Early picture postcards of the Largo area, such as the one above, featured what is known as an "undivided back". This was where the entire back of the postcard was dedicated to the recipient's address. In fact there was a clear printed instruction "the address only to be written on this side". Should the sender wish to add a note, this would have to be squeezed into whatever space might be available on the front. The picture dominated the front of the postcard but sometimes a border or dedicated area was left empty for a brief message to be added. 

The example above was posted in July 1901 and generously left half of the front available for a message. Note that the sender was staying at the Belmont Hotel. The example below was sent in October 1900 and was a postcard published for Malcolm's Stationery Salon, Leven. It was also generous with the space left for a message - unlike the one further below where only a lower margin was available and the sender chose not to include a message at all. In the case where no message was added it was presumably sufficient to show the recipient where the sender had visited and provide an idea of how the place looked.

When divided back postcards became the norm, the old stock of undivided back postcards could be modified. Such an alteration can be seen in the example below. The sender has carefully added a pen-drawn line down the reverse side, before writing a message on the left hand side. In this case, the space on the front below the image was also used. The images on picture postcards soon filled the entire space on the front side and messages became confined to reverse side. The only exception perhaps being the popular 'X' added to mark the spot where the sender was residing.
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​The Photographic View Album of Lundin Links and District, pictured above, dates to around 1902. The 8 x 11 inch album contains twenty images captured by G.W. Wilson & Company Limited, photographic publishers, of Aberdeen. George Washington Wilson (1823-1893) was an artist turned photographer and his company captured images from all over Britain, as well as overseas, during the second half of the nineteenth century. After Wilson's death in 1893, his sons continued the firm, until it ceased trading in 1908. The album pictured was commissioned by postmistress Margaret Bremner. An order for the albums would have been placed with the company's travelling salesman. Many of the buildings featured in the Lundin Links album had been very recently completed, including the villas along Leven Road, the Lundin Links Hotel and the Post Office itself. 
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The above advert printed at the back of the album mentions the various services offered at the Post and Telegraph Office, including groceries and list of houses for let. The advert also notes that there were "a select variety of mounted views of places of interest on hand". There is no mention at this point of the picture postcards that would become extremely popular from 1902 onwards. Many of the images from the photographic view album went on to appear on G.W.W. trademarked postcards which Margaret Bremner sold from her Post Office to summer visitors.
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The red cover design with the gold floral embellishment on the album's hard-backed cover was a stock design, which can also be seen in examples of albums showcasing other vicinities - such as the one below containing views of Shetland. A great many localities had albums created by G.W.W. and by other photographic publishers, such as Valentine's of Dundee. Further examples are shown further below.

An early photographic view album was one of Kirkcaldy and District, published in 1896 by Valentine's of Dundee. It contained sixteen views of recent photographs and was advertised below in the 25 July 1896 Fife Free Press. There was also a 'Photographic View Album of Largo and District' - a variation of the Lundin Links one, published by John Welsh Postmaster at Lower Largo. If you have seen that one or have a copy, please do leave a comment.
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The previous two blog posts have explored the origins of the former grocer shop at the foot of Hillhead Street (seen on the far left of the image above) and the somewhat turbulent turn of the century period for the shop. The next chapter in its history picks up from the departure of Matthew Barrie to Melrose and the arrival of Lawrence Smith from Carron Bridge, Falkirk. Born in 1881, Lawrence Smith was the eldest son of pattern maker Lawrence Smith senior, and was grocer's assistant at the time of the 1901 census. Five years later he married Alice Lawson and the couple relocated to Fife. The notice below from the 1 November 1906 Leven Advertiser notes the grant of a license for Smith for the Lundin Mill grocer premises. ​

The next year Lawrence and Alice's eldest daughter Jessie Watson Smith was born in Lundin Mill. The 1911 census records Lawrence, Alice and a 3-year-old Jessie in the household. Later that year another daughter, Jean, was born. The photograph below shows Jean (left) and Jessie (right) a couple of years later.
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​The image above shows Jessie outside the entrance to the grocer shop, seated in the carriage of the delivery horse. The same image is below, superimposed on the shop building in more recent times. Nowadays the street is filled with parked cars.

