Category: Tourism - VINTAGE LUNDIN LINKS AND LARGO

VINTAGE LUNDIN LINKS AND LARGO

Busy 1960s Pier

10/4/2026

This view featured on a postcard that was posted on 8 July 1963. The view is familiar and much-photographed but the addition of several cars and a few people in the foreground adds to the interest. There's a man pushing a young child in a pushchair, with grandparents following behind, plus an eclectic mix of vehicles, including a motorbike and sidecar. A bus is passing behind the Fish Restaurant that was run by the Forte family.

Known locally as Granny Forte's chip shop or Granny Greasers, this food outlet was a fixture of the village for several decades from the 1920s. Constructed on the site of old outbuildings, the fish shop first appeared on the valuation roll in the mid 1920s, when the building was owned by Rachel Williamson of Coventry Cottage (daughter of Alexander Williamson the plasterer) and the tenant was Daniel Forte. By 1930, the Fortes had bought the fish restaurant premises which was demolished in the 1970s.

A second postcard view below was likely photographed on the same day and is part of the same Millar & Lang M&L National Series. This one was posted on 11 July 1963, just three days after the postcard above. Both of the senders of these postcards talk of having a good time in Largo in spite of changeable weather.

Gone Away to Glasgow

3/4/2026

The photograph above shows an empty niche at the Crusoe Buildings on Lower Largo's Main Street. Its usual occupant - the iconic statue of Robinson Crusoe - had been lifted off its plinth in October 1987 and taken for some restoration work prior to featuring in the 'Water and Maritime' themed section of Glasgow Garden Festival. Officially approved late in 1984, work to create the 120-acre exhibition site took a few years to plan and create before its run from 28 April to 26 September 1988.

It was the third of five garden festivals to take place in the UK as part of the regeneration of several derelict sites. The other garden festivals were held at Liverpool (1984), Stoke-on-Trent (1986), Gateshead (1990) and Ebbw Vale (1992). Glasgow's festival saw the derelict Princes Dock on the Clyde transformed. The Water and Maritime sector of the exhibition aimed to showcase "Scotland's rich history of maritime trade and exploration" and the Alexander Selkirk story took its place within that,

Crusoe was sited by the Canting Basin - a historic, large square water basin originally built between 1893 and 1896 as part of the Prince's Dock. It was designed for large ships to turn or "cant" before accessing industrial berths. Today, it serves as a scenic, revitalised area behind the Glasgow Science Centre and features floating wetlands. The annotated images below show the area within the garden festival site where the Crusoe statue was positioned, close to a white cottage known as Para Handy's Cottage. At the foot of this post is an aerial image of the site as it is today.

Edwardian Ladies on the Serpentine

9/1/2026

The postcard above was posted in August 1909 and features three ladies at the Serpentine. Despite being posted in Upper Largo, the postcard was sold by John Welsh at the Post Office in Lower Largo, suggesting that the sender himself walked this path between the upper and lower villages. The message on the reverse reads:

Dear Jim,

We are staying at Viewforth this month. I had a fine catch of partans this morning. Would you like one? Pa and George were golfing. This is Ma's birthday. Love to all.

Arthur

Partans are crabs and the question of 'would you like one?' is of course a joke - particularly as the recipient was Mr James Clark of Nelson, British Colombia. The postcard was sent to him care of the Post Office there, shown below when it was newly opened just a few years before. Perhaps Jim had recently emigrated there from Scotland.

Arthur's family were staying just a short stroll from the Serpentine path at Viewforth (both of which feature on the map above). The Serpentine Walk is a historic tree-lined path linking Lower Largo to Upper Largo, now managed by the Woodland Trust. The name 'Serpentine' is a commonly-used one for paths, rivers, lakes and the like which curve and twist like a snake. Viewforth (at the right on the map) was originally the site of a salt work and was once also referred to as 'Largo Pans' or simply 'the Pans'. Later the location became popular for summer visitors - being well placed for seabathing and getting away from it all.

The three ladies in the Serpentine postcard image are shown very clearly. I wonder whether they were visitors or locals. The woman above is looking directly into the camera lens and is clearly carrying something in each hand. The two older women below looked as if posed to be in conversation, with the houses of South Feus in the background. I wonder whether the three just happened to be around when the photographer was on location and were asked to be in shot. It would be fascinating to know more about the scene and who these individuals were. The photographer would have been one hired by James Valentine and Sons to capture local views. Valentines hired a team of photographers to document villages, towns and cities and places of interest across the country to use on their postcards and souvenir booklets.

Many old postcards views of the Serpentine Walk featured people - to provide scale and interest, such as the example above. The Serpie is still a handy and enjoyable walk today with a great view of Largo Law as you approach Upper Largo.

Swan's Victoria

12/12/2025

The building in the postcard image above was known as Swan's Victoria Boarding Residence a century ago. Later divided into the flats of Victoria Court, this building on Victoria Road in Lundin Links was first constructed around 1907, when it was named Victoria House. At that time there was an explosion in Boarding House style accommodation in the village, to meet the demand for seaside and golfing breaks.

