By 1871 John Miller was established as a cork cutter in Upper Largo, now with 7 children, 4 of whom were born in Largo. A decade later and he was still described as a 'cork top manufacturer' and had one further child. At some point, the Millers became involved with the Independent Order of Good Templars' Robinson Crusoe Lodge. John held various offices and appeared often in the newspaper archives as attending various meetings and events in connection with the movement. It's interesting that a bottle top maker, with connections to the brewing industry, went on to live by "total abstinence enforced by a life-long pledge, and the absolute prohibition of the manufacture, importation and sale of intoxicating drinks as beverages". The above programme for the local lodge from the "Good Templar Guide: North-East Fife District 1898-1904" notes John E. Miller as the Secretary at the time and shows that he and his wife were responsible for a number of the functions listed.

By 1891, John's occupation had evolved slightly to 'wood top manufacturer'. This was likely partly due to a general trend away from the use of cork to other materials for bottle closures but may also indicate that he wanted to cater for temperance drinks rather than alcohol. Below are images of a cork top (left) and a wood top (right). By this time, fellow cork cutter Edward Johnston had become bankrupt and had left Largo. John survived the changing fortunes of his trade but supplemented his income by having three boarders living in his household. Ten years later, aged 70, John Miller continued to host three boarders and was described as a 'wood top maker'. 
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John Edmonson Miller died on 19th June 1905 at Law Cottage, Upper Largo - his death registered by son James, who lived very close by at Broomfield's Buildings. As far as I can tell, this ended many decades of bottle top making in the Parish. Modern innovation had by then changed practices completely. Ebonite or Vulcanite screw stoppers (patented in 1880) were advertised as superior to corks due to the ease of opening by hand (no need for a corkscrew), robustness (won't break like a cork could), airtightness (contents won't go flat) and reusability (if used many times were a fraction of the cost of cork). India rubber was heated in a process called 'vulcanisation' to create a mouldable, durable material that was used for bottle stoppers for decades. The adverts below show these stoppers, which fitted into an internal screw thread in the bottle neck, in detail.

Hopefully many of you managed to watch 'Scotland's Scenic Railways' on Channel 4 the other evening, featuring Largo and Lundin Links stations, vintage railway footage and present day local scenes. For anyone that missed it, the programme is currently on All 4 catch-up here.  One of the content contributors, who appeared on the programme, was Robert Drysdale. Robert has kindly written up detailed memories of his many childhood holidays to Lower Largo and Lundin Links and has included several photographs in the attached PDF document. Among the images are pictures of both Largo and Lundin Links stations after the railway line closed and the tracks had been lifted, plus a view from the former road bridge over the line at the top of Drummochy Road.  

To access this evocative description of holidaying in Largo in the 1950s and 1960s, please click here and enjoy! Above is a picture of Robert (right) with his baby sister and mother in the garden of 'Kincraig' (number 15 the Temple). Below is a view of the closed Largo station with the tracks recently lifted, taken from the footbridge over the line. These and many more images appear in the document.

Back in the nineteenth century (and likely before then too), one of the occupations carried out in Largo was cork cutting. Among the men who described themselves as 'cork cutters' over the years were John Ballingall, Edward Johnston, Henry Kirk, John Edmonson Miller, Thomas Rankin and James Rodger. In addition, there were several boys employed to assist in this line of work.

Henry Kirk was a cork cutter based on the upper part of Kirkton of Largo's North Feus, shown in the above postcard image. At the time of the 1861 census Henry Kirk employed '1 man and 1 boy' in his cork cutting business. He was listed in the 1862 Westwood Directory (above) under 'miscellaneous'. It's likely that the cork cutters' main output would have been stoppers for bottles and other containers, such as the stoneware containers shown in the advert below for Henry Kennedy and Sons of Glasgow.

This increase in production could well be linked to the opening of Cardy Net Works in 1867. Floats would have been required for the edges of the nets and cork was the material of choice for that at the time. In 1876, the Johnston family moved to a property on the south side of Upper Largo's Main Street. They named their home 'Norwich House' after Edward's home town. The house (later changed to 'Norwich Cottage') is shown in the centre of the map below.

