The above photograph was taken by the late Robert Carswell Paxton of Homelands. It may have been taken around 1902 when the Paxtons settled in Largo (initially staying at Drum Lodge). This is still in the days of the wooden footbridge (see left of image) which preceded the building of the road bridge. Incidentally, the photograph of the first car crossing the road bridge is also thought to have been taken by Robert Paxton, who must have been quite a keen amateur photographer.

The detail below shows a team of three painters working on the exterior walls on what appears to be a bright sunny day. Alexandra House (now the site of Lower Largo's one remaining shop) can be seen to the left of the Crusoe. Further below is detail showing Bridgend House, the Railway Inn and Belmont Temperance Hotel (in an elevated position to the right of the bridge over the railway line). Miss Mary Carswell was proprietor of the Belmont at the time of this photo. I wonder whether she may have been related to Robert Paxton's mother Janet Carswell. At the foot of this post is an advert from 1908 for the Belmont Hotel when the proprietors were the Misses Sawyer.

The distinctive external staircase on the landward side of the Crusoe Hotel (pictured above) was created when an additional loft storey was added to the granary building circa 1870. The image above shows it around 1930 when David Todd was the name written on the 'Railway Inn' sign. Note the community noticeboard area adjacent to the staircase and the chocolate advert on the side of the kiosk by the road bridge, as well as the old motor car parked outside the hotel. The Pier Pavilion was in place for the season too. 

However, going back to the years before the First World War, the Crusoe stairs led up to the 'band room' of the Largo Brass Band (also known as the Largo Prize Band and later the Largo Silver Band). The 1895 and 1905 valuation rolls note that the Largo Brass Band (secretary T. G. Wishart) were the tenants of the 'loft' (as it was described in 1895) or 'hall' (as it was described in 1905) within the granary. A reference to the stairs as the "stair leading to the Band Hall" can be seen in the sad news story below from 26 April 1895 East of Fife Record.
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Although the use of the granary loft by the Brass Band ceased with the outbreak of war, the use of the granary for entertainment purposes had been long-standing. Below is a snippet from 1856 (25 December Fife Herald) where a ball had been held there. No other suitable hall was available in the 1850s - the Temperance Hall in Lundin Mill not being built until 1886.

A couple of years later, on 14 Jan 1858, the Fifeshire Journal remarked upon a another ball held on New Handsel Monday in the granary. 
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Fast forward to 1890 and there was a smoking concert in the granary (29 Aug East of Fife Record). Perhaps the recently-built Temperance Hall would not have allowed such an event.
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More to come in future posts about the Largo Brass Band and about their secretary Thomas Graham Wishart.

This interesting series of paintings of Largo Harbour, signed by David Martin, feature the Crusoe Hotel (and adjacent granary) looking quite different. The landward side of the building is a storey lower than in later times and has a simple and functional appearance. When first built in 1824 the granary building consisted of only two storeys (see advert below from the Fife Herald of 7 October that year). The seaward (inn) end of the building was likely built around the same time - which was also around the time to the establishment of the steam packet services.

Featuring typical granary architecture, with small rectangular windows and a cart opening at ground level, the interior of this part of the building would have been similar to the image below of Dunbar's granary and store. It's easy to imagine the low beamed rooms with their stone walls filled with sacks of grain and other agricultural produce. 
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By the mid-1850s, the focus was on the imminent arrival of the railway. In December 1855, the shareholders and tenants of the Largo Granary Company had a dinner in Selkirk's Hotel (i.e. the Crusoe Hotel - the proprietor at the time was named Alexander Selkirk). The principal tenant of the granary then was Robert Hutchison of Kirkcaldy. [In 1830, at the age of 21, Robert Hutchison opened an account in the name of Robert Hutchison and Company and began trading in wheat, barley oats, flax, butter and flour. By 1856 the company would own all the land in East Kirkcaldy where the present flour mill now stands.] The success of the East of Fife Railway was toasted at the event and those that had not already subscribed to the scheme were encouraged to do so.

The arrival of the railway and the increasing popularity of Largo as a visitor destination saw the area prosper and at some point the granary acquired a third storey - a 'loft' added to the existing 'granary' and 'cellar and stables' . It is unclear what point in time the paintings above represent but certainly the landward end of the building had acquired a third storey by the early 1870s.

