The Belmont Temperance Hotel, pictured in the centre of the image above, once stood adjacent to Largo railway station. The snippet above from the 8 August 1890 East of Fife Record, details the circumstances that would eventually lead to the building of the hotel. The piece highlighted the "enormous" demand for accommodation in Largo but also pointed out the lack of options for those looking for only a short stay. While a couple of hotels existed, these had a small number of rooms, plus, these were "licensed premises" and many visitors at the time would have objected to that. 

The temperance movement, which encouraged abstinence from alcohol, had been established for decades. The local lodge of the Independent Order of Good Templars - the Robinson Crusoe Lodge - had been established in 1872 and was still very active in 1890. Lundin Mill had once had its own small Temperance Hotel. Against this backdrop, a proposal was made to build a new temperance hotel. Specifically, it was to be close to the beach at Lower Largo. By the summer of 1890 it was thought that a suitable site at Drummochy had been identified. However, that particular plan did not come to fruition and teetotal visitors had to wait a little longer.

There was no record of a temperance hotel in the census of 1891 but by July 1893, the local papers were listing summer visitors staying at the Belmont Temperance Hotel on its elevated position between Largo Station and the north side of Main Street. A storm in August 1893 resulted in a Norwegian vessel running aground at the Temple. Her crew were given hospitality at the Belmont Hotel under the care of hotelkeeper Mary Carswell. The 1895 valuation roll shows that Andrew Masterton, joiner, was the property owner, suggesting that he was responsible for its construction. 

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The 1 April 1903 Scotsman newspaper ran the small advert above stating that the hotel was "under new management". A W Urquhart was named as proprietor. However, by 1906, it was all change once again when there was another auction of furniture from the hotel (see notice below from 26 April 1906 Leven Advertiser).

Finally, a period of stability began when Miss Margaret Pippet Sawyer and Miss Mary Elizabeth Sawyer took over the Belmont in 1906. The sisters were born in the English coastal town of South Shields and were daughters of a mariner turned hotelier. Before coming to Largo they had lived in both Leith and North Berwick (where the family had run a temperance hotel). The article above detailed one of their early bookings at the Belmont - a tea party for a temperance group (30 June 1906 Fife Free Press). The advert below dates to their era. At the time that the 1911 census was taken, a 29-year-old Margaret Sawyer (also known as Marguerite) was the only resident at the Belmont Hotel. She and her sister later moved to Elie, where they ran various holiday accommodation over the years, both eventually marrying.

The 1920 valuation roll had Mrs J MacDougall and Miss J MacDougall as tenants with Catherine Clayton still the property owner. The 1921 census tells us that this was Jessie MacDougall and her daughter Jessie Mary. Also present for the census were four visitors and a servant (house and table maid). In December 1921 the wedding reception of the only daughter of the minister of Largo Baptist Church, Rev. Pulford, took place at the hotel. The hotel was advertised for sale in both 1920 and in 1922 (but apparently never sold as Catherine Clayton was still listed as owner in 1925). 

By summer of 1923 the hotel was under new management with Hugh and Janet McLean taking over the reins. During their time in charge, the Scottish colourist George Leslie Hunter was a guest on more than one occasion. Hunter's choice of a Temperance hotel is significant as his friend, art dealer and biographer, Dr Tom J Honeyman was a big supporter of the Temperance Movement. It's fascinating to imagine such a well-known artist producing familiar artworks featuring local scenes from this base - his hotel room full of his art materials, rough sketches and works in progress. 

​The story of the Belmont came to an abrupt end in the early hours of Friday 22 January 1926, when the hotel was gutted by fire. Only Hugh and Janet McLean and their child were occupying the hotel at the time. The "magnitude of the blaze attracted many spectators" in what was a unique spectacle for Largo. Later the same day the report below appeared in the Dundee Evening Telegraph.
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The side by side maps below show the hotel in 1912 when still standing (left) and the equivalent site in the 1960s (right) when the empty outline of the shell of the building was still marked on maps. The hotel building outline with its sea-facing bay windows is in the centre of the map extracts (below the F.B. which marks the foot bridge over the railway line). Further below are images of some traces of the old hotel which remain on the foot path up to the car park at the old station. A modern private dwelling, aptly named Belmont House, now occupies the plot of the former hotel.
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This circa 1965 aerial photograph is a familiar scene albeit with much more open undeveloped space than today. In this blog we will zoom in on a few features of interest and highlight some of the changes over the past six decades. Below is a more detailed view of the viaduct and Largo station with the caravan park and Station Park housing development behind. The first phase of council housing here was 22 homes in the late 1930s. A later phase after the Second World War saw a further fifty houses added. At the time of the aerial photograph, the railway line was reaching the end of its active use but it was prior to the demolition of the station buildings. 