Robert Gilchrist was born in Largo in 1840 - the youngest son of Elspeth Selkirk and James Gilchrist (a hand loom weaver at the Temple). His was one of several houses at the Temple at the time that included a 'weaver's shop' as part of the property. In 1859 Robert joined the 'Lundin Mill Total Abstinence Society'. This was a prelude to his long-term involvement in the Good Templar movement. Although he was away from home when the charter was signed for the institution of the Robinson Crusoe Lodge of the Independent Order of Good Templars in 1872, he joined a few weeks later.

Over many years, Robert filled all of the offices at the local lodge as well as many at East Fife District Lodge level. In 1879 he was elected to lead the latter - a role he carried out by travelling around the district on his pony trap. Eventually, he served on several committees of the Grand Lodge, rising to its Assistant Grand Secretary. The "Good Templar Guide: North-East Fife District 1898-1904" stated that "the bicycle was neither fast nor fashionable in those days but with his pony, to and fro throughout the district he went, instituting new, resuscitating dormant, and encouraging existing lodges".

On 11 March 1861 Robert Gilchrist (then a post messenger) married Jane White (daughter of mason Robert White, who was partner with Archibald White in a well-known local building firm). The couple settled in Lundin Mill and Robert himself soon joined the building trade. By the 1871 census the pair had three children - Catherine, Elspeth and James. A decade later, in 1881, Robert was an established builder and his son was his apprentice. The family were living in Emsdorf House and, on the day of the census, had a 'Scottish Coast Missionary' staying with them as a visitor (no doubt in connection with the Good Templars). 

Above is a piece from the 24 November 1883 Fifeshire Advertiser describing the celebration following completion of building work on a new farm steading at Pratis led by Robert Gilchrist. In 1885, Gilchrist was convener of the committee responsible for the events associated with the Crusoe Statue unveiling.  The following year, he completed the building of the Good Templar Hall (later known as the Crusoe Hall). Over the next three decades Robert continued in the building trade, still residing at Emsdorf House, playing a significant role in the development of Lundin Links, along with fellow builders such as Archibald White and Walter Horne. He was the builder of the Simpson Institute in Upper Largo, opened in 1891. His daughter Elspeth married painter Robert Blair Forrester in 1893. In 1894, Robert Gilchrist and Son were the builders of the striking Colinsburgh Town Hall. 

In 1911, Robert and Jane Gilchrist celebrated their ​Golden Wedding. Two of their children and seven grandchildren were present. Their daughter Catherine had died in 1889 aged 27. The 15 March 1911 Leven Advertiser gives an account of the event below, along with further details of Robert's life. He was chair of the Parish Council, an elder of the Parish Church, President of Largo Curling Club and active in the bowling and tennis clubs. However, he was best known for his tireless work in connection with the temperance movement. Robert Gilchrist died, aged 85, at Emsdorf House in 1926. His wife Jane had predeceased him in 1913.
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The Independent Order of Good Templars (I.O.G.T.) originated in Utica, New York State in 1851 and was introduced to Scotland by Thomas Roberts of Philadelphia in 1869. Deriving their name from the Knights Templars (because they were also 'fighting a great crusade' and legend is that the Knights drank 'sour milk'), the Good Templars adopted a similar organisational structure and regalia to the Freemasons. The principles behind the movement were "total abstinence enforced by a life-long pledge, and the absolute prohibition of the manufacture, importation and sale of intoxicating drinks as beverages".

The I.O.G.T. motto (adopted in 1852) was Faith, Hope and Charity. Organised into 'lodges' at local, district and national levels, each lodge was given the flexibility to "act according locality, time and circumstances". Unusually for the time, both sexes were admitted and were "on a perfect equality as to eligibility for office".  Juvenile lodges could be formed for young persons aged from 5 to 18 years of age. The juvenile motto was Truth, Love and Purity. A fringed sash was worn by members (see illustrative photograph above of an unknown I.O.G.T. group) decorated to varying degrees with badges and initials to indicate office held. These sashes seem to have come in different colours including a purplish-blue and a red (see coloured examples below).

