Category: Shops

1995 Guide and the Selkirk Room Exhibition

14/8/2026

The previous post covered the promotion of Largo to visitors in the 1980s, when the focus was on maritime heritage of the wider East Neuk of Fife. A decade later, the style of local visitor guides had evolved but the Largo villages were still set in the context of the East Neuk its heritage. By 1995 the emphasis on Alexander Selkirk had strengthened with a new Robinson Crusoe exhibition within the Crusoe Hotel.

As the page below from the guide explains, hotel proprietor Bob Jurgensen had felt that Selkirk was not celebrated sufficiently. He set about creating a tourist information point and exhibition to tell The Selkirk Story (as a sail shaped sign outside the hotel proclaimed) inside the recently-completed hotel extension.

With input from Fife Enterprise and MKW Design Partnership, six interpretation panels were created relating to the life of Selkirk. The panels were illustrated with images of the island, his sea chest and cup, a ship, Daniel Defoe and William Dampier, who rescued Selkirk on 2 February 1709. The room as a whole was intended to have "the atmosphere of the galley in which he sailed", even including a hatch where "you may view his desert island".

The Selkirk Room exhibition remained within the Crusoe Hotel for nearly three decades before the latest renovations which began in 2021. The space is now a private dining room. Below is a selection of adverts for local businesses from the 1995 visitor guide. Interestingly, the advert for the Crusoe Hotel highlights that the venue had recently appeared on TV's Wish You Were Here! There is also a programme of events for the Largo Festival '95. Attractions included art exhibitions, a plant sale, treasure hunts, barbecue, quizzes, music, vintage cars and a variety of sports events.

Did you know that this year marks 350 years since the birth of Alexander Selkirk? To join in the celebrations, please see here for details of events taking place locally later this month.

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Marketing the East Neuk

7/8/2026

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The previous post looked at Largo's place within the East Neuk and how this was reinforced in the 1980s and 1990s when tourism-related marketing of the East Neuk embraced Lundin Links, Lower Largo and Upper Largo. The front and back pamphlet covers shown above date from 1988. This was was one in a series of leaflets promoting each of the main destinations along the coast. Each had specific local scenes and attractions depicted on the front cover but the same East Neuk advert on the back cover - offering an invitation to "discover the unique living history of this lovely part of the ancient Kingdom of Fife". Largo's front cover included the Robinson Crusoe statue, Largo Law, a golfer and the Crusoe Hotel.

Behind the marketing push sat a training initiative aimed at tourism related businesses. Under this East Neuk Maritime Project Training Initiative there was assistance at hand to develop skills around customer care, marketing, book-keeping and more.

The content of the leaflets above included a bit of local history, suggested walking routes, photographs of the area, a list of facilities, street maps and notably many advertisements for local businesses. Many of the businesses across the Largo villages advertised in the area's 1988 local guide. Most are now gone. A selection are shown below, which I hope will bring back some memories.

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Snapshot of the Development of Lundin Links

13/2/2026

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The above annotated photograph of the golf links looking east towards Lundin Links was taken by Adam Diston, a Leven-based photographer. The picture was included in the publication British Golf Links: A Short Account of the Leading Golf Links of the United Kingdom by Horace Hutchinson published in 1897. The snapshot must have been captured around 1895/96, as Westhall is visible but is standing alone. This was the first villa built on the "new feus" at the time. The 8 December 1894 St Andrews Citizen reported the construction of this house as "a handsome villa, built for Mr Masterton, Largo, at Lundin Links, is approaching completion. This is the first house erected on the new feus." It was followed within months by the house and shop built on Golf Road for golf club maker David Patrick.

Looking a little more closely, above, at the buildings in the scene, you can see Lundin Links railway station on the far left, then Haworth in the centre perched prominently on higher ground framed by the right slope of Largo Law. To the right of that, it is possible to make out the newly completed houses in front of the dark trees of Fir Park. These are The Chestnuts, Rowan Cottage and Beechwood. Note that none of the houses on Leven Road east of Woodielea Road have yet been constructed. They would follow in 1898. On the extreme right of the above cropped image is the partially-completed row of shops, which included Miss Bremner's Post Office (and her home Parkside above it), George W. Douglas the Butcher (with his home Whitelea above) and Andrew Somerville, Grocer.

