The 14 April 1904 Leven Advertiser included a brief notice that the Post Office was soon to establish a telephone service beyond Leven, through Lundin Links. The exchange was to be at Lundin Links Post Office, which had opened eight years earlier. The system was to continue from there on to Elie, via Upper Largo, and eventually to Anstruther. On 1 June 1904, the Largo Parish Council granted permission to the Postmaster-General to erect telephone poles in the villages. 
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The erection of the many tall telegraph poles was no simple task. The poles were prepared at Leven, before being brought eastwards by traction engine and dropped off at regular intervals. As well as putting the poles themselves carefully into position, some clearing of branches was required to make way for the wires. Ultimately, the wires were linked up to the Post Office facility. Then subscribers were provided with telehone equipment and in turn were connected to the network. By the start of September, the poles had been placed as far as Lundin Links - with the village's connection to the network imminent. 
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Elie came into operation around November and Anstruther around December. The 4 December 1904 St Andrews Citizen piece below tells of the hazards faced by the men putting up the poles. In frosty conditions, Robert Peebles of Largo was up one of the poles when his ladder slipped and he fell 20 feet. Fortunately, his injuries were not serious. 

The telephone must have been a boon for many and a novelty as well. The article below from 19 January 1905 Leven Advertiser provides an insight into an example of an early phone call made by a local family.
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Early subscribers to the telephone service was allocated a simple number - a single digit in some cases. The first few Lundin Links numbers are shown below. When a subscriber picked up their receiver, it would alert an operator at the local switchboard. The operator would then verbally ask for the desired connection and would physically connect the two lines using a jack plug. Over the decades the numbers evolved and lengthened. For example, ​the Lundin Links Hotel began as 7 (into the 1930s), then became 207, then 320207. Over the years the number of points on the telegraph poles multiplied, as can be seen in the images at the foot of this post.
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​The postcard shown above was posted on 26 August 1908 by someone who was residing at Prospect Bank in Lower Largo. The message had been written earlier that day at 11:15am and the writer clearly hoped that their message would reach the recipient in Glasgow later the same day. Their message read:

Elsie is first in her German Exam. Isn't it grand? Bob sent a telegram this morning. She is almost wild with delight. This is another fine day. With kindest remembrances to all. Yours etc. J

P.S. I hope you get this tonight.

Clearly Elsie's exam result was important news among their circle of family and friends. The news was shared with some urgency via telegram and postcard.

Rossini Place in Lundin Links, as it was in 1893, is highlighted on the map above in red. This section of Emsdorf Street comprised ten dwellings - a row of five on either side of a courtyard. For decades these dwellings were all owned by one individual and rented out. These buildings likely date back to the creation of the village of Emsdorf back around 1800.

​Emsdorf village took its name from a battle that took place during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) - a struggle for world supremacy between Great Britain and France which is considered to be the first global conflict in history. Read about how that became connected to the Lundin Estate here.

Some of the Rossini Place dwellings can be seen on the far right of the 1890s photograph below, with the hand barrow on the pavement outside and the uneven-looking roof tiles. This image is looking east towards the old Pump Green with its stone wall, and to David Lindsay's grocer shop on the corner of Hillhead Street.

After the younger James Thinn's death in 1891, ownership of Rossini Place passed to his son John Thynn, until he in turn died in 1897 at the age of 47 years. Rossini Place then came into the ownership of George Clark, the Lundinmill-born stone mason mentioned in the previous post about Braemar. Below is an extract from the 1905 valuation roll for Largo Parish where the tenants of the ten properties are listed.

George Clark continued to own the properties at Rossini Place (shown above in the 1930s with an arrow pointing to the vennel access point to the rear properties) until his death in 1931, which occurred at the Rossini Place dwelling that he kept for his own use. This was not usual residence (which was in Leven) but it could have been a decision to return to the place of his birth at the very end of his life. The properties subsequently passed to his stepson William Brown, then a publican at the Crown Bar on Kirkcaldy's High Street. During the decade of Brown's ownership, the properties did undergo some renovation work as the 6 June 1936 Fife Free Press notice below informs us.