The disused Largo Toll House is also present in the image. In the detailed view below, the Toll House sits alone south of the war memorial cross road, close to a roundel of trees. It is those features that are remembered in the present day street names of Toll Court and The Roundel. The original Toll House was built in the 1840s and demolished in the late 1960s. More on this building to follow in the next post.

Among the other features of note below is the driveway up to Largo House, also known as rhododendron walk. and the garage/service station (the long roadside building on the far right) now known as Mercury Motors. 
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The final zoomed in area below is notable for the vast areas of undeveloped green space at the time. The field above the tree-lined burn is now filled by the houses of Keilburn, while the area below the trees is the site of Lundin Mill Primary School built 1973-74 to replace the Crescent Road school built in the late 1850s.

This space was once known as Puddock Mire - see extract from the 1750 Roy map. Puddock means toad or frog and Mire refers to boggy ground.  A swathe of green space remains today on either side of the Keil Burn. The steps up to Largo Road from the mill can just about be made out, just left of centre above the tree line. Finally, the line of trees in the top right quarter of the image below marks the track leading to the one-time local landfill site, which closed in the 1970s. 
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This aerial view was captured by Aerofilms and Aero Pictorial Ltd. This company was the result of the 1958 merger between Aerofilms Ltd (founded in 1919) and Aero Pictorial Ltd (founded 1934). The extensive archive of historical air photographs was bought by Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), English Heritage (EH), and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) in 2007. The subsequent Britain from Above project conserved 95,000 of the oldest and most valuable photographs in the collection, those dating from 1919 to 1953. Those images were scanned into digital format and made available on this website.

The above photograph of four generations features William Grieve, the eldest in the image, seated in the foreground (published in Fife Free Press on 14 August 1909). This Lower Largo man found fame as a maker of walking sticks and for his highly-detailed carved models made from parrot coal. His life story, which also included 45 years working for the railway, is well worth telling. Standing behind William in the photograph is his son David. On the far left is his grandson, also William Grieve, and in the centre is great-grandson James Norcross Grieve.

William senior was born in Ceres Parish in 1838, to ploughman David Grieve and his wife Janet Wilson. However, by the age of two, the census of 1841 records William and family at Greenside Bank, within Largo Parish. Greenside Bank was around midway between Montrave House and Teasses House. A decade later, the 1851 census finds the Grieve family at Redhouse within the farm of Chesterstone (shown in the centre of the 1866 map below). Twelve-year-old William was described then as an 'errand boy'.

Meanwhile, William's talent for carving parrot coal developed. Parrot coal (also known as 'cannel coal') is more compact that ordinary coal. The term 'parrot' coal apparently came from the noise it made when burned - like the clicking sound a parrot makes with its beak. This type of coal, which occurred in Fife among other places, was easy to work and could be highly polished. It was durable and had an attractive marble-like finish. Coal carving had long existed in many places but particularly flourished in Fife in the second half of the nineteenth century. 

Sometimes, large items such as pieces of furniture were made from the material. An example can be seen today at the Kirkcaldy Galleries - the parrot coal chair pictured above. This chair was made in 1855, by West Wemyss stonemason Thomas Williamson. It was part of a set of two chairs and a table made by Williamson for the Wemyss family. It features the Wemyss family motto 'Je Pense' and a swan, which features on the family crest. Below is a garden seat also made by Williamson which was commissioned by Prince Albert. It was exhibited at the Great Exhibition in 1851 and can still be seen at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. 

William Grieve's parrot coal creations were of a smaller-scale and more intricate form. The above from the 17 August 1876 Fife Herald describes his model of Sir Walter Scott's monument. This piece took two years to complete and it was hoped that it would find a place in a museum. That same summer, Mr Grieve exhibited his work at flower shows in both Largo and Kennoway. One model displayed was a pasteboard and floral design of the Coventry Cross but it was the Scott Monument parrot coal piece that won first prize.

By the end of 1876, the East of Fife Record (1 December above) reported that William intended "disposing of his numerous works of art by lottery". His "miniature productions in parrot coal of several of our most celebrated classic works of art" had become well-known by this time.  Other subjects depicted in coal by Grieve included busts of Sir William Wallace and Sir Walter Scott, a statue of Oliver Goldsmith and a representation of St George and the Dragon. Mention is also made of a wooden model of Scott Monument decorated with shells. I wonder who acquired these pieces and what became of them. ​Newspaper archives tells us that, three years later, in August 1879 when the Largo Museum opened, some examples of Grieve's parrot coal models were among the exhibits.