Continuing along the line of buildings, to the right of the shops is the house then named Braemar (later named Dundarroch) which was built for George Clark, stonemason. This feu was on a corner plot behind the row of shops, in the area marked '2' on the map below. Further right is the semi-detached pair of Fir Park and Braddan and then Elphinstone (all seen in the image at the foot of this post).

We can then see Melville Cottage (now Old Calabar) before Westhall in the foreground (located at '3' on the map below) which obscures school and schoolhouse. To the right of Westhall is Bayview Cottage (now Oldfield), Murree Lodge (now Glenairlie) before an extension was added to it, followed by Bourtree Brae and Sea Cliff and West Cliff. Note the absence at this early stage in the growth of Lundin Links of Lindisfarne or St Margaret's, Mount Vernon, Aird Bank and St Catherine's. There is a suggestion of some building activity in the photograph, however, indicating that these dwellings would soon become part of this scene. The map below also marks the approximate spot at '1' from which Adam Diston took this photograph. If anyone has seen a clearer version of this image, or has other photographs from this era - please leave a comment.

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Third Generation of Patrick Family Golf Club Makers

6/2/2026

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Recent blog posts have covered the pioneering Leven golf club maker John Patrick (1820-1866), and two of his sons - Alex Patrick (1845-1932) and David Patrick (1858-1948). To continue the family story into a third generation, this post will begin with John Patrick (1851-1916) and his sons who continued in the business and took the family expertise overseas.

John Malcolm Patrick was born in Leven in 1851, six years after elder brother Alex and seven years before younger brother David. John was a teenager when his father John, a pioneering maker of golf clubs, died of cholera in 1866. The 1871 census records John in Govan, Glasgow, working as a blacksmith. On 27 December 1872 John married Margaret Steedman in Colinton, Edinburgh. On the marriage record, John's usual address was given as Campbeltown, Argyll and his occupation was practical engineer. The couple's first son, John, was born in Campbeltown on 20 January 1875, where John was employed as an 'engine fitter'.

However, by 1876, the family were back in Leven where John switched his occupation to golf club making like his older brother Alex. In the 1881 census, John, Margaret and family were recorded as living at Parkhill Place in Leven. Between 1876 and 1883 six further children were born to the pair in Leven. Then around 1884 the family moved to Dunbar in East Lothian, then known as Haddingtonshire.

The advert above from the 5 December 1894 Haddingtonshire Advertiser, shows that John was a golf club and ball maker in Dunbar. However, that phase of his life was short-lived, as the 1891 census finds John and Margaret back in Leven, residing at North Street, with seven children in the household. John was recorded as a golf club maker and his eldest son, John, was an apprentice golf club maker, aged 16. The latter became the third generation golf club maker with the name John Patrick in Leven. His younger brother, Alexander, born in 1878, also followed the golf club making path.

As young John and Alex moved into golf club making, their father returned to his roots as a blacksmith for a time. The 1901 census finds him in that occupation living in Edinburgh, with wife Margaret and three of their daughters, Mabel, Agnes and Margaret. By then the young John and Alex had emigrated to USA and settled in New York (from around 1895). A passenger list below shows them travelling together from Glasgow to New York in 1896, although this may not have been their first voyage.

In the USA, young John was employed as instructor and golf club maker at the Tuxedo Club in New York, presumably assisted by younger brother Alex. The demand for quality golf clubs was huge as the sport boomed over there. After a few years at the Tuxedo Club, the brothers became trailblazers in the brand new trend of indoor golf tuition.

The history of indoor golf appears to date back to 1896, when Willie Dunn began an golf school on New York's 42nd Street. Dunn's enterprise was replicated by the Patrick brothers, who had their indoor golf school on 58th Street, By the turn of the century many major cities had several indoor golf schools, which were particularly popular in winter. Indoor golf venues provided greens made of carpet and high nets to catch the specially adapted balls. Practising of swings and putting were well suited to the format.

On 26 January 1899, the Leven Advertiser carried an interesting news story from New York City. The piece begins "We have been favoured by a correspondent in New York with a cutting from a paper published in that city, which will be of much interest to local golfers and Leven folks in general". That cutting discusses how there is no longer any need for the golf enthusiast from New York to venture out of the city to play golf. Now there was a place where one could learn "how to shoot the wily ball through space with an accompaniment of most "burr-y" Scotch". Down a narrow alley was a building with a sign displaying the Patrick name and a pendant reading "Golf School".