By 1950, however, the dwellings of Rossini Place were in decline. They remained under the ownership of the trustees of late William Brown (who died in 1940), and at this time, three of the dwellings were empty having been condemned. By 1960, the new owner of the properties was Mary K. Browning. In 1973, she received planning permission to create lock-up garages, with rear access from Links Road lane. The 24 October 1973 East Fife Mail reported that this was at a cost of £1,000. In recent years, there have been further alterations at the site.

The aerial image below shows the footprint of Rossini Place in recent times, marked by a dashed red line. One mystery remains - why was this place given the name Rossini?  Answers, or even just theories, would be very welcome!

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.
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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.

The sender of this 1903 postcard hoped that Miss Allan would like the view of Drummochy. On the reverse, the writer continued... 

Got home all right and found Father and Mother well. Raining cats and dogs. Hope it will fair before morning.

There's certainly lots to like about the view and many details worth highlighting, many of which are long gone. The fishing nets out drying on tall posts, next to the Net House, are marked (1). Feature (2) is the lost buildings of Cellar Brae of which only traces remain today. Detail (3) is a short section of stone wall situated at the turn in Drummochy Road (shown in more detail further below), which presumably acted to control to flow of road users at a blind corner. 

At point (4) you can see the tracks in the sand where carts crossed the burn, alongside a couple of mooring posts. (5) is a gate - a partial barrier to slow movement towards the footbridge at (6). Detail (7) is a very productive looking garden full of a growing crop, while (8) are washing lines and posts. Note that these rear gardens, sitting at a much lower level than Woodlands Road (9) above, would have been cut short when the viaduct (10) was constructed in the 1850s. In the circa 1900 image the viaduct was less than 50 years old. Now it has been out of use for longer than that.
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It's incredible to think that these streets were once completely devoid of motor vehicles. How much quieter and slower the pace of life must have been. It's also interesting to see how patches of land once put to practical and productive use growing food or drying laundry are now used for more leisurely pursuits, such as storage of pleasure boats or benches and summer houses to sit out in. The image below shows a mid-point in that transition, where the nets are still being dried but use of outdoor spaces for relaxation has increased. The wooden footbridge has been replaced by the road bridge and the days of the railway are numbered.

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.

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. 
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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).
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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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The above postcard is postmarked Lundin Links 21 November 1917 and was addressed to Mrs Bushell, 36 Kett's Hill in Norwich. The sender was Sergeant George Ballingall and his message was as follows:

Dear Mrs Bushell, I have arrived here all safe and glad to say found all my dear ones in the pink. I am pleased I am the same. Hoping that this P.C. finds you all well. I don't know how to thank you for the fruit etc as it came in very nice on the journey north. Note the cross on house where I stay. I remain yours sincerely, Sgt. G. Ballingall

This was during the First World War and George Ballingall was a joiner who lived at 3 Park Terrace in Lundin Links (in the house he had marked with a cross on the postcard - see detail below). George was the son of John Ballingall the cork cutter and artist. Having been in the volunteers when war broke out, George left Fife to serve with The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders). At the time he sent the postcard, in November 1917, he must have been on a visit home. The "dear ones" that he refers to in his message are his wife Elizabeth Horne and three children, Isabella (born 1908), Annie (born 1910) and John (born 1916). He must have been relieved to find them all "in the pink". The postcard had been produced by Young's newsagent of Emsdorf Street and conveniently featured the Ballingall family home at 3 Park Terrace in the centre of the image. 

The First World War ended in November 1918 but in 1919 George was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) for services in the field. This award was part of the King's Birthday Honours, which in 1919 were dominated by awards related to the recently ended war. The 3 June 1919 Dundee Courier below detailed the "Gallant Scots decorated by the King for services rendered in France and Flanders". Ballingall's name is highlighted below. The 14 June 1919 St Andrews Citizen piece further below notes his "considerable service in France" but few details are given of the nature of the distinguished service being awarded. If you know more about the events that led to his MSM award - please comment.

It must have been a huge relief for his family that George returned safely home at the end of the war, given that Largo Parish lost 51 men in the First World War. It must have been a source of great pride to see him awarded the Meritorious Service Medal after the war had ended. However, George Ballingall's story was not to have a happy ending. He became unwell shortly afterwards and was ultimately admitted to Glenalmond Sanatorium in Perthshire, a facility for patients with tuberculosis (a bacterial infection of the lungs which was common at the time). After serveral months as a patient there, George died on 23 June 1921, aged 32 years. 