The photograph below dates to 1885 and the day of the unveiling of the Crusoe Statue. The outline of the old lower gable end can be made out in the weathered gable wall on the right hand side of the image. Standing on the far right is Sam Gillies, skipper of 'The Brothers' which was lost only a few months after this photo was taken. The Largo Granary Company seems to have wound up around the turn of the century and by 1905 hotel keeper Thomas Lumsden owned the entire building - although part of the old granary building had an interesting use at that time.....more of that to follow.
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In addition to his many paintings of Largo, George Leslie Hunter also produced many sketches of the area. Lots of his sketches were recognisable scenes of the beach or still existing buildings. However, the one shown above focuses on the Pier Pavilion with little contextual background. It would have been a familiar scene at the time but now only those aware of Largo's local history would know what and where this is. The pen, ink and coloured crayon drawing is named The Pierrots, Largo and dates to 1923.

This drawing was purchased by the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow for its permanent collection, along with two others 
(Fife Landscape and Largo Harbour). As the book 'Hunter Revisited' by Smith and Marriner states:

"The Pierrots is one of a series of drawings Hunter did of the open air theatre near Largo jetty. Since his days in San Francisco he had maintained an interest in the theatre, as much as anything for its colourful spectacle. The Pierrots at Lower Largo staged a popular form of vaudeville entertainment for summer visitors; often Hunter depicts scenes of the audience milling around, capturing on paper the causal seaside atmosphere."

This is the striped 1920s version of the pavilion (see photograph below). The pavilion changed in appearance a few times in the decades that it graced the pier. At the foot of this post is another Hunter sketch of a similar scene. In this one, the pink cloud suggests an evening performance as the sun sets. I wonder whether the pier could ever witness such scenes again....

George Hunter was a Scottish painter - one of the Scottish Colourists - whose work was characterised by the bold use of colour and loose brushwork. He was born on 7 August 1877 to Rothesay chemist William Hunter and his wife Jeanie Stewart. He was their fifth child. George spent the first fifteen years of his life in Rothesay, where he developed a passion for drawing from a young age.  Early in 1892, two of George's older siblings died while still in their early twenties. Later that year, William, Jeanie and their three surviving children emigrated to California.  They initially settled on an orange grove 50 miles east of Los Angeles, where they enjoyed the change of climate. Two or three years later they moved to the city but in 1899 all except George returned to Scotland.

George moved to San Francisco, where he began using the name 'Leslie' for the first time. There he became a member of the bohemian community of artists, writers and poets. His earnings from work as an illustrator for magazines and books paid for a visit to Paris in 1904. This trip inspired him to try his hand at oil painting. Back in San Francisco, in 1905, he compiled a portfolio of work to be exhibited the following year in what would be his first solo exhibition. However, this would never come to pass, as all of his work was destroyed by the fires that followed the 1906 earthquake in the city.

This was a disaster for Hunter and led to his return to Scotland. He settled in Glasgow later in 1906 but continued to make visits to France from time to time (except during the First World War when travel was restricted). Hunter developed a group of friends based on the east coast of Scotland, who introduced him to Fife. The county's rural architecture and colourful landscapes became an important source of inspiration to him. Ceres and Lower Largo in particular were favourite haunts. In a letter to one of those friends Hunter wrote "Fife is ever a delightful thought on my mind with its beautiful valleys and villages".

Above is 'Cottages and Landscape, Fife' dated 1923-24, which is in fact Drum Lodge looking east.

Above is 'Largo, Fife' (undated) showing Main Street, Lower Largo, looking east where Horne's Buildings now stand on the left and the right turn at White Cottage is off picture to the right.

Above is 'Largo Harbour' dated 1925.

Above is 'Figures on the Pier, Largo' undated.

Above is 'Mill, near Largo' dated 1924, depicting the flour mill at Lundin Mill - not far from another of his subjects, Dunkirk Cottage.

Above is 'Cottages Under a Railway Bridge' (1924) featuring the railway viaduct, cottages and the oil and cake mill. 

Above is 'Boats, Lower Largo' dated 1926, looking west from close to the Orry.