The article concludes by describing the workshop at the back of the golf school, where clubs and balls were made, and with mention of the brothers' "old golfing family". It is remarkable to think that young brothers from Leven with strong Scots accents were teaching New Yorkers how to play golf a century and a quarter ago. Both John and Alex married in the USA but both subsequently relocated to Scotland - returning home by 1906. Alex offered golf instruction for a time in Leven - see advert below from 5 July 1906 Leven Advertiser.

The 1911 census records John living in Edinburgh with his parents, John and Margaret and two of his sisters. Both father and son are described as golf club makers. Meanwhile younger brother Alex is also in Edinburgh where he has set up a business making and selling golf clubs at 122 Rose Street.

The advert above appeared in the 1 July 1910 Edinburgh Evening News and the article below featured in the same publication the following day, 2 July 1910. The piece includes illustrations of Alex Patrick's "improved golf club", with its "greater hitting surface". In 1911, the census lists 32-year-old Alex golf club maker living in William Street, with wife Martha and two daughters, Margaret and Alexandra. Alex died in 1920 at Links Cottage Corstorphine Edinburgh. His elder brother John registered his death. Their father John had died in 1916.

John Patrick (the third generation golf club maker of that name born in Leven) lived until 1955. The latest census information currently available, shows him living with his widowed mother at Gardener's Crescent in Edinburgh. At that time, aged 46, he was still described as a golf club maker but was in the employment of J.P. Cochrane Company Limited. This was a company established in 1896 by James Pringle Cochrane which was based at Murano Works, Albert Street, Edinburgh.

As a final footnote, there were two other sons (brothers of the young John and Alex) - Richard born in 1880 and David born in 1883. Both also emigrated to the USA for roles as golf professionals and golf club makers. These younger brothers remained in the USA for their whole lives. Richard Steedman Patrick is pictured below, as a teenager in the 23 July 1897 Dundee Courier and later in life further below. He initially emigrated in 1897 and went on to marry widow Alice Gray Silvey (nee Munger) - a survivor of the Titanic in New York in 1918. He became involved in the diamond mining industry and remained in the USA until his death on 19 March 1949 in Minnesota.

David Murdoch Patrick (born 1883) reportedly emigrated to the USA aged just 15 years and pursued a career as a golf professional. He began at the Century Club in Westchester, New York and later had spells at prestigious clubs in New York, New Jersey and Mexico. He was an active member of the National Association of Greenkeepers of America and at the time of his death in Tennessee in 1932 he was owner and manager of St Andrews Golf Club on the Mississippi. The Patrick family continues to fascinate to this day and no doubt there is more to find out about this extended family of adventurous innovators. If you have information to share about any member of the Patrick family, please do get in touch or leave a comment.

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Alexander Patrick (1845-1932)

23/1/2026

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The previous post covered the life of John Patrick who was a pioneering maker of golf clubs in Leven from 1847 until his untimely death in 1866. However, John had been training his sons to follow in his footsteps and eldest son Alexander was able to take on the family business at the age of 21. Alexander's younger brothers John, Nicol and David would all follow him into the trade. The photograph above shows the outlet at Lundin Golf Club which was established in the 1890s.

Initially based at Branch Street by Leven's Shorehead, the club making business moved in the late 1860s to more convenient premises by Leven Links. Matthew Elder, ropemaker, had converted the old washing-house of the bleaching green on the banks of the Scoonie Burn. The Leven and Innerleven Golf Clubs took the upper floors as their clubhouse and Alexander took the ground floor as a shop and workshop. As the business thrived, the premises shown below was built at the corner of Links Road and Balfour Street, around 1892, where a sign above the entrance proudly stated "Established 1847".

Note that golf balls were made as well as clubs. The piece below from the 27 February 1875 Fife News details an innovative moulding machine invented by Mr Patrick which could mark four balls at once, saving the "laborious process of marking by hand".

Alexander married Jemina Kinnell in 1870 in Elie and the following year the 1871 census records the pair at Manse Place in Leven, where Alex is described as "Golf Club and Ball Maker, employing 2 apprentices". A decade later, in 1881 they had moved to a home closer to Leven Golf Links and were at Sweetbank Cottages on Links Road, with Alex's occupation listed as "Master Golf Club Maker employing 1 man".

