Drum Lodge on the sea-facing side of Drummochy Road dates back to the late 18th century and the days of the salt pans. Originally, there were large grounds associated with Drum Lodge (or Drummochie House as it was once known). This included extensive gardens immediately around the house (plot 36 on the 1850s feuing map below) plus 'park land' or 'meadow' to the south and east (plot 37 on the map). 

The circa 1900 photo above shows the tree-lined park/meadow in the background to the right of centre. This space was occasionally used for public events. The advert below is for an evangelical tent mission which took place in June 1901. This tent held 300 people and hosted a series of meetings which were "well filled". Mr Galletly was described in the 13 June Leven Advertiser as a "vigorous speaker" whose "addresses seldom fail to draw his hearers back again". 
​

​ In 1899, Andrew Peebles had purchased Drum Lodge. He had invested in property in his native Largo for many years while working as a factor on estates in England and his interest in property development continued after he retired to Lundin Links. In 1908, the meadow owned by Peebles was feued and developed by local builder Walter Horne, who had already played a significant part in the development of Lower Largo and Lundin Links. The article below from the 21 Oct 1908 Leven Advertiser explains that the Drum Park scheme would fulfil "the great ambition of the city dweller is to have a summer holiday near the sea". 
​

The execution of the scheme was slightly delayed by issues around drainage at the site. The Leven Advertiser of 13 Jan 1909 below explains that the council had some difficulties resolving the problem before agreeing to put in a new pipe on the foreshore. 

In fact what became Drum Lodge Park (later shortened to Drum Park) was built in two phases. The east half of the development came first and was ready for the summer season of 1909. The 31 March 1909 Leven Advertiser noted that:

"Mr Walter Horne is to be congratulated on his latest addition to the house property of Drummochy. On the space to the east of Drum Lodge he has erected eight very fine dwellings. The houses are situated within a few yards of the high water mark and are sure to be well let during the summer months. The mason work is completed and the houses are in such a forward state as to indicate that they will be in the pink of condition at the height of the visitors' season."

Later that year, on 17 Nov 1909, the Leven Advertiser mentions "further building being started in Drum Park" and by the summer of 1910 these additional eight houses were complete. Many of the sixteen dwellings had been purchased by Edinburgh residents. The local papers of 1910 contain lists of 'summer visitors' and most of the Drum Park properties were filled by families from either the capital city or from Glasgow. 

The postcard image below shows only the east half of the scheme in place (comprising eight dwellings). Further below is a photograph showing the whole development soon after completion. Finally, there is a more recent image that shows Drum Park largely unchanged since its early days, aside from a few minor alterations to dormer windows and extra reinforcement of sea defences. 

It was clearly a 'scorcher' on the day that this postcard image was captured. In fact, even the sender of the postcard remarked (upon their August 1955 stay) that they were "having a lovely time here - weather perfect." Simple pleasures were the order of the day. Bringing out a deck chair to have a sit in the sun, enjoying the sea view, paddling in the sea or burying yourself in sand. More in the next post on the origins of these terraced houses.

The above photograph was taken by the late Robert Carswell Paxton of Homelands. It may have been taken around 1902 when the Paxtons settled in Largo (initially staying at Drum Lodge). This is still in the days of the wooden footbridge (see left of image) which preceded the building of the road bridge. Incidentally, the photograph of the first car crossing the road bridge is also thought to have been taken by Robert Paxton, who must have been quite a keen amateur photographer.

The detail below shows a team of three painters working on the exterior walls on what appears to be a bright sunny day. Alexandra House (now the site of Lower Largo's one remaining shop) can be seen to the left of the Crusoe. Further below is detail showing Bridgend House, the Railway Inn and Belmont Temperance Hotel (in an elevated position to the right of the bridge over the railway line). Miss Mary Carswell was proprietor of the Belmont at the time of this photo. I wonder whether she may have been related to Robert Paxton's mother Janet Carswell. At the foot of this post is an advert from 1908 for the Belmont Hotel when the proprietors were the Misses Sawyer.

For many a decade Largo had its own band. The above image (dated 1890 but possibly a few years later) shows the Largo Silver and Brass Band in uniform (reproduced from the book 'Seatoun of Largo' by Ivy Jardine). An article written about this particular incarnation of the local band appeared in the 29 August 1908 St Andrews Citizen. This piece stated that the band was established "25 years ago" suggesting an 1883 start date. It went on to say that they made their debut on the New Year's Day after their inception and since then had never missed a New Year's Day performance. However, a search through the newspaper archives reveals that earlier bands had come and gone before that 1883 date.