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In addition to the Saturday evening meetings, the lodge held picnics, open air meetings and cycle trips (the I.O.G.T. had its own 'Cycling Corps'). In 1906, the Order changed its name to the International Order of Good Templars. And in later years the elaborate ceremonies and distinctive regalia were phased out. The movement lost ground as society faced each of the World Wars. After the Second World War, the I.O.G.T. repositioned itself around peace-related work. Although internationally it did recover, in Largo it would not be able to rebuild.

You can read more about the history of the I.O.G.T. worldwide here.

As a follow-up to the recent post about the history of Largo Curling Club, I am grateful to a reader who has shared the above artefact. It is the programme for the Centenary Dinner of the club. Note that, although the actual centenary would have occurred in 1940, the Second World War disrupted life so greatly that it was not until a full seven years later that this event was finally able to take place. 

It certainly appears that, although delayed, the occasion was marked in style and with all the appropriate traditions. Below are the 'Bill of Fare' and the 'Programme and Toast List' - both rich in detail and with many interesting turns of phrase. Let's have a look at these in more detail....
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The layout and content of these pages closely mirrors the style used at key dinners from Curling history such as the Jubilee Dinner held for the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, in Edinburgh's Waterloo Hotel, on 28 Nov 1888. It was similarly "garnished with sundry curling phrases to help the digestion". Verses from the curling poets, such as Henry Shanks of Bathgate and Rev. J. Muir of Leith are also typically included. Even the food chosen for the menu is traditional. 'Beef and greens' in particular has been the traditional fare of the curling dinner for centuries.

Here are definitions for some of the curling phrases that pepper the menu:

"Soop, lads, soop" refers to sweeping (the ice) in the path of a curling-stone in order to assist its progress;
"Kiggle-Kaggle" means to cause the stone to make a succession of zig-zag movements or inwicks up a port or space between curling stones, to reach a certain object;
"Clap on a gaird" relates to playing a stone to lie in front of or “guard” the tee or another stone lying near it;
"On the pat lid" suggests a curling stone lying right on the tee.

Note also the reference to the temperance movement - "ginger brew for Templars sae true" - within the poem at the top. This was a significant movement nationally and locally in the late 19th century and early 20th century (more on this to come in future posts).

Below, the toast list includes all the customary toasts, including one to the Royal Caledonian Club (the sport's governing body), one to neighbouring clubs and others to new curlers, to skips and to presidents. Several songs are also included in the programme, which no doubt would have been sung with gusto!

More about the traditions surrounding curling can be found here - ​electricscotland.com/history/curling/.

On 10th February 1841 a petition was presented to Thomas Calderwood Durham, nephew of General James Durham, who was briefly proprietor of Largo House, before Admiral Sir Philip Charles Henderson Calderwood Durham. This asked for the continued use of Largo Pond for the purposes of curling. It notes that curling had "been so long a favourite pastime with the inhabitants of this place" and that now there was a movement "to constitute ourselves into a Society, called the 'Largo Curling Club'".

The petition was favourably received and permission was granted for the newly formed club to have Largo Pond as there home. Largo House Pond was the club's base until 1905 when an artificial pond was laid down in Upper Largo, behind Crichton Place, next to the Simpson Institute. It is thought that curling had already been played at Largo Pond for about a century before the 1841 petition. There were certainly other curling clubs active nearby. Cupar Curling Club had been instituted in 1775 for example and there were active clubs in Colinsburgh (Hercules), Leven  and Kilconquhar. 

The newspaper piece above by Largo bank agent John More Dall (from the St Andrews Citizen of 8 March 1924) goes on to note that Largo Curling Club quickly affiliated with the Royal Caledonian Curling Club (the governing body of the sport, which had been established in 1838). A key figure in formalisation of the Largo Club was James Bardner, who was the club's first president. He was a farmer - a long-time tenant of Chesterstone Farm - who was a five-time president of the club before his death in 1872, aged 55. The Fifeshire Journal (6 Jan 1842) reported on the first anniversary meeting of the Largo Curling Club (see below). James Bardner (misspelled in the piece) presided over the evening. Held at Bell's Inn in Lundin Mill, the meeting confirmed the "encouraging prospects of their yet infant society".