Later in the 1880s, Alex and Jemima moved to Surrey. Alex had been appointed professional and green keeper at Royal Wimbledon Golf Club. Notably, the position came with a salary of 30s per week and a free shop, enabling Alex to open a branch of his club and ball making business in the south of England. The notice above from the 2 October 1886 Fifeshire Advertiser tells of a "complimentary supper" held for Alex prior to his leaving Leven.

He would remain at Wimbledon for five years, living on the edge of Wimbledon Common. From his shop there, Patrick clubs were sent all over the world. While down south he also took on a few other projects - for example he laid out the course at Epsom Golf Club. When on a leave of absence in the summer of 1887 for another project, Alex insisted that his brother David Patrick took his place as professional temporarily. Meanwhile the business back in Leven business continued and in 1891 Alex decided return to Leven. His brother David took his position at Wimbledon permanently.

One of the first tasks undertaken by Alex upon his return to Leven was to lay out the new ladies course at Leven. The 20 June 1892 Dundee Advertiser piece above describes the course and its official opening by Dr Crole. In 1894 he laid out a course for the ladies at Lundin Golf Club, as the piece below from the 22 June East of Fife Record below describes. This of course was the early ladies course at Sunnybraes - the forerunner to the current course at what was Standing Stanes Park.

The 1890s were a booming era for golf locally and in 1896 when Lundin Golf Club opened a new club house, Alex Patrick established a branch of his club making business adjacent to it. The advert below appeared in the 23 September 1897 Leven Advertiser, when the business was already half a century old, illustrating the range of clubs and balls being produced at that time. By the time of the 1901 census, Alex and Jemima were in a newly built home on Linksfield Street in Leven which they named Wimbledon Villa.

Of course, over time the demand for golf clubs had grown and rival club makers had joined the scene. Different techniques in club making had evolved and naturally there was debate around the merits of different styles of equipment. The 1 June 1899 Leven Advertiser above, describes some of the local club makers of the time. The 16 January 1899 Dundee Advertiser, below, quoted Alexander Patrick from a piece in the publication 'Golfing' on the types of clubs he makes, highlighting his pride in his "wooden putters".

Alexander was something of an expert on the history of golf clubs and had a collection of old clubs. A 12 June 1909 St Andrews Citizen article explained that the two clubs that Alex had displayed in his shop window at the time were hazel and gutta percha clubs that came from South Africa. The piece also stated that "Mr Patrick has in his shop several very ancient iron headed clubs, one of these a driving iron being over 100 years old". The 1906 advert below suggests that by this time the making of golf balls had ceased and balls were now supplied by a large manufacturer.

In July 1909 Alexander retired from the business. The 21 July Leven Advertiser noted that he was succeeded by David James Sellars who was a native of Surrey, and had been engaged in the sports supplies business around London. He came to Fife around the turn of the century to act as foreman for Alex Patrick. Sellars continued the well-established Patrick name for many more years, until his own death in 1936, when the plant, machinery, tools and stock of the Linkside Works were sold off.

Alex lived out his retirement at Wimbledon Villa on Linksfield Street. Singing was his main leisure pursuit and he was a leading member of Leven Choral Union (later Leven Amateur Musical Association). His wife Jemima died in 1914 and thereafter his sisters (who had played administrative roles in the family business) lived with him.

Alexander died in 1932 aged 86 at Wimbledon Villa and is buried at Scoonie Cemetery with his parents and wife. His life was a remarkable story of a passion for golf, dedication to the family business and to his younger siblings, master craftmanship, innovation and invention. The name of Alex Patrick lives on through the much sought after his antique golf clubs of varying ages, many of which bear his distinctive horseshoe cleekmark and the appropriate words "well made".

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Andrew Baird, Butcher and Carter

4/7/2025

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The pair of images of Largo Kirk and Church Place above show that, while the appearance of the area is little changed in over a century, the way that this space is used has altered quite significantly. The green in front of the church was once a hub of village life, with its communal water pump and drying green. Theses features stand out in the foreground of the 1890s photograph, captured by Lady Henrietta Gilmour of Montrave, one of Scotland's earliest women photographers. Her photographic collection is now held by St Andrews University and the image is courtesy of University of St Andrews Libraries and Museums.