Lawrence Smith can be seen in the photograph above at the rear of the shop with his prize-winning dog and a trophy. He frequently entered dog competitions and was well-known in these sporting circles. Of course, 1914 saw the outbreak of the First World War and in September of that year, Lawrence joined up at Leven. Joining the 9th Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders, he left for the front in April 1915. Lawrence is pictured below in his uniform. 

In his absence, the grocer shop was supported by the wider family, including Lawrence's wife Alice, his widowed mother Jean and his younger brother William M. Smith. The extract from the 7 September 1916 Leven Advertiser tells us that two years later, William became the third Smith brother to join the army. According to the valuation roll, the official proprietor of the grocer shop at this time was their mother Jean Smith. 
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Meanwhile, Lawrence had a short spell at home on leave in October 1917. Sadly, only two months later he was killed by an enemy shell on 13 December 1917, aged 36 years. In the 27 December 1917 Leven Advertiser below, Lawrence was described as "an excellent leader of men, and devoid of fear, who had won the hearts of all the men in his platoon" and "a man of outstanding qualities, calm and unperturbable, and always brave and cheerful".  Touchingly the letter received by his widow stated that "you have lost a husband of whom you should be proud and your daughters can always refer to their father in future years as a gallant and efficient soldier". Sergeant Smith was buried with full military hours in a British cemetery. 
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Sergeant Lawrence Smith is one of the 51 men who fell in the First World War named on Largo War Memorial. The detail on the memorial shown below includes his name in the middle of the list on one of the panels.

After the war, the shop continued for a time. The 1920 valuation roll for Largo Parish still lists the property as a shop, with Jean Smith as the proprietor. However, by 1925 the former shop was described as an 'office'. It had become the office of Largo Parish Council (see above) and remained as such for many years, even after the death of Jean Smith in 1934. In October 1925 a "daring fraud" took place in the office when David Smail pretended to have obtained work as a miner. He was given £2 by the Inspector of the Poor to purchase a pick and shovel and to tide his family over until the work began. However, the job did not materialise and he used the money himself, leaving "his wife and children destitute" according to the 22 December 1925 Leven Advertiser below.
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When the use of the office ceased around 1950, the building became fully residential. Today the casual passer-by would hardly believe that this building was once a busy village amenity with an intriguing history. If you have any images or information about the days of this grocer shop, please do get in touch. 
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Decades after the grocer shop ceased to trade, the name 'Smith' could still be made out above the door. Very faint wording was also visible on the gable end. In the image above it appears that the words Licensed Grocer were part of the painted signage high on the gable wall.

The previous post looked at the early years of the former grocer shop at the foot of Hillhead Street, pictured above. The first owner, for whom the premises were built in 1880, was Thomas Forgan. He sold the business in 1891 to grocer Thomas Blyth, who continued the business into the period when the old village of Lundin Mill was expanding into the fashionable Lundin Links, frequented by city dwellers seeking sea air and golf. Against that backdrop of change, the story of the grocer shop became more complicated for a time.

The report below from the 1 July 1897 Leven Advertiser encapsulates what was happening to the village at the time. The long-standing vision to develop Lundin Links, which dated back to the arrival of the railway in 1857, was finally being realised. New villas were being erected and the beginnings of new facilities to support them were in evidence. In contrast to the weavers cottages of Lundin Mill, these homes had "an air of wealth and refinement" and featured "the latest improvements and conveniences". The enterprise was attracting "ready purchasers and inhabitants".

Booth's name appeared above the grocer shop door and, in fact, close inspection of the shop lintel in recent years reveals the ghostly outline of the name A Booth and the word Licensed in small letters underneath (see photographs below).