Building contractor Walter Horne was the original owner of the building. He sold the premises to Edinburgh baker and confectioner Johnston Wright Swan in the early 1920s. The 2 April 1924 Scotsman advert below describes Swan's Victoria Boarding Residence as "now open". As the advert states, the location of the residence was ideal - close to the station, golf course, beach and other sporting facilities - with the bonus of steam trains passing by the gardens.

Johnston Swan (who may well be the taller man in the image above) came from a family of bakers and was a prize-winning baker himself. During his tenure, an extension was built to accommodate a cafe and bakehouse. This can be seen below and in the coloured postcard further below.

Mr Swan's talents were not limited to catering and baking however. He was also a musician. The piece below from 11 February 1928 Fife News notes his entertaining a company from St David's Church with his Swanee jazz-o-phone one-man band - which comprised no less than nine different instruments!

In 1929 the Swans purchased Bellville on Emsdorf Street, pictured above, from Mrs Dudgeon and, similarly as they did at the Victoria, they added an extension to be used as a bakery. This premises later became an ironmonger and hardware shop (latterly run by John McMillan). The advert below advertises the Emsdorf Street baker shop and highlights Mr Swan's fine baking pedigree of more than forty gold and silver medals and cups, as well as giving special mention to the wedding cakes for which he won so many of these prizes. By 1935 Mr and Mrs Swan had moved back to Edinburgh and he had presumably retired. Johnston Wright Swan died on 2 December 1943 at Spring Gardens, Abbeyhill, Edinburgh at the age of 84.

Summer Entertainment

11/7/2025

From the 1910s until the 1930s, the highlight of the summer season in Largo was the entertainment at the Pier Pavilion. The 1930s postcard image above shows that performances were scheduled for 3:15 and 8:15 at that particular time. The huge size of the sign advertising the show times suggests that promoters were keen that this information could be seen from up at Largo Station high above the pier, as well as from the passing buses. Perhaps the afternoon performance was more family-friendly in style, while the evening show was tailored for an older audience.

The image below provides a glimpse of the bench seating that was available to the audience. In fact there were two categories of seating on offer, for at least some of the pavilion's history - individual deck chairs at the front for a higher price and benches behind for the everyone else. The enclosure could accommodate up to 300 persons. Of course folks could try to escape paying altogether by loitering outside the fenced area. These non-ticket holders were pursued at regular intervals by can rattling members of the company.

In the photograph below the seating has been removed and there's a sense that the season may be over. The structure was dismantled at the end of summer and stored over the winter months. At least three different versions of this 'alfresco entertainments stance' were used over the decades. Ahead of each season, adverts were placed in publications such as The Stage for entertainers to let the stance, which came with dressing room facilities. Everything from song and dance to ventriloquism and stand-up comedy graced the stage, along with all manner of musical instruments.

As the volume of motor traffic grew over time, concerns about the safety of the crowds near the road were aired. The
25 June 1935 Leven Advertiser item below highlighted the dangers associated with the crowds leaving the pavilion at night onto the narrow harbour bridge and surrounding streets. The suggestion of widening the road never came to pass and the pier pavilion itself became a casualty of changing times and tastes.

As a footnote, spot the detail in the image below, including the bus stop sign hanging from the lamp post on the left hand side and the other bus stop sign at the start of the road bridge. On the Crusoe Hotel wall there is both a noticeboard and a taller board incorporating a clock, as well as the classic image of Robinson Crusoe on the hotel sign. Finally there is an old street lamp holder to the right of the hotel wall.

Undivided Back Postcards

13/6/2025

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.

Photographic View Album

30/5/2025

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.

Pitch and Putting Green

23/5/2025

The Pitch and Putting Green in the above postcard view was laid out in 1923. The development was instigated by Robert C. Paxton of Homelands. He had been Captain of Lundin Golf Club 1907-08 and remained influential at the club, as well as within the wider community. The small piece below from the 26 April 1923 Leven Advertiser notes that Paxton was "again to the fore with an improvement scheme". He had provided and equipped a recreation hut for ex-Servicemen in 1920, among other public and private gifts.

The twelve-hole course was mapped out by Kilmarnock-born, former rancher in Texas, Robert Paxton (pictured below), who lived just across the road from the course at Homelands and David Patrick, the local golf club maker who also lived adjacent to the course. Situated between the railway line and Station Road (now Links Road), the layout of the little course can be seen clearly in the detailed image above.

David Patrick lived and worked from his home on Golf Road overlooking the pitch and putting course. It can be seen on the right of the map extract below, where the short street named Golf Road meets the railway line. The site of the pitch and putting course is bounded by the railway to the south and the curve of Station Road to the north. The 18th hole of Lundin Golf Course is marked just below the railway line (and the 1st hole below that).