The buildings of Church Place were not just dwellings, as they are today. There are signs clearly legible on two of the buildings in the older photograph. One advertises A. Baird Butcher Carriages for Hire, and another A. Wilson Plumber, Tinsmith and Ironmonger. A number of buildings in the vicinity contained businesses (and smelly, noisy ones at that). The engraving below, drawn by James Stewart and engraved by Joseph Swan for the ‘History of the County of Fife’, by John Leighton 1840, also gives an impression of a bustling area where people carried out their occupations as well as lived. The village green hosted cattle, sheep, chickens and ducks.

One of the enterprises featured in the 1890s photograph was Andrew Baird's butcher (and carriages for hire). Andrew was born around 1848, as he is noted as aged 3 in the 1851 census. He was the illegitimate son of John Baird (a Methil based flax dresser) and Elspeth Keddie, who was likely employed in the same flax works. By the time of the 1861 census, Andrew was working in the mill, alongside his mother and brother. In 1871 he had changed both occupation and residence, and was an agricultural labourer, based at Balgrummo Farm near Scoonie.

As an agricultural labourer, Andrew would have moved from farm to farm. Eventually he met Margaret Lawson, with whom he had a child in 1873 in Leuchars. The pair went on the marry in 1876 (and eventually had a further thirteen children). By 1881, Andrew and Margaret had settled in Kirkton of Largo, where Andrew was working as a carter. The family, with four children at the time, lived on Main Street close to McGregor the butcher.

A few years later, in the mid-1880s the opportunity to move into the butcher trade arose, when another Kirkton butcher, David Simpson, moved to Lundin Mill's Hillhead Street. Andrew Baird took over Simpson's vacated premises at Church Place and was recorded there at the 1891 census along with his wife and nine children. Perhaps Andrew had learned some relevant skills from his time working on farms. However, his time as a butcher (or flesher) was not always smooth running. The piece below from 22 December 1888 Fife News tells us that Baird was prosecuted for the foul state of his pig styes.

The following year he was charged with possession of a dog without a license (see 24 May 1889 East of Fife Record below). Further below the 20 August 1890 Commercial Gazette recorded that Andrew Baird was in front of the debt recovery court.

In 1894, the butcher premises in Church Place, consisting of a shop, house, stable, byre, etc., was put up for sale (see 1 September 1894 St Andrews Citizen below). This was the same year that Andrew and Margaret Baird's twin infant daughters Elsie and Oona died, aged nine months, from croup, within days of one another. The Baird family relocated to Lundin Mill, at a time when the village was on the cusp of expansion. The 1901 census finds the family living at 3 Rossini Place, just off Emsdorf Street, very close to the newly completed Lundin Links Hotel and the Lundin Links shops. Andrew was working as a carting contractor, assisted by his 13 year old son Andrew. Margaret and three of their younger children completed the household. Andrew rented a stable on Hillhead Street from the widow of butcher David Simpson (whose premises he had taken on a decade beforehand).

After a lengthy period of illness, Andrew died at Rossini Place on 12 March 1907. His widow, Margaret continued to live at Rossini Place. In the 1911 census she lived there with three of her sons, Andrew (who was a coal miner), John (a colliery pony-driver below ground) and Thomas (shop assistant at a licensed grocer), as well as a 9 year old grandson, also named Andrew. Below is the family headstone, which Andrew shares with his wife Margaret Lawson (who died in 1923) and their two daughters who died in infancy - twins Elsie and Oona.

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John Pearson Douglas Ferrier (1884-1917)

20/6/2025

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John Pearson Douglas Ferrier was born on 25 July 1884 at James Street, in the Pilrig are of Edinburgh, to James Douglas Ferrier, a commercial traveller and grocer's son, and Janet Ferrier (nee Middlemass). Janet, who had two older daughters, had been widowed when her first husband died of tuberculosis. By 1891, the family had moved to from James Street to nearby Montgomery Street. James had become a Grocer's Assistant and the family appear to have been living above the shop. John Ferrier attended Leith Walk Public School (pictured below). The map further below shows the proximity of those locations:

1. James Street
2. Biscuit Factory (for which James may have acted as a commercial traveller)
3. Montgomery Street
4. Leith Walk Public School

Interestingly, just a few doors down from the Ferriers (who were at 111 Montgomery Street) lived Largo-born artist Alexander Ballingall at number 99. By the time of 1901 census James had his own Grocer's shop and the family had moved to live at the opposite side of the street, still very close to Ballingall, who surely must have frequented their shop. In the household there were James, Janet and John, plus Janet's daughter from her first marriage and her three children, who were visiting. A 16-year-old John Ferrier was working as an Apprentice Clerk. However, at this point the family were on the brink of relocation to Largo - a place to which they had no obvious connection. Could it have been Alexander Ballingall that put Largo on their radar?

