and Alexander Simpson, were brothers-in-law. 

The extract below from 'The Scottish Fishermen's Nautical Almanac and Tide Tables for 1889', includes Largo Bay within the list of fourteen Largo-based fishing boats. Five of those boats were "2nd class boats" meaning that they were smaller in size. These shorter boats were used for line fishing, as opposed to deep sea fishing. Note that George Wood has a small boat named Welcome, the same name as the larger vessel that he had sold in 1886. Among the large vessels are the Ocean Bride, Chance, Jane and Minnie, Osprey, Fortunatus and Forget-me-not. 

In 1891 George Wood, his wife and four children were living at what is now 34 Main Street, Lower Largo at the 1891 census. Meanwhile Alexander Simpson was also in Lower Largo with wife Helen (who we had married in 1875) and six children. By 1895 nine boats, including Largo Bay, were listed in the Nautical Almanac (see above). However, the size of Largo's fishing fleet was set to reduce and, by 1902, only the Ocean Bride would remain.

The 26-ton Largo Bay went to Aberdeen in 1898 and was re-registered as A 869. Ultimately, in 1907 she was broken up. Wood and SImpson continued to fish but on a different scale. At the time of the 1901 census, Alexander Simpson, living at Kincraig View on Main Street was described as a 'salmon fisherman' rather than a 'fisherman'.  George Wood's occupation had altered from 'fisherman' to 'line fisherman'. His 14-year-old son George was working as a grocer's message boy (likely for John Nicoll whose grocer shop was just two doors along). The 1901 issue of the Nautical Almanac (below) lists five large Largo vessels and ten line fishing boats. Neither Wood not Simpson were among the owners.

George Wood had a complete change in occupation in 1906, when he was appointed to the position of 'chaplain, caretaker and gardener' at Wood's Hospital (see note below from the 7 December East of Fife Record). The 1911 census finds George, Ann and two of their children, living in the caretaker's quarters at Wood's Hospital. This census also reveals that the couple had had ten children but that only five were living at that time.

Meanwhile Alexander Simpson continued working as a line fisherman. His wife Helen died in 1903. On 6 October 1905, he remarried. The bride was fisherman's daughter Margaret Laurie Melville. Interestingly on the very same day, also in Largo, the daughter of George Wood, Catherine was married - to fisherman Thomas Gillies (son of Robert Gillies one of the twin brothers who owned the Ocean Bride who themselves were related to Alexander Selkirk, of Robinson Crusoe fame). This provides an insight into just how tight-knit and interconnected the fishing community was.

Alexander Simpson died in 1928 aged 72 at Sunnyside, Lower Largo. George Wood lived to the age of 89, passing away in 1940 at Horne's Buildings. In 1932 his wife, Ann Simpson Wood had died at Wood's Hospital. Wood and Simpson had lived through the transitional period when Largo's links with the large-scale, long distance fishing trips died out and smaller scale line fishing and salmon fishing offered an alternative for those that chose to continue to earn a living from the sea.
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The previous post covered the life of Largo-born Alexander Ballingall, who spent most of his working life as an acclaimed artist in Edinburgh. Alexander and his elder brother engraver William Ballingall were well-known for their artistic accomplishments. However, these were not the only creative members of the family. John Ballingall their younger brother was also an accomplished painter, although art was not his main occupation. John worked in Largo as a cork cutter. The above artwork entitled "Entering Port" is an example of his work. It features Largo Harbour and Pier and several fishing boats. Like his brother Alexander, John frequently opted to portray marine and fishing scenes.

John was born in 1859, the ninth of the ten children of weaver and amateur astronomer William Ballingall senior and his wife Jane (Jean) Wilson. While the majority of his siblings moved away to Edinburgh for work, John remained in Lower Largo. At the time of the 1881 census, John was a journeyman cork cutter (perhaps having learned the trade from one of the other local cork cutters in Largo such as Edward Johnston or John Edmonson Miller) and the only of the siblings living at home with his parents. As a cork cutter, he likely had close ties with both the fishing community and the net factory.