In 1839, the "Largo and Lundin Mill Instrumental Band" played at an Old Handsel Monday soiree organised by the "Largo and Lundin Mill Total Abstinence Society" in the "wareroom" at the spinning mill. The band are mentioned frequently in the 1840s and 1850s including the lacklustre review in the Fife Herald of 15 May 1856 below, where "the attendance was most miserable". This review generated a letter of complaint to the paper soon afterwards suggesting that this was an "attack" on the band due to "wounded feelings". I wonder what the story was there?

A dearth of mentions during the 1860s and early 1870s suggests that the band fell into abeyance for a time. The fact that  special events in Largo were attended by brass bands from nearby places such as Largoward, Leven and Methil supports that theory. However, in 1876 the 'Largo Brass Band' provided the music at a flower show in St Andrews representing a possible come back but it was not until the 1880s that the band seem to have become more consistent and fully established. They were conducted by a Mr Williamson in the mid 1880s and were typically known as 'Largo Brass Band'. At this time, the band also benefited from coaching from Leven's bandmaster - Mr Adamson - in an attempt to get them onto the 'competition list'. Band contests were popular with many Fife bands being regularly involved in these.

In 1899 it was noted in the St Andrews Citizen (1 July) that the band had recently secured a "smart uniform" through funds raised by a prize draw and liberal aid from "shopkeepers and other friends". This suggests that they previously had no uniform and places the image at the top of this post perhaps closer to 1899 than 1890. This was the era when the band were leasing and using a space in the granary building at Largo Harbour as a band room.

For 17 years (from around 1890) the band had been conducted by Leven man Mr George Houison. He led them to the competition victories that gave them the name "Largo Prize Band" for a number of years. He may well be in the photograph above. However, Houison left for Ontario, Canada around the end of 1907 with several other members of his family, some of whom were also band members. The front page advert from the East of Fife Record (6 Sept 1907) details what must have been one of Houison's last engagements with the band.

The band was funded entirely by subscriptions with costs of around £60 per annum in 1908 (excluding repairs or new instruments). At this time it was noted that other bands in the area had "full-plated sets of instruments" and it was thought that Largo should too. A sum of around £200 would have to be raised to make that happen. A bazaar was proposed for the following summer​.

A Mr J Bisset took over the bandmaster role in 1908 was described as an "energetic and efficient teacher". This was quite possibly John Bisset later of Buckthorns Farm. At that time the band had a number of wealthy patrons and seemed to be in great demand. To advertise their 1909 summer bazaar, the band's secretary Thomas Graham Wishart had his motor car "gaily decorated and...driven round the district advertising the announcing the attractions of the bazaar". This must have been effective as around 700 people attended the event and soon afterwards the band became 'Largo Silver Band'.  Mr Bisset resigned early in 1912 as bandmaster and the position was advertised (see advert below from 10 Feb Fifeshire Advertiser). It was noted that attendances at practices were not good at that time and only a couple of concerts were mentioned in the local papers thereafter before the band took a break during the Great War. ​
​

The band had resumed by 1921 and continued albeit with up and downs for many years after that. In 1929 the Leven Mail (19 June) reported that the "exodus of many young players from the district may force Largo Silver Band to break up" but by 1933 the same paper (8 March) stated that the band "now has the financial security to enlarge its scope". There was a simple bandstand on Massney Braes around the 1930s (see images below) where the band gave a popular summer programme of concerts. There was a period of disbandment during World War Two but the band were reported in the 19 June 1946 Leven Mail as playing at the Largo War Memorial. The leader at that time was another Mr Bisset. In this post-war period there was also a 'Largo Pipe Band'. Mention of either band seems to be absent from the newspaper archives after this time. If you know when the demise of the Largo Silver Band came about - please comment.
​

Gunnar Mauritz Belfrage was born in Gothenberg in 1887, son of architect August Wilhelm Belfrage (1841-1909). In 1904, aged 17, he came to Scotland, where he was initially an assistant with the firm of Gjertsen and Bruce ship chandlers in Methil.  In 1909 he spent some time in Germany before returning to Sweden to train as a masseur. In 1915 Gunnar returned to Scotland and worked in hospitals in and around Glasgow. During his time there he married Inez Maria Soderberg in 1919. They had three daughters while living in Glasgow - Ingrid born in 1920, then Signe in 1922 and Asta in 1923. Soon afterwards the family settled in Fife.