In the meantime, the railway (William's employer) had transferred from the Leven and East of Fife Railway Company to the North British Railway Company. The notice below, from 1 February 1877 Fife Herald, advertises a Special General Meeting of the shareholders to discuss the proposal. It was unanimously agreed to and the transfer took place on 1st August 1877.

​In 1881, William was described as a 'Railway wire fencer', his wife was a 'Railway gate keeper' and they had a nine-year-old daughter, named Agnes. Their son David was now a grocer in Kirkcaldy and had developed a keen interest in model yachting. David and his wife Jessie had three young children, including William junior. Ten years later, in 1891, William senior was described as a 'Railway surfaceman' and was living in Railway Cottage at the Temple with his wife, daughter and niece. 

​William's wife, Agnes, died in 1899 but he continued to live in Railway Cottage and to work for the North British Railway Company. In 1901 he was described as a 'Railway fencer' and was living with niece, who acted as housekeeper for him. In 1905 William was a 'gatekeeper' for the North British Railway Company. In the 1911 census, William Grieve was still living at Railway Cottage, aged 72, a widower and was described as a 'retired railway foreman fencer'. His niece continued as act as his housekeeper. William died on 27 May 1912 at Railway Cottage, Temple, Largo aged 73. ​I wonder what other subjects he carved from coal during his lifetime. Surely train engines must have been among his works? Or perhaps a depiction of Robinson Crusoe? Or some simple objects like the shoes featured below? If you know more about William or his carvings, please leave a comment.

Pictured above is Rollo Villa, an imposing three-storey house on the Temple at Lower Largo. This house dates to the early 1880s and is not dissimilar looking to its neighbour to the west, Serpentine Villa. As well as a sea view, Rollo Villa once enjoyed a great view of the railway line to the rear, with steam trains passing just feet away from the back door and garden. The photographs below, kindly shared by Ian Downie, show just how close the railway was to the back porch.

Ultimately James Clark's son, John Clark, a railway surfaceman, became the proprietor of the new villa built upon the site of the cottages. He named the new property Rollo Villa after his mother's maiden name. He and his wife Elizabeth Elder rented out the flatted property to summer visitors for many years. John Clark died at Rollo Villa in 1913 and the house passed on to his widowed daughter Mary Rollo Todd who had lived with him for some time and who had been married in Rollo Villa in 1890. Mary died in 1935 and the property passed on to her children Alexander and Elizabeth.

​Rollo Villa remained in the ownership of the same family until very recently. In the painting above, by John Blair, the rear of Rollo Villa can be seen within a grey and stormy scene. Below are some photographs outside Rollo Villa from the mid-1960s when the Downie family resided in the upper flat and Rollo Villa was owned by David Rollo (whose mini can be seen in one of the photos). One shows Mr Downie working on the retaining wall of the front garden across the road. In the photo of the four male Downie siblings, the neighbouring properties can be seen before the extensive renovation work which makes their appearance today very different.

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.

 
Largo is going to feature in some detail in one of the 3 additional episodes of Scotland’s Scenic Railways coming to Channel 4 over the coming weeks. Filmed last autumn, these shows are a mix of stories featured in the original 2019 The World’s Most Beautiful Railway series and new content filmed between lockdowns in 2020. The new material includes an item about the East of Fife railway, prompted by the reopening of the line to Leven.
 
Featuring some archive material from this blog and from blog readers, vintage film footage, history of the old line and interviews with people who remember when the railway served Largo, anyone with an interest in Largo will not want to miss this. The East of Fife item is in the episode that transmits on Sunday April 4th @ 8pm on Channel 4. You will also see preparations taking place at Leven for the reinstatement of a five and a half mile section of the line to Leven (Levenmouth Rail Scheme). Spread the word!

The above photograph has appeared in a previous blog post, entitled After the Line Closure. However, new information has just come to light about this particular journey which is well worth sharing. Intrigued by the 'headboard' on the front of the engine, which reads LCGB North West, Brian Malaws investigated the story behind this. He asked Peter Crossman, Hon General Secretary of the Locomotive Club of Great Britain, if he could provide any information. He duly responded with the following...

The club's monthly magazine, The Bulletin, records that on Tuesday, July 5th 1966, members of the North West Branch of the Locomotive Club of Great Britain travelled on the 09:05 Thornton Yard to Crail working. Apparently, great interest was shown in the headboard by the train crew and yard staff. The train consisted of class B1 4-6-0 no. 61133 hauling one wagon of coal and a brake van, in which the club members were accommodated. After arriving safely at Crail, the train returned to Anstruther, where the locomotive was turned on the still-operational turntable during a lunch stop on the return journey to Thornton.