In 1883, John married Annie McIntosh in Edinburgh and she joined him in Largo. The first of their eight children, William, was born the following year but he sadly died aged just two and a half. By the time of the 1891 census, there were four children in the household and John's occupation was described as 'cork manufacturer'. At this time, the family were living in part of Goodsir House. 
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Although John had probably always painted, it was during the 1890s that John's artwork received more attention. Several of his known paintings date to this decade - for example the work "Sailing Boats at Moonrise" above is clearly dated 1894.
It was also in 1894 that John featured in the newspapers when a message in a bottle he had set off on the sea at Largo on 22 November 1893 washed up five weeks later in Norway. Mid-November 1893 had brought the worst storms for many a year to the east coast and loss of life had been great (well over 200 persons). John had reflected upon the disaster with his young sons and had decided to send off a letter, along with his card and instructions for the finder. He was also moved to offer a watercolour painting with proceeds donated to the Lifeboat Institution, who had saved many lives during the storm. Full details are below, from the 20 January 1894 St Andrews Citizen. Note that the bottle has been corked and wrapped in cork. 
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John's role as an artist must have flourished, as the notice below from the 7 January 1897 Leven Advertiser below tells of the exciting news that he had moved to "new and commodious premises opposite the U.P. Church" where there was a large exhibition room for his oil and water-colour paintings. This premises was at Forthview Place in the part which would later become the Leven Reform Co-operative Society shop. In 1898 he also had a seascape displayed at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh.

The fascinating painting above, entitled Home from the North Sea, is the work of Alexander Ballingall , the Largo-born painter and brother of engraver William Ballingall. This piece depicts the return home of the Largo fishing fleet in the 1890s. The registration of the boat with the most prominent sail is KY 478 - Annie Johnston. This fishing craft was built in 1880 in Anstruther but spent several years in Montrose before being bought by Largo's David Gillies in 1889. Annie Johnston was part of Largo's fleet for over a decade before being sold to Shetland in 1901. The colourful scene is a welcome contrast to the usual black and white images of fishing vessels from this era. The reddish-brown colour of the sails is the result of the white fabric being treated (or barked) with tar to make them more weather-proof. 

Multiple boats from Largo would tend to leave in groups for a lengthy trip. Some trips might head up further north, off Aberdeen or Shetland, or perhaps south to fishing grounds around Yarmouth depending upon the time of year. Children would often be allowed time out of school to see their fathers off. Ships' biscuits would be given out before the boats sailed away. Eventually, word would be sent home of their planned return, so that families could watch with anticipation for their safe arrival back home.

The kind of scene depicted in the painting, with a crowded pier, would have once been a frequent one, where wives and children greeted the fishermen with joy and relief. Note the man in the foreground presenting his daughter with the gift of a doll. Her mother, who is dressed in traditional fishwife clothes looks on with affection. Gifts brought back from far afield trips would be the main presents given in the year.

Other men, perhaps unmarried, busy themselves sorting and unloading their gear. Some of these nets and other gear may well have been taken over to the other side of the Keil to be dried and stored in and around the Net House. Back home, the washing of the men's clothes would take several days. Six boats feature in this painting. Given the date of late 1890s, other vessels may have included the Forget-Me-Not, Sultan, Ocean Bride, Osprey and Jane and Minnie. Alexander Ballingall painted many scenes around Largo pier, harbour and coast but also depicted other locations. Below is an 1881 painting by Alexander named Troubled Waters, Stonehaven which illustrates a winter herring trip, with stormy waves crashing around the harbour.

Alexander Ballingall was born in Largo in 1847, son of weaver William Ballingall and his wife Jean Wilson. One of several brothers and two sisters, like many of his siblings Alexander had a creative streak. While at the age of 14 he was working as a weaver like his father, he was destined to follow more in the footsteps of his elder brother, William the artist and engraver. By the time of the 1871 census, in his early twenties, Alexander was living in Edinburgh with his brother and his family and both brothers were working as engravers. They were based at Cockburn Street, just off the Royal Mile. Over the years, Alexander seems to have progressed more into painting than engraving and in 1879 he exhibited at Kirkcaldy Fine Art Exhibition with a painting entitled "Newhaven Harbour".