Barrie appealed the license refusal, and the following month, the shop's license was returned. The 4 May 1900 East of Fife Record reported that the premises had been licensed for along time, that Barrie was unconnected to the previous owner and tenant, and that nearly 200 persons had signed a petition in favour of the license. The affairs of the grocer shop were finally back on an even keel.
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Matthew Barrie had moved to Lundin Links with his wife Maggie and two infant children, William and Dolina. Another daughter, Phyllis, was born there in 1902. After the early hiccup with the license, Barrie ran a successful business. As the adverts above and below show, he positioned himself as a wine and provision merchant and 'Italian Warehouseman' (a fashionable term used at the time for high-class grocery provision). Whisky was given special mention in his adverts.
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Matthew Barrie moved on in 1905, heading back south to Melrose, where he and son William had a grocer shop on the High Street for many years. William Barrie served in the First World War, operating one of the first tanks to see action in 1916 at the Battle of the Somme, following special secret training. He was wounded several times during his service but eventually returned to Melrose and took over his father's grocery business. Below is a view of the Hillhead Street shop from the rear from around the time of the Barrie family. The red arrow on the left points to the shop sign on the gable end, while the other arrow indicates its proximity to the Crusoe Hall (or Temperance Hall), which was a well-used facility at the time.  In the next post, a final part in the story of the shop.

The former grocer shop at the foot of Hillhead Street was situated in what was once the heart of old Lundin Mill - equidistant from Largo Road to the north and Emsdorf Street to the south. It was constructed in 1880 for weaver-turned-grocer Thomas Forgan. Born in Largo in 1821, Forgan found employment as a hand loom weaver, like many in the village at the time. By 1861 Thomas had became a linen weaving agent - someone through whom weaving work came into the area. He must have been successful in the role, as by the 1871 census, Thomas was recorded as "employing 30 men and 20 women" in the linen trade.

However, times were changing and the old hand loom weaving industry was on the wane. Power looms were increasingly being used in larger towns like Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline. The hand looms that were once found in most village homes (including many on Hillhead Street) were dwindling. The 17 September 1874 Fife Herald speaks of a brisk level of business for the remaining weavers in Lundin Mill, yet at low wages.  It states: "Supplied by webs here as we are through agents, work at the hand-loom trade is rife, but weavers have dwindled down in numbers greatly of late, and the "sough o' the shuttle" is now rarely heard. Wide sheetings are being woven by old hands, but wages are low." 

​On 23 February 1877, the Courier stated that "handloom weaving is at present less active here than it was some time ago, and some kinds of webs are scarce, while wages are miserably low." This shift in the linen trade explains why Thomas Forgan was driven to reinvent himself as a grocer. 
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The extract from 1878 Slater's Directory above shows that Thomas Forgan was a grocer prior to the construction of the 1880 shop. It also tells us that there were two other grocers in Lundin Mill at the time - Margaret Bremner (who would go on to run Lundin Links Post Office) and John Kennock. Forgan presumably out-grew his original premises and was in a position to build a new purpose-built shop, incorporating living quarters. The short note below from the 29 May 1880 Fife News announced the construction of "a very handsome building" which would "adorn the village". 

​Successor to the business, Thomas Wilkie Blyth, was born in Perthshire in 1865 and was an apprentice grocer by age 16 in Kettle, Fife. In 1889, he married Mary Taylor Lindsay and the 1891 census finds him working as a grocer in Auchtermuchty. Later that year they moved to Lundin Mill to take over Forgan's enterprise. During the Blyths years in Lundin Mill they raised their young family -  daughters, Agnes (born 1892) and Marjory (1896) and a son named Thomas, who sadly died of scarletina in 1893. 

Upper Largo's former bank was designed by the architect Archibald Scott. His plans for the building were first approved by the National Bank of Scotland in 1848, although their Largo branch did not open until some years later. The 1854 map of the village still shows the previous buildings on the site, which were loom shops associated with the once-thriving hand loom weaving industry.