The line had closed to passenger traffic in September 1965 so this was a rare opportunity to travel the line, which then closed to even goods traffic two weeks afterwards. Demolition of the station followed a few years later.

With thanks to Brian Malaws for sharing this snippet of information.

The above photograph is part of Historic Environment Scotland's Canmore collection but was originally part of a private collection. It's dated as circa 1890, which tallies with what we can see in the image. Firstly, the image was certainly captured after 1888, as the stone-built "W.C. for the benefit of sailors and fishers" can be seen on the right hand edge below the lamp.  Another clue to the date is the registration 'KY 478' on the sail of the fishing boat on the right. This vessel was sold to Messrs G.R. and W. Jamieson of Shetland in 1901 (see 18 May Shetland Times below) so the image was taken prior to that date.

In the background, under the right hand arch of the viaduct is the old wooden footbridge over the Keil Burn. Different versions of this footbridge existed up until 1914. The photographer has clearly waited for a train to pass over the viaduct before committing to the picture. The engine is a pleasingly old-looking one - reminiscent of a toy train to modern eyes. There a lot of people in the scene, including a group of men taking a rest on the right, a young girl heading for the end of the pier and several men (and possibly boys) congregating around one of the fishing boats. It's not too hard to imagine the smells and sounds that would have accompanied this sight. It's another image that I would love to be able to step right in to!

The above postcard, sent in August 1903, is significant to this blog, not so much for the image of Lucerne Railway Station, but for the recipient and the short message on the front. The postcard was sent to Master Joe Bennet, Mayfield, Lundin Links. Mayfield (along with Eastfield) is a striking double villa on Leven Road and was written about here recently. The houses were built for John Bennet. Joe was his young son, aged around eight at the time he received this message. Although the family lived in Edinburgh most of the time, they were clearly spending summer at their Lundin Links house at this time. Although it is unclear who sent the card, it was clearly someone who know Joe and Lundin Links well. Here is the message:

Wouldn't Mr Robertson take a fit if he had a station like this to look after at Lundin Links!

This refers to Robert Robertson, the station master at Lundin Links railway station. Lucerne station was of course a grand city station - a stark contrast to the small station at Lundin Links, which in 1903 was still a single building, short platformed affair, largely unchanged since the 1850s (as seen below in a circa 1900 image). Robert was born in Kilconquhar in 1860 - the early days of the railway in the East of Fife. By the time of the 1891 census, he was married with one daughter and working as a signalman at Kingsbarns Station. A couple of years later, he moved to Lundin Links and, by the 1901 census, he was living in the station master's house with his wife, mother-in-law and three children (Magdeline, Janet and David).

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Two years after the humorous postcard message was sent, Mr Robertson's station was given a major upgrade. Perhaps not quite elevating it to Lucerne standards but nevertheless quite a step up for a village station. The report below from the 23 November 1905 Leven Advertiser describes the extent of the changes. The "new group of buildings" included a booking office, a general waiting room and a ladies waiting room. The platform was greatly lengthened. Mr Robertson and his family were given an "improved dwelling house" within the old station building.
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The photograph above shows the expanded station where Mr Robertson would remain station master for the rest of his days. Sadly, the First World War saw the Robertsons lose their only son David at the age of 22. The extract below from the 28 October 1916 Fife Free Press tells of how he was a bright young man with a promising future. As the 28 June 1923 Leven Advertiser further below suggests, Robert never fully recovered from the loss of his son and his health gradually declined until his death in 1923. During his thirty years at Lundin Links Station he was "always to be found at the post of duty" providing "entire satisfaction to the thousands who travelled to Lundin Links". He was a man who didn't need the lure of a huge city station like Lucerne!
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Many will remember with great fondness the cine films made by Ernest Mackie back in the 1960s. Featuring subject matter such as the railway and the local posties. Often humorous - these films were publicly screened from time to time at venues such as the Simpson Institute and the Old Baptist Meeting Hall. Some locals were fortunate enough to have copies of the original films put onto DVD and one of them has suggested sharing the films more widely via this site, so that local people can relive the memories, perhaps see themselves (or people they know) in the films and appreciate once again the talent of Ernest Mackie. 

Ernest was truly ahead of his time in terms of the skill and quality of his film-making. When you watch these short films, please do take time to remember that these were made with 1960s technology. A huge amount of care and thought went into the filming, editing, captioning, music, etc. The first film (which you can link to from here) is entitled 'Sentimental Journey' and it captures perfectly the sadness at the loss of the East of Fife railway line and its stations. It features a very moving poem and shows a mix of clips from both before and after the line's closure. A few stills from the film are shown below.

Sadly, Ernest Mackie passed away on 23 August 2019 at the age of 88.