James Ferrier set up as a grocer and provision merchant in Upper Largo next to Robert Melville the plumber, Peter Cowie's chemist and Thomas Black's shoe and boot warehouse in the part of Main Street shown above. John acted as his assistant. The 1911 census finds James, Janet and John (now aged 26) living at Crichton Place. The building that housed their shop can be seen in the far left of the old postcard image above. Demolished long ago, only the old ridge line of the roof remains today.

James Ferrier's business must have been successful, as the advert above appeared in the 6 June 1912 Leven Advertiser. James "removed to new and commodious premises at the west end Upper Largo". The notice stated that he had been in business in the village for eleven years at this point. The photograph below shows the two different shop premises - the new one in the foreground, next door to the United Free Church and his original shop close to the junction with St Andrews Road. The newer shop building, west of the entrance to North Feus, was also demolished long ago.

Two years later, in 1914, the First World War broke out. John Ferrier was attested under the Derby scheme. and called up in October 1916. He became a Private (No. 267309) with 1/6th (Territorial) Battalion The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders). He served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from June 1917. Sadly, John was killed in action near Ypres on 16 September 1917, while preparing for the British offensive on the 20th of the month. He was 33 years old. The piece below was published in the 27 September Leven Advertiser. The notice of death further below was published in the 29 September St Andrews Citizen.

John was buried at New Irish Farm Cemetery near Ypres. At the time of his death, Major C.H. Maxwell wrote to his parents "I have heard how uncomplainingly your son stuck out the hardships of the trenches, and also how bravely you have done your part...He was an honour to the regiment and has died in the tartan." A comrade also wrote saying that the whole company looked on him as the one who would help in any trouble, and added that whenever any difficulty or trouble arose it was always "Let's tell Ferrier".

John Pearson Douglas Ferrier is one of the 51 men who fell in the First World War named on Largo War Memorial. His name can be seen fourth from top in the photograph above and is noted as D. Ferrier (suggesting that he was actually known by his middle name Douglas). His mother, Janet Ferrier, died the following year aged 74, on 11 December 1918, at home on Upper Largo's Main Street. James Ferrier lived until 16 September 1923. When he died aged 77 at North Feus, the official informant of his death was his friend the joiner Agnew Broomfield.

The Victory Medal belonging to Private J.P.D. Ferrier is pictured below. The medal shows the winged figure of victory on one side and the words THE GREAT WAR FOR CIVILISATION 1914-1919 surrounded by a laurel wreath on the other. The medal is bronze, circular and 36 millimetres (1.4 in) in diameter. The recipient's name, rank, service number and unit were impressed on the edge of the medal. This particular medal was issued in 1921, so would have been sent to James Ferrier, John's father and next to kin, his mother having already passed away. Where it has been during the century since James's death is a mystery but its resurfacing now has allowed the story of one of Largo's lost to be retold.

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Undivided Back Postcards

13/6/2025

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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.

In the UK, the undivided back was the standard for postcards until around 1902, when the "divided back" era took off. This format allowed for a message to be written alongside the address on the rear - the back being divided into two sections, the left section being used for the message and the right side for the address. The piece below from the 24 November 1902 Evening Despatch explained the change at the time under the headline "More room to write".

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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Photographic View Album

30/5/2025

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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.

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.

The image of the newly-built Lundin Links Hotel shows the grounds freshly laid out with young plants. The old cottages still stand where the pharmacy and other shops would be constructed in 1903. Another photograph features Ravenswood and Elmwood still under construction. Lundin Golf Club House also appears fresh and new, having opened in 1896. The old village of Lundin Mill is not forgotten - with views included of Wynd Well, the mill area and Emsdorf Street (labelled 'High Street, Lundin Mill'). Classic images of Largo Harbour, Lundin Tower, the Crusoe statue, Largo Kirk, Largo House and Keil's Den, Sir Andrew Wood's Tower and the Standing Stanes complete the set.

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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Hillhead Grocer Shop - Part 3

4/4/2025

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. This gable sign can also be seen in the postcard image above.

With many thanks to the descendants of Lawrence Smith for sharing the family photographs and information.

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