The 5 July 1923 Leven Advertiser below covered the inauguration of the pitch and putting course. The first ball was struck by Sheriff-Principal James Alexander Fleming K.C. of Strathairly House (who had been Captain of Lundin Golf Club 1919-20 and who had in 1921 unveiled Largo War Memorial). A total of 172 people went on to take part in a competition on the course that evening. The piece also notes that William Yule was appointed greenkeeper.

By 1936, the greenkeeper was Mr A Kennedy. The article above from 25 April 1936 Fife Free Press tells of how he had removed many of the whin bushes from the course, the bushes having been the cause of many a lost ball. The 11 June 1935 Leven Advertiser below highlighted how few small seaside resorts could boast such a variety of facilities for all ages as Lundin Links. It also notes how few pitch and putting courses there were at the time.

A booklet published by the Largo Parish Community Council around the time, entitled "Lundin Links and Largo The Scottish Riviera - Illustrated Guide" stated the cost of 2d for one round of pitch and putt, or 3d with use of clubs and ball included. Quite a bargain in comparison to a round of golf!

Hillhead Grocer Shop - Part 2

28/3/2025

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".

One of those purchasers was Richard Wedderspoon - a commercial traveller in the wine and spirit trade, employee of John Somerville and Company, wine and spirit merchants of Leith. He purchased St Margaret's on Victoria Road (named after his wife and young daughter). Although he owned the property, he and his family were listed as summer visitors to Lundin Links during the summer season, to advertise the fact that they were in residence. An example of this can be seen below from the 20 July 1899 Leven Advertiser.

Around 1898, Wedderspoon became a partner at Sacell Brewery in Paisley and, around the same time, purchased the Hillhead licensed grocer shop, along with several other properties on Hillhead Street, from Thomas Blyth. Presumably, the shop could be an outlet for the products of his employer. On the 1899 Largo Parish Valuation Roll, Wedderspoon owned eleven properties across Lundin Links and Lundin Mill. A man named Arthur Booth was brought in as tenant to run the licensed grocer. The 23 December 1898 East of Fife Record piece below confirmed the transfer of the license from Blyth to Booth.

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).

A few months after the license was transferred to Booth, the 26 May 1899 East of Fife Record above reported that Wedderspoon had sold the business to Mr Booth. However, subsequent events suggest that this was not true. The article below from the 21 April 1900 St Andrews Citizen tells us that the previous year it had been reported that Booth "had bought the business" but now it had become clear that "the business he got the license for was not his at all" but belonged to Wedderspoon "who has become bankrupt". Furthermore, the firm that Wedderspoon was connected with was a creditor of Booth's. The sequence of events was described as "little short of a scandal".

The exposure of the truth brought an end to the involvement of both Wedderspoon and Booth in the business of the Lundin Mill grocer shop. Perhaps as part of the bankruptcy process, the shop and all the other properties that Wedderspoon had owned came into the ownership Wedderspoon's former employer John Somerville and Son of Leith. The firm brought in a new grocer named Matthew Barrie with previous experience in East Lothian and Berwick-Upon-Tweed as tenant to run the shop (as recorded in the 1900 Largo Parish Valuation Roll above).

Barrie came forward to the District Licensing Court in April 1900 but was initially refused a license due to the unsatisfactory way in which the enterprise had been run prior to his appointment. Meanwhile, by 1901 census, Richard Wedderspoon had relocated to London and was acting as a commercial traveller selling Scotch Whisky. He later emigrated to New Zealand, where he lived out the remainder of his life.

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.

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.

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 Largo Hotel circa 1970

17/1/2025

The pair of 'then and now' images above compare the Upper Largo Hotel (then named Largo Hotel) of circa 1970 with the hotel as it looks in more recent times. The hotel was acquired in the summer of 1969 by Sylvia and Bob Harbert, who went on to refurbish the establishment and add the stone extension. The hotel comprised rooms, a cocktail bar, a lounge bar and a restaurant, which gained a reputation for its good food. As the Harbert's son Ashley points out, this was the heyday of prawn cocktail, sirloin steak and Black Forest gateau, accompanied by a bottle of Liebfraumilch. That said, it was the haddock and chips that proved especially popular.

The images above are from a promotional flyer, highlighting the key features of the hotel, which the Harberts turned into a thriving business. Additional bedrooms were added in 1972. Note the hotel restaurant had a wine list on each table. The pictures on the restaurant walls showcased other establishments that the Harberts had run over the years, including the Clayhall Tavern in Bow, London and the Tudor Rose in Hemel Hempstead.

The advert below reflects the fashion at the time for high teas and bar lunches. It highlights the "enviable reputation" that the hotel had built up and noted the "two car parks", which would be in demand in a time of rising car ownership.

Bob and Sylvia can be seen standing proudly behind the bar in the photograph below. Notice the last orders bell on the left and the glass fishing floats hanging above the bar. If you remember the Harberts and the hotel during this era, please leave a comment. The pair moved on in 1974, to build a new hotel in Blairgowrie. They had a painting of the Largo Hotel made, which went on to grace the walls of their later establishments.

With sincere thanks to Ashley Harbert, son of Bob and Sylvia for the photographs and information.