Archibald Scott was born in 1796 in Dunbar, East Lothian. His architect practice was based at Teviot Row in Edinburgh. He became principal architect to the National Bank, and worked on many of their premises between approximately 1848 and 1860, including banks at Hawick, Castle Douglas, Grantown-on-Spey, Whithorn, Bathgate, Lochmaben and Dalkeith. Scott also designed the National Bank building at Elie, which was linked to the Largo branch and to which it bears some resemblance. The Largo and Elie banks are shown side-by-side below. Note their similar stonework and windows and the shared features such as carved stone shields towards to top of their gables and distinctive skew putts at the gable corners.
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The National Bank of Scotland was founded in 1825. Based in Edinburgh, it had national-level ambitions from the beginning. By 1850 it had 40 branches, growing to eventually to 137 branches. At its height it was second in size only to the Bank of Scotland. In 1959 a merger saw it become National Commercial Bank of Scotland and a decade later it was absorbed into the Royal Bank of Scotland. The bank's archives suggest that the Largo bank building cost £748.10 but that a later payment of £56 was made to Scott in connection with the building in 1860 (likely relating to alterations once operational). 
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The above notice appeared in the 12 March 1857 Fife Herald announcing that Alexander Robertson had been appointed as Bank Agent at Largo. This appears to mark the official beginning of the bank operation, as it is from that year that regular references to the Largo Bank can be found in the local newspapers. 1857 was also the year that William Robinson Ketchen came to Elie from Edinburgh to take charge of the National Bank there. Ketchen (pictured below from the Fife Illustrated News Almanac of 1902), along with other members of his family, would go on to feature prominently in the history of the Largo branch.

By 1858, William Ketchen's younger brother Thomas had become agent at Largo, effectively acting as assistant to William who had oversight of both branches. Thomas Ketchen remained in the role of agent at Largo for decades and is recorded as living in the bank house in four consecutive census records. In 1861 he was at the bank house along with his parents William and Harriet, as well as a servant. A decade later he was recorded with just his widower father and a servant. In 1881 it was only Thomas and a servant in residence but by the 1891 census Thomas had his retired brother Alexander and the latter's wife, living with him, plus a servant. 
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The extracts above from the 1866 Westwood's Directory show that there was also a Savings' Bank and Insurance Agency run by Thomas Ketchen. Below is a list of the various National Bank branch agents in the wider local area in 1858. Of course the agent was supported by a small team of bank clerks. In 1881, two teenage sons of Reverend David Malloch (John and David) were bank clerks at Largo. In 1884, Lundin Links born John Bremner came to work at the Largo branch. He was the younger brother of local postmistress Margaret Bremner and he would go on to manage the National Bank of Scotland at St Enoch Square in Glasgow for 25 years. In fact John Malloch went on to marry Ann Bremner (elder sister of John Bremner, his co-worker at the bank).
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In 1893, Henry Martin Ketchen, son of William Robinson Ketchen became joint-agent at Largo with his father. His uncles, Thomas and Alexander Ketchen, both died in 1894. Henry undertook legal work in the Largo area and was the Secretary of the Largo Granary Company. In 1897, W. R. Ketchen, now retired moved to Largo, where he took a great interest in public life and was elected to Largo County Council. He later moved back to Elie, where he died in 1901.

It was around that time that Ketchen's former apprentice, John More Dall, took over at Largo, remaining there until his retiral in 1930. The National Bank expanded its network of branches in the aftermath of the First World War and in 1921 the directors decided to open a branch at Lundin Links, as a sub-branch of Largo and to protect its business in the locality in the face of competition from the Commercial Bank of Scotland and the British Linen Bank. The sub-branch thrived and made a significant contribution to the profits of the Largo parent bank. During the 1930s there were three banks within the row of businesses on Leven Road, Lundin Links.

In 1930, Guy McConnell succeeded John More Dall, having moved to Largo from the chief office in Glasgow. He had previously worked in branches in Leven and Kirkcaldy. Like earlier bank agents, McConnell had a number of other roles within the community including auditor for the Largo Silver Band (see notice below from 7 Feb 1939 Leven Advertiser) and treasurer of the Largo and Newburn Nursing Association. He remained as Largo agent into the 1940s.