So it was the early to mid years of the 1920s that Hunter frequently visited Largo. This was the same period of his life that he became increasingly associated with the other three Scottish Colourists: Samuel Peploe, Francis Cadell and John Duncan Fergusson. There were also trips to mainland Europe throughout the 1920s. In 1929, while in the French Riviera, Hunter suffered a breakdown and was brought back to Scotland by his sister to recuperate. Despite a period of recovery, his health deteriorated soon afterwards and he died in 1931 in Glasgow aged 54. Exhibitions of his work continued after his death and his art still commands huge interest today.

Largo must have had its fair share of interesting visitors passing through over the years. The photograph above features a particularly colourful character standing outside the entrance to Cardy House. The undated image, held in the St Andrews University Image Bank simply states "Print depicting a woman with a monkey. The monkey is sitting on top of a horse. The back is labelled 'Italian woman, name is Angelino?'".

Perhaps she was there as part of a larger troupe of entertainers - maybe when the 'shows' were in town. The image below shows precisely where this unusual photograph was captured, with 123 Main Street in the background.
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'Downfield' is the brick building in the centre of the image above. It stands between Largo St David's Church and Court House and is in fact on the site of the original church. Initially known as 'Largo Relief Church', the original building was erected in 1771. The congregation at that time was largely made up of folk that had previously attended church in Kirkton of Largo but had broken away in protest over the appointment of a new minister. As the 'Historical Sketch' of Largo St David's Church states:
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"Those who left Largo Kirk met for worship in the open air until Mr Durham himself granted them a site on which to erect a Church. This site is next to the present building in the area now occupied by "Downfield"."

This church was in use for a century before the present church building was erected alongside it in 1871-72. The original church was demolished and the plot lay empty for over a decade before the five-dwelling building now known as Downfield was built.  The annotated maps below show the changes to the site over the period from around 1850 to 1910.

The original proprietor of Downfield seems to have been David Gillies the net manufacturer, as it is his name that appears on the 1895 valuation roll as owning the building. Interestingly, the brick building has echoes of the Cardy Net House - particularly the chimney design. David Gillies is known to have designed and built Cardy House and Cardy Works himself with assistance from his joiner siblings. He is listed in the Dictionary of Scottish Architects. There seems to be a good chance that he was the architect of Downfield and recreated the brick work style of Cardy Works.

One of the early tenants was fisherman John Bisset. He was living in one of the dwellings at the time of the 1891 census with his wife Helen (nee Horne) and their daughters Grace and Georgina. In 1891 the building had not yet acquired the name Downfield. By the time of the 1900 valuation roll John Bisset had become the proprietor of Downfield and the name of the property had been established. Presumably he had purchased the building from David Gillies at some point after his career change from fisherman to mine manager at Teasses Colliery.

When Mr Bisset died in 1931, the St Andrews Citizen noted that he owned an extensive poultry farm at Buckthorns and was "a native of Largo" who "spent his early years as a fisherman before going to Teuchats Farm, where he also managed the Lime Works. He was for fourteen years in charge of the pumps at Durie Colliery. He left Teuchats and entered upon the tenancy of Buckthorns Farm in 1914. Mr Bisset took a keen interest in the development of Largo as a summer resort and was an active member of the committee for the improvement of the pier." 

The name 'Downfield' could possibly have come from the Downfield estate between Kettle and Montrave which also had collieries and lime works, which perhaps John Bisset once had a connection to. If anyone can confirm the origin of the name - please comment. Below is an advert for the sale of Downfield in 1946 (30 October Leven Mail) which describes the layout and facilities at that time.
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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.....

Had to mention just how beautiful Largo was looking this past week in the warm sunny weather. Ideal conditions for the wonderful 'Largo Arts Week' experience, which brought a real buzz to the place. Congratulations to the organisers for creating such a memorable and exciting event which had something for everyone.

There is a wealth of creative talent in the villages. Many thanks to all those that showed their work and opened up their homes and studios. Also to all the performers who provided top-class entertainment. And everyone who played a part in making this happen. Hopefully Largo Arts Week will become a regular fixture on the calendar and this year's inaugural event will go down in history.

Thanks for the memories.