George's wife had given birth to twin sons days before, on 10 June 1921 at the family home at 3 Park Terrace. In the days between the birth of twins Thomas and George and the death of their father, the 1921 census was taken. At 3 Park Terrace, Elizabeth was recorded as the head of the household, her five children were listed and in addition her sister Mary Ainslie (nee Horn) and niece Isabella were also living there. Meanwhile George was recorded as a patient at Glenalmond, where it was noted that he was a joiner with R.G. Galloway and had five dependent children. He died two days after the census was taken.

The 30 June 1921 Leven Advertiser below gave an account of the funeral of George Ballingall, which was a military and masonic funeral. Over 100 masons attended, along with representatives of the Black Watch and the pipe band. Largo Silver Band were also present. 

As a footnote, the purple pencil in which the postcard was written was likely an army issue copying pencil. Copying, or indelible, pencils were widely used during the First World War to assist officers in completing paperwork. They were used in the field as the non-erasable qualities of indelible pencils made them much more convenient than the alternatives.
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The above photograph features the Robinson Crusoe statue on Lower Largo's Main Street, on the day of its unveiling. The evergreen branches around the edges of the image are some of the many decorations around the village on that momentous day - 11 December 1885. The base of the statue (see detail below) is inscribed with the words T Stuart Burnett A.R.S.A. Sc. 1885 to indicate that the sculptor was Thomas Stuart Burnett, an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy, and that the piece was sculpted in 1885. Burnett was present on the day of the unveiling, along with his wife.

The day after the 1885 statue unveiling the Fife Free Press reported that...

"There has now been completed by Mr T. Stuart Burnett, A.R.S.A., a life-size statue, in bronze, of Robinson Crusoe. It is placed in a niche in the wall in front of the cottage where he is said to have been born, and stands about six feet high. It is spiritedly designed and perfectly executed, and it certainly tells its own story. There is no dubiety as to who the figure is intended to represent. To all who have read the romance of his first voyage, it looks like an old friend. Crusoe is clad in his rough coat of goat's skins, with torn and tattered breeches of the same material. His muscular legs are bare from knees down. His feet are enclosed in skin strapped down. His left hand is slightly pressed on an old rifle, while his right shades his eyes, which are looking expectantly to sea as if to snatch the glimpse of a passing sail. An old Scottish claymore hangs by the left side, while an old war axe hangs from his right side. The cap is also of skin. Altogether the figure is a satisfactory model, and a true representation of Robinson Crusoe". 

William Walkington's blog biography celebrates the productive life Thomas Stuart Burnett, cut short by his untimely death at the age of 34 years in 1888. Largo is fortunate to be graced by an fine example of Burnett's work, which continues to gaze down from the same location of its unveiling some 140 years ago.
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Catherine Selkirk was born in Largo on 29 January 1779 and was baptised two days later in the presence of the congregation of Largo Kirk, as the record below tells us. Her parents were "John Selkirk weaver in Nether Largo and Margaret Martin his spouse". Nether Largo was the name used then for Lower Largo. The above photograph appeared in the book 'Seatoun of Largo' by Ivy Jardine (1982). John Selkirk (Catherine's father) was the son of Alexander Selkirk, who in turn was the son of David Selkirk (or Selcraig), the eldest brother of the famous Alexander Selkirk. This made Catherine 'Robinson Crusoe's' great-grand-niece.
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When Catherine was eight years old her mother Margaret died. The record below shows that she died on 14 December 1787 and was buried on 17 December. Just over a year later, her father John remarried, to Isabel Peattie or Pattie.

So what was life like in Largo around that time?