The Second World War had a huge impact on the National Bank of Scotland as a whole, and on the Largo branch in particular. Three members of staff from the Largo branch joined the war effort, one of whom was killed in action. Rival banks ended up closing their branches in Lundin Links, enabling the National Bank to take over the prominent corner site on Leven Road at Crescent Road. At the end of the war this branch was elevated to full branch status (and eventually would subsume the Upper Largo bank).
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​By 1950, Guy McConnell had left the Largo bank was living in Anstruther.  James M Johnston became agent at Largo but by now there had been a shift in the dynamics between Upper Largo and Lundin Links. The notice above appeared in the Leven Mail each week in May 1958, highlighting the imminent closure of the original branch. Its last day open was 31 May 1958, bringing a century of banking on the Upper Largo site to an end. The branch's business was transferred to the Lundin Links branch on Leven Road, pictured below. The bank building in Upper Largo became a private residence.
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The previous post introduced Andrew S. Cunningham, journalist and writer. His publication covering the Parishes of Largo and Newburn, is entitled Upper Largo, Lower Largo, Lundin Links and Newburn. As the preface below explains, the inspiration for the book was the Robinson Crusoe statue on Lower Largo's Main Street. In Andrew's own words:

"Gazing one day on the statue of Robinson Crusoe in the main street of Lower Largo, a thought struck me that I might write the "True Story" of Defoe's hero. When I had completed my short story, a suggestion came to the effect that I might compile a book bearing on the whole Parish of Largo, and the Parish adjoining, Newburn. I have acted on the suggestion."

Also in the preface (written in March 1907 in Leven) Andrew thanks a number of people. Firstly, Sir John and Lady Gilmour, the proprietors of the Lundin Estate, to whom the book is dedicated. They provided information and illustrations, including photographs taken by Lady Gilmour and the artwork below of Largo Pier by Dr Charles Blatherwick (which depicts the scene without the railway viaduct). Thanks are also made to local photographers John Patrick, Andrew Hogg and Peter Cowie (the latter two also being local chemists). Robert Paxton is also acknowledged for his contribution of photographs. Finally, the Misses Sawyer of Belmont Hotel are mentioned (more to follow on them in a future blog).
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The contents of the book and many and varied, covering local people, places and practices. For the time, it is richly illustrated. One of the most intriguing photographs is the one below of Largo Harbour from Drummochy. The large vessel is a two masted, square rigged brigantine. The image probably dates to the winter of 1901-02, after the alterations to the Crusoe Hotel during which the dormer windows were added, but before the hotel was given a fresh coat of paint. 

The book also features many interesting adverts for local businesses across the Largo villages and Leven, such as those above. Of course, an advert for Purves and Cunningham and the Leven Advertiser and Wemyss Gazette also featured. This advert, below, highlights that the newspaper publishes a list of summer visitors during the months of June, July and August. Mention is also made of the fact that the paper often includes historical notes, reflecting Andrew's personal interest.
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I wonder how many of the businesses and societies across Lower Largo, Lundin Links and Upper Largo made use of Purves and Cunningham's 'Jobbing Department' for their printing needs (letter heads, posters, tickets, etc) or which products they stocked for their customers (cards, invitations, boxes). No doubt shop keepers, hoteliers, golf clubs, society officials, etc. all knew Andrew Cunningham back in the early 1900s.

When the postmark above was stamped on a letter in 1875, there had already been a post office at Kirkton of Largo for more than half a century. Known simply as 'Largo Post Office' and opened in 1824, it was the only one in the parish. However, at the time that this envelope was stamped there was an active campaign to establish a second post office, at Lower Largo. The folks of the lower village had long been dissatisfied with the postal arrangements, as the piece below from the 16 December 1869 Fifeshire Journal tells us.

The 16 February 1884 Fife News item above announced that Alexander Welsh would run the Post Office Savings' Bank and Money Order Office for Lower Largo. Fifty-six-year-old Welsh was a local draper and from 1884 combined his general draper business with running the post office in the new premises, which was rented from Benjamin Philp. The article below from 13 March 1884 Fifeshire Journal reports the opening of the post office on 10 March, highlighting that there were a few initial issues. A lack of evening deliveries and separate mailbags were among the complaints. There was also a feeling among the folks of Upper Largo and Newburn that post master John Marr at Kirkton had been unjustly treated by the opening of a second post office in the parish.
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Arrangements must have settled down eventually and Alexander Welsh remained as post master (and draper) until his death in August 1892. Benjamin Philp died later the same month. Lower Largo post office continued under John Welsh, son of Alexander. John retired in 1934, passing on the role of post master to his son Laurence Welsh, who continued for many years thereafter as a third generation post master. The post offices of Upper Largo and Lower Largo were later joined by post offices at New Gilston in 1894 and Lundin Links in 1896. Now none of the four remain.