Another important member of the club was John Whyte, farmer at Lundin Mill Farm. He was president, skip for many years and the outright winner of the biscuit box presented by Mrs Briggs of Strathairly (having won it three times). He eventually retired to Cupar in 1896. The photograph above from the book 'Seatoun of Largo' by Ivy Jardine shows a group of Largo curlers at Largo House pond before the move to the new pond (looking north west, the row of trees that then lined the entrance track to Largo Home Farm can be seen on the right). Another noteworthy member and skilled player was Donald Thomson, who had retired to Largo following many years of service to the Duke of Atholl. A "kind-hearted Highlander", Donal had outstanding talent as a curler, was a skip and a president of the club and secretary for eight years. Presidents of the Club were appointed annually and so were too numerous to mention in the 1924 history of the club. However, below is a list of the club secretaries from 1840 until 1924.
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Above is a list of the trophies competed for (as at 1924) and below is a list of the club Chaplains over the early decades.

Also from the 1924 piece in the St Andrews Citizen is the summary below of a memorable game played in 1881. Notable for a number of reasons, this game saw Largo triumph over neighbouring Leven club in a match that had only men named John playing and which ended with a great snowstorm. The Largo team had to walk home over the beach - the roads having been made impassable.

A milestone in the club's history was the move to the new purpose-built rink in Upper Largo in 1905. This event also triggered the exodus from the club of many curlers that lived in Lundin Mill. They left to form a pond of their own - the journey to Upper Largo deemed too far in comparison to Largo House perhaps. More on that to follow in a future post. 

The pond at Largo House froze over slowly and with winters less severe than they had been in past decades, a move to an artificial pond made sense. Incidents like the one below (7 February 1901 Leven Advertiser) must have hastened the planning of such a move. The new pond could be sprayed with a thin layer of water that would freeze quickly with no risk of anyone falling through the surface. Moreover the new venue could be lit with electric light (16 lamps in all) - thanks to the ingenuity of Thomas Wishart. Upper Largo joiner Agnew Broomfield erected a fine clubhouse at the pond. Part of this can be seen in the photo below of the new pond in its early years (this picture appears in the book 'Largo: An Illustrated History' by Eunson and Band).

Just as technological advances enabled the artifical rink with its electric lighting, so further advances would result in this pond itself falling out of use. Indoor rinks began to appear and in the 1920s, Largo teams visited Edinburgh to play indoors. In 1938 Kirkcaldy Ice Rink opened (see 8 October 1938 Fife Free Press below). Times were changing but play continued at Upper Largo for many years after the locals had had their first taste of indoor curling. Improvements were made to the pond over the decades.
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The club's centenary coincided with the Second World War and by the 1950s big changes would take place in the story of Largo Curling Club. At the 1952 Annual General Meeting reference was made to the club moving back to original location (i.e. Largo House Pond), suggesting that the artificial pond had become disused. Finally in 1955, the advert below appeared in the ​29 June Dundee Courier. The sounds very much like the club selling off some of its fixtures and equipment. The club survived these changing times and still continues to this day - playing indoors at Kirkcaldy. You can find out more about the present day club here. Further information about the club - memories, photos and facts - would be very welcome - please comment or click the 'contact' link.

The newspaper piece above from the 11 February 1864 Fifeshire Journal summarises a curling match between Largo Curling Club and their counterparts from Kennoway. Winters were colder at this time, allowing annual schedules of curling matches to take place. This particular one "came off on Largo Pond". This was the rink adjacent to Largo House shown in blue on the 1893 O.S. map below. The occupant of Largo House at this time was Mrs Dundas Calderwood Durham, who clearly took an interest in 'the roaring game', as she watched at least some of this three-hour event. Largo emerged victorious.

Above in an image of another 1860s match from Fife - one held at Raith Lake in Kirkcaldy - from the book 'Curling: An Illustrated History' by David B Smith. It gives an impression of the fashion and the equipment in use at the time. Such a match required an umpire and filling the role on Largo Pond in 1864 was well-known character Nicol Malcolm, a farmer from Dubbieside (Innerleven) and a curler with Leven's club. He had a hand in the establishment of Lundin Golf Club in 1868. Below is a memorial to Nicol from the 1900 Fife New Almanac, some years after his death, complete with a photograph of him taken by John Patrick. 

More on the history of Largo Curling Club to follow...