In 1881 he first exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy. In the census that year Alexander was described as a 'landscape painter', still based in Edinburgh but now in Newington. ​The 9 March Dundee Advertiser described his 1886 work at the RSA as "always forcible and thorough in his sketches of sea-faring life". By 1891, he was married to silversmith's daughter Marion Wilson and living at 99 Montgomery Street off Leith Walk, now described as 'Artist - marine and figure'. The same year his RSA exhibits were, according to the Midlothian Journal of 17 April, "three crisp, clever realistic sea-scapes". One of those is the work shown above entitled Now then lads! All together. The newspaper noted the "caller seaside breeziness" and "the anatomy of the pullers...carefully studied, and sea, and rocks, and sky are as usual well done."
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In contrast to the painting at the top of the post depicting the fishermen's return from sea, the artwork above is entitled Getting Underweigh. This shows the fishing fleet setting off on calm seas and dates to 1902. By this time Alexander's wife had died (in 1898 from tuberculosis). The 1901 census had noted him as 'Artist - marine and landscape'. His works did include overseas landscapes, including Venice, as well as many Scottish coastal scenes, including such locations as Buckhaven, Pittenweem, Dunbar and Greenock. By 1911, now aged 64, Alexander was still living off Leith Walk and was slightly differently described as 'Artist (marine and architectural)'. 

Alexander died on 30 November 1913, at the age of 67 at Bangour Village Hospital in West Lothian. He was buried at Upper Largo cemetery with parents, William Ballingall (a keen amateur astronomer) and Jean Wilson. The gravestone, although now in poor repair, has many interesting features, including a globe (now displaced), a shining star, a moon, a coastal setting sun, a sand timer and a sun dial. This unusual and eye-catching memorial is fitting for such a creative family many of whom keenly observed the world around them, and beyond.
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The image above shows an unusual boat on the sea at Lower Largo in September 1965. The reader who shared the image was on holiday in the village when his family spotted the home-made vessel and the gentleman that it belonged it.  The family were allowed to take the converted tank out on the water and would love to learn more about the boat and its owner, should anyone be able to share further memories and information. The boat was in fact an adapted aviation fuel tank - the type which hangs down under the wing of an aircraft. 

Known as a 'drop tank', such tanks were used to increase the flying range of fighter planes and were often capable of being jettisoned. First used in the 1930s in the Spanish Civil War, they were also utilised in the Second World War. Could it be that the adapted tank seen at Largo dated to World War Two? Could it be linked to a Fife airfield? After the war, many machine parts became obsolete and some were creatively recycled. Fuel tanks have known to be converted into cars, stoves and items of furniture as well as boats and mini submarines.

If you know anything about this interesting vessel, its origins or its owner - please do let us know by leaving a comment.

On 14 July 1971, under the headline "Face-lift at Granary", the East Fife Mail reported on the restoration of the former salt girnel/granary/net store building at Cellar Brae. The photograph above shows the work underway, at the stage when the roof was being replaced but the sea wall had yet to be heightened. Below are a few images taken in the mid-1970s, just a few years after completion. The conversion into a "seaside cottage" was carried out for "Mr John Gilmour, elder son of the Conservative M.P. for East Fife, Sir John Gilmour, Bt". Then aged 26, Mr Gilmour and his wife first decided to restore the granary in 1969 when they "noticed that it was literally falling to pieces and decided that we had to preserve it".  

In explaining the former uses of the building, Mr Gilmour said "in the past the Cellar Brae granary has been put to a variety of uses. At first it was of course a place where local grain was stored before being shipped across the Forth to Leith but that trade died out over a hundred years ago." He continued "for many years it was used by local fishermen as a storehouse for their nets and lobster pots but at one time it even housed a joiner's business." It's interesting that the real original use of the building as a salt girnel had at this point apparently been forgotten.

The building in fact had mixed use for long periods of time. Note that local joiner Alec Tait had workshop space within the granary building from around 1920 into the 1960s, his father David Tait having had the workshop there before him from the early 1890s. This overlapped with use as a granary and then a net store. It was the building's affinity with the village's fishing industry that Mr Gilmour was keen to maintain. At the time of the newspaper piece he was contemplating a suitable name for the finished dwelling. "Perhaps we will call it the 'Net House'. I think that would be an appropriate name for the cottage".  And so it came to pass that the house was given that name, when the restoration work was completed in 1972 - the name which it still goes by today. 