The Old Statistical Account of 1792, written by the Reverend Mr Spence Oliphant of Largo Kirk, provides some insight to daily life. In terms of health and wellbeing, the account tells of how "coughs are very general, rheumatism and other inflammatory complaints are not infrequent. Epidemic disorders sometimes appear..." often affecting those on "a low and spare diet". The typical diet of the population was described as "meagre broth, potatoes, cheese, butter in small quantities, and a preparation of meal in different forms, make up their constant fare". Meat was generally reserved for "a birth or marriage, or some other festival".
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At the time fish were "scarce" and "at present there is not a fisherman in Largo, and only 1 in Drummochy, who fishes in the summer and catches rabbits in the winter". The pier at Largo was in existence at the time "where vessels of 200 ton may receive or discharge their cargoes". In the Parish there were 3 corn mills, 2 barley mills, 3 lint mills and 2 salt pans. The main industry of the Parish was weaving, of mostly "linens and checks", with every weaver having access to a bleaching ground. The flax was mostly imported but was dressed and spun in the village. The image below provides some impression of how the buildings along the shore at Lower Largo looked at this time, although this particular artwork dates to a several decades later.

The Old Statistical Account also refers specifically to Alexander Selkirk and noted that "the chest and musket which Selkirk had with him on the island, are now in the possession of his grand-nephew, John Selkirk, weaver in Largo", referring to the father of Catherine. Upon the death of John Selkirk, Catherine became the keeper of the relics. These well-travelled artefacts had been left behind by Alexander around 1717 when he departed the village suddenly with Sophia Bruce.

Catherine Selkirk married fisherman/ linen weaver David Gillies in 1799. Some sources state that the couple had thirteen children but it is difficult to be certain as records are incomplete. In the census of 1841 (see extract above) David, Catherine, David junior (a fisherman) and Janet are listed in the household, as well as Catherine's sister Margaret Selkrig, aged 50. David Gillies died in 1846, leaving Catherine a widow. In the 1851 census (below) Catherine was recorded, aged 72, along with the only other member of the household - a 10-year-old grandchild, Christian Gillies. 
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Catherine lived to see the arrival of the railway in Largo in 1857, which must have been momentous for the community. At the time of the 1861 census she was living alone, and she died the following year, on 1 February 1862, just days after her 83rd birthday. Her obituary in the local press spoke of a "pleasant spoken" woman, who had experienced a life of labour and of "toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing". Having lost her mother as a child and predeceased by several children - sorrow was a theme throughout her life, yet this was coupled with a lifelong association with her famous relative and the home in which she lived was surrounded by public interest. 

Among the children who outlived her were:

Margaret Allan nee Gillies (married shoemaker David Allan); born c 1801, died 1876 aged 75
Samuel Gillies (fisherman); born c 1808, died in 1892 aged 84 at Bower House, Lower Largo
Christina Deas nee Gillies (married fisherman John Deas); born c1813,  died 1894 aged 81
James Gillies (fisherman/whaler); born 1816, died 1902 aged 87
Alexander Gillies (fisherman); born c1823, died 1898 aged 76

On her death record below her mother was incorrectly noted as Isabella Peattie, who was actually her step-mother. Her son Samuel registered her death and must have been illiterate as he signed with a cross as 'his mark'. Catherine was buried at the new cemetery very recently opened in the Parish. Soon after her death, the old cottage and birthplace of Alexander Selkirk (1676-1721) was demolished and the current Crusoe Buildings built upon the site. The relics so long cared for by Catherine were sold - finally separated from the birthplace of their former owner.
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Pictured above is a carte de visite by John Patrick of Leven, featuring a model of the house in which Alexander Selkirk lived in Lower Largo. The name 'Patrick' and the place 'Leven' can be seen in tiny writing on the left of the card and on the reverse is the photography studio's logo of the time (see below). This photograph of the model house can be dated to circa 1865. 
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The actual house was likely not quite as neat and straight-edged as the model suggests. The engraving below by William Ballingall from his 1872 book 'Shores of Fife' shows the same number of windows and doors but a more uneven rooftop and gables. The engraving also shows some additional detail in terms of the adjoining structures, which provide more context. Note the crow-stepped gables - some examples of which can still be seen on Main Street today.

Adjoining Crusoe Buildings were additional new dwellings, including 'Twin House', shown below, which was made for inseparable twin brothers William and Robert Gillies, owners of the fishing boat Ocean Bride. Several properties were built in total in a distinctive terrace - now 99 - 113 Main Street.
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The model of the old cottage survived for many decades, receiving some repairs and repainting along the way. It looked slightly different by the early 1980s and appeared as below in the book 'Seatoun of Largo'. If you know what became of the scale model of the Selkirk family home - please leave a comment.
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