The photograph above, taken in the Durham Hall, dates to 1959. It shows the members and leaders of the Largo St David's Church 'Saturday Klub'. Meeting on Saturdays at 7pm, the club was run by and for teenagers. Leaders included the John Mack and Mr Watt (not to be confused with Rev. George Watt, pictured below, the minister at St David's between 1956 and 1963). 

The club offered a range of indoor games including badminton and table tennis. There was a club record-player for listening to or for dancing to. The church magazine of the time said that "the Club ensures a happy and care-free evening for all who come along" and that "there is always a cup of tea to be had during the course of the evening".

One event run by the club, as a fund raiser and open to the wider Church congregation, was a "Beatle Drive". This being a time when the group "The Beatles" were hugely popular, the evening was a variation on the usual Beetle Drive. The hall was decorated for the event with "approximately 250 pictures of The Beatles"! The background music for the evening was of course a "certain four men". So successful was the event that it was repeated a few weeks later. If you see someone you know in the photo, please comment.

​The old walled garden of Largo House, which sits between the main mansion and the Largo Home Farm, is a 2.7 acre area that once contained formally laid out working gardens (see 1854 map above). The garden included an orchard, glasshouses, extensive fruit and vegetable beds, hedges and neat paths lined with herbaceous borders (see image below from Canmore collection, captured in 1901 by Lady Henrietta Gilmour Montrave).

A walled garden is a garden enclosed by high walls. While the walls provide protection from animals and intruders, they are primarily there for horticultural reasons. They protect the produce from wind and frost and can raise the temperature within the garden by a few degrees. The walls absorb and retain heat from the sun and release it slowly. South-facing high walls create their own microclimate and are suited for growing more tender plants that wouldn't survive in an unenclosed garden. Many estate mansion houses had their own walled garden, suppling fresh fruit and vegetables to the household and providing a pleasant place to walk and grow flowers. Many had glasshouses, some with artificial heat from stoves or similar, enabling exotic plants to be grown.

A series of highly-skilled gardeners cared for Largo House's walled garden over the decades, including Thomas Stewart, Thomas Blair, Colin McTaggart, Robert Smith and Peter Keay. These men regularly took part in horticultural competitions, winning prizes for their produce. Above is just one of many examples that can be found in the newspaper archives. This piece from the 5 September 1861 Dunfermline Press shows Colin McTaggart securing prizes at the Fifeshire Horticultural Society Exhibition in many categories. These included 'Stove or greenhouse plants, in pots', French marigolds, African marigolds, hand-bouquets, plums, greengages, Jargonelle pears, baking apples, gooseberries, cauliflowers, red cabbage and onions.  Such reports provide a useful insight to the varieties being grown and consumed at Largo House at the time.
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Over the years many day excursionists enjoyed a visit to the gardens, often guided by the gardener. For example in 1852, 180 workers from the Haugh spinning mill in Windygates were shown round the "blooming and richly adorned" gardens by the "very attentive" Thomas Blair (2 Sept Fife Herald). The steps which lead off the walled garden to the west (see postcard image above) are still there today (see below). The Largo Village Book of 1932 refers to this "long flight of steps" that leads up to the "old garden" close to Sir Andrew Wood's Tower. At the top of the steps "one walks round a broad grass walk, high above the other garden and the present house. The centre of this old garden slopes down to the middle on all sides".
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The main walled garden seems to have been in active use for a couple of centuries. The aerial photograph below (held by Historic Environment Scotland) shows it in the 1930s, when there are signs of planting and of an intact glasshouse. Further below is another image showing the walled garden from outside its north edge. A walled enclosure and further glasshouses seem to have been located here on the outside of the wall.
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Many historic walled gardens have been restored to their former use in recent times and, excitingly, there are plans to make the Largo House walled garden productive again and allow access for visitors and volunteers. The plan is to produce flowers, fruit and vegetables once again. For more information and updates see:

www.facebook.com/largoestatefife

To see a nearby comparable walled garden restoration project, which has been in progress for a number of years, see Amisfield Walled Garden in East Lothian. Also a late 18th century garden, this garden had been long neglected before work began in 2006 on its restoration. Progress since then has been impressive and it is now a thriving community garden. See image below and here for more details:

https://www.amisfield.org.uk/