In 1984 the building was given a category B listing, in recognition of its architectural and historical interest. A great example of a mid-eighteenth century structure in a local style and with a varied past use, its listing description is given as:
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2 storey, boulder rubble with large sandstone lintels to ground floor, and low buttresses to long sides. South elevation has arched door near centre with stugged ashlar dressings and deep flanking buttresses, 2 windows left and 3 right; 3 small, first floor windows, window over door, raised through eaves with catslide roof, large modern studio window with gabled head. Glazed doors in east gable. North elevation irregular fenestration, 6 ground and 4 1st floor window. Pantiled roof with slate easing course, skews and 2 stacks. Curved boulder rubble wall to south remains of west pier, probably 18th century, with steps down to water, and low bastion enclosing circle of setts at site of horsemill.

The image below shows the setts at the site of a horse mill between the building and the sea wall. The date of this feature is unclear but likely aligns to the years when the site was used as a granary.
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The photographs above show the west-facing gable end pre- and post-conversion. The high window suggests the earlier presence of a forestair to an entrance at the upper level. The extent of the heightening of the sea wall can also be seen in the post-restoration image.  The conversion to a private dwelling was carried out by Leven architect firm L.A. Rolland and Partners and the project won a Civic Trust heritage award. The design by David Pirie sought to maintain the original character and tradition of this imposing structure. 

Described as a "derelict stone bothy" which had been neglected for years, one specific requirement of the restoration was that the external walls were left unharled. Commenting in the 25 June 1975 East Fife Mail, Mr Rolland noted that "five years ago people didn't do nearly so much of this type of restoration but people are now more aware of the value of such properties". He continued "there is more of this work done in Fife than other places, not only because of conservation societies, but because there are some very nice buildings in this part of Fife". The restoration was certainly a great outcome for this significant Largo building.
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Cellar Brae or Cellar Braes is the promontory to the west of Lower Largo Harbour. The map above, which is dated 1843, is one of the few to clearly name the area. Below is a comparison of that map with a recent aerial view of the site. The general layout and many of the buildings remain the same, although some buildings have been lost. The large building closest to the sea has survived and is one of Largo's oldest. Now known as The Net House, pictured further below, this building began life as a salt girnel (store-house) for the adjacent salt works at Drummochy. Dating back to the 1740s, the girnel was a secure building where salt was drained and stored - an essential component of any salt works. Salt was an extremely valuable commodity at this time and a good quality, robust building was needed for secure storage. So, it is thanks to the original function and importance of the building that it has been able to stand the test of time.

With the decline of the salt industry locally in the late 18th century, the building's function had to evolve. For a time, it was used as a granary (separate from the granary on the other side of the harbour, now part of the Crusoe Hotel). The 1932 Largo Village Book states that historically "grain was stored for shipping" at Cellar Braes. However, by the late 19th century, and for many decades, the building and surrounding ground was used to store fishing gear and to dry nets (hence the building's present name of The Net House). There are a few images below that feature nets hung out to dry all around the area.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, salmon stake nets ran out to sea in front of the Net House (see image below). Throughout that time, valuation rolls show that the Cellar building and Lundin Salmon Fishings were owned by Lundin Estate. These facilities were tenanted initially by Andrew Greig Anderson, Edinburgh fishmonger, in the late 19th century and then by  Joseph Johnston and Sons Limited of Montrose (a long-established salmon fishing business with interests the length of the east coast) in the early decades of the 20th century.
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By the mid-1930s, Cellar Braes began to change into more of a recreational space. The Largo Parish Community Council rented the area and organised for benches and a shelter to be put in place for the comfort of those enjoying the views across the harbour. The old path which used to run around the seaward side of the Net House was re-routed to the landward side of the building.  The old path route with its unguarded sea wall was not without its risks, as the ​9 April 1935 Leven Advertiser piece below demonstrates. The man who fell over the edge onto the rocks was staying at 'Westhaven' - a house opposite Cellar Brae (see map further below). In the early 1970s, the now semi-derelict net house building was restored and converted into a private dwelling. The sea wall was heightened for safety.
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As well as being the site of private homes, the Cellar Braes of today continues to offer benches, views and space to relax. The former shelter (seen on map and image above) is long gone but a patch of concrete indicates where this once was.  This multi-functional corner of the village has a rich history. Featured in artworks and offering a fine viewing space for events at the harbour, it continues to be a characterful part of the Largo landscape.