Last week was exactly one decade since this blog started and the anniversary post looked back at ten blog posts on local people. This week we revisit ten images which offer a real window into the past. The first image below is a circa 1900 photograph by William Easton of St Monans which features Bridge House on Largo Road and the back of the former Keilside Bakery - read more here.
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Image number two is Crescent Road, Lundin Links, in the late 1890s before the houses on the south side of the street were built. The ground was used at that time for golf. However, this was gentle golf of the type considered more suitable for women and children. The players look very smart in their fine clothes and hats. This image was captured by photographer James Gay of Elie.

Next is a superbly detailed view of Turbayne's shop at the corner of Hillhead Street and Emsdorf Crescent. Read this blog post on the history of the shop and some of the products that were sold there.
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​The fourth image features a group of people rather than a scene. These are the five founders of Largo Field Naturalists' Society - an influential and very active group, instituted in 1863. This photograph, taken by St Andrews photographer Thomas Rodger, dates to circa 1870 and is now part of the St Andrews University Library special collection.

Do you recognise the house in Lower Largo below? Then known as number 1 Seaview, this house played host to summer visitors in the early 1900s but looks quite different today. See this house in context here.  

Another close up view of a bygone shop - Andrew Somerville's grocer shop on Leven Road, Lundin Links. Purpose built in 1900 for Andrew's father John Somerville the Leven grocer, this shop still retains many original features today.

The view below looking towards Largo Bay provides a different perspective on Upper Largo - from the Birsays. The cemetery is prominent in the centre but look beyond and buildings such as Wood's Hospital can also be made out.

The circa 1910 photograph shows a typical delivery to Jimmie Brown's Fruit Shop at the west end of Emsdorf Street. To find out who all the people are in this shot - read here.

One of the oldest photos around of Largo is the one below by John Patrick, dated 1872. By then Patrick had moved from Leven to Kirkcaldy but had yet to move on to Edinburgh. Perhaps if he had remained in Leven, we would be able to enjoy more images of Largo from this era.
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​The final of the ten images is from more recent times and shows multiple generations "enjoying" Largo Pier . While their faces don't exactly reflect that summer holiday vibe, the image is full of character.

Over the past ten years there has been no shortage of vintage images of Largo to discover and share. Undoubtedly, there are many more out there to be discovered. If you have a local view from the past that you think others would enjoy seeing, please get in touch.
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Above is a partial photograph of the frontage of Mackie's Glasgow chemist shop (image from Glasgow City Council's Virtual Mitchell). Note the elaborate window display of branded and mass produced goods, which increasingly became a part of the offering of chemist shops during his years in the business. However, Mackie would also have been using old-fashioned dispensary tools and pill-making machines - such as those shown below.

James Bowie, Mackie's predecessor, had been local chemist throughout the 1920s and early 1930s.  On 25 May 1935, the Fife Free Press reported that "Mr Bowie, who has carried on a chemist's business at Upper Largo for a great many years, is leaving the district.  The premises will be opened soon under new management."  Prior to James Bowie there had been a chemist named Peter Cowie in Upper Largo, who had died in 1917 at the age of 46. Mackie sold more besides typical chemist products - the advert below highlights that cigarettes and tobacco were available, along books and stationery.

After six years in Upper Largo, George Mackie died, aged 77, in 1941. Outside of his profession, he had been "an authority on music, having one of the finest collections of high-class musical recordings in the District", according to the Kirkintilloch Herald, which reported his death on 14 May 1941.  It also noted that Mackie made musical instruments as a hobby and "for some time conducted the Players' Club Orchestra with great success".  He was also an elder at Largo St David's Church. The Upper Largo Pharmacy continued to operate under his name for many years and it was only in 1975 that the business was wound up. Betty Mackie, who continued the chemist shop, died in 1983. The shop at 14 Main Street, Upper Largo, became a hairdresser, see below, before being converted into a dwelling.