In 1926, Mr Belfrage was appointed German Missionary at the 'Deutsches Seemanshaus' (pictured below in its heyday and in more recent times) on Durie Street, Methil. This job was to act as a pastor to the many German-speaking seamen that would have come in and out of Methil docks - a post he remained for around a decade. The German Seaman's Mission was built in 1900 to provide religious services for the increasing number of German seamen visiting the port. The piece below from the St Andrews Citizen of 21 April describes its dedication. The first missionary appointed was a Herr Johannes Voss. The mission was suspended during the First World War and closed permanently in 1939. Gunnar Belfrage was mentioned many times in the local press during his time as missionary - an example of this from 1 February 1930 Fife Free Press is further below.

By 1936 the Belfrages had left Methil and were pursuing other interests, while based in Lundin Links, as the adverts below show. Mr Belfrage advertised his massage therapy in the Fife Free Press of 14 Nov 1936, while Mrs Belfrage was listed in the MacDonald's Directory of 1939-40 as a confectioner. They supplemented these activities with the 'Tea Gardens' at their home, Imrie Cottage on Emsdorf Street (the premises that formerly hosted Andrew Thomson's baker shop). The advert at the top of this post for the tea gardens appeared in the 10 June 1936 Dundee Evening Telegraph.
​

Tea Gardens were a popular concept in the early decades of the last century (and before). A couple of examples (not local) are illustrated below, where folks have basically turned their own garden into an al fresco cafe serving home-baking and drinks. In the 1930s when Lundin Links was very much still a fashionable summer resort, there would have been no shortage of potential customers for such an enterprise - especially on Emsdorf Street - a key route between the hotel and boarding houses of Lundin Links and the pier and beach at Lower Largo.

Belfrage's Tea Gardens seem to have been short-lived however as by 1940 the Belfrages had moved to 'Sandilands' on Leven Road in Lundin Links. They stayed there until the autumn of 1946 when the couple left Scotland to return to their homeland of Sweden. Inez died there in 1968 while Gunnar died in Stockholm aged 87 on 12 December 1974. 

In addition to his many paintings of Largo, George Leslie Hunter also produced many sketches of the area. Lots of his sketches were recognisable scenes of the beach or still existing buildings. However, the one shown above focuses on the Pier Pavilion with little contextual background. It would have been a familiar scene at the time but now only those aware of Largo's local history would know what and where this is. The pen, ink and coloured crayon drawing is named The Pierrots, Largo and dates to 1923.

This drawing was purchased by the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow for its permanent collection, along with two others 
(Fife Landscape and Largo Harbour). As the book 'Hunter Revisited' by Smith and Marriner states:

"The Pierrots is one of a series of drawings Hunter did of the open air theatre near Largo jetty. Since his days in San Francisco he had maintained an interest in the theatre, as much as anything for its colourful spectacle. The Pierrots at Lower Largo staged a popular form of vaudeville entertainment for summer visitors; often Hunter depicts scenes of the audience milling around, capturing on paper the causal seaside atmosphere."

This is the striped 1920s version of the pavilion (see photograph below). The pavilion changed in appearance a few times in the decades that it graced the pier. At the foot of this post is another Hunter sketch of a similar scene. In this one, the pink cloud suggests an evening performance as the sun sets. I wonder whether the pier could ever witness such scenes again....

Largo must have had its fair share of interesting visitors passing through over the years. The photograph above features a particularly colourful character standing outside the entrance to Cardy House. The undated image, held in the St Andrews University Image Bank simply states "Print depicting a woman with a monkey. The monkey is sitting on top of a horse. The back is labelled 'Italian woman, name is Angelino?'".

Perhaps she was there as part of a larger troupe of entertainers - maybe when the 'shows' were in town. The image below shows precisely where this unusual photograph was captured, with 123 Main Street in the background.
​

Holiday season is upon us and Largo Arts Week is kicking off - so here is a lovely circa 1950 image of children at play on the beach at the Temple. The sender of this postcard in 1952 was an M. Allan who wrote to a friend in Portsmouth:

"I will have your tea ready so come right on from station. We are having very hot weather, so hope it will continue for your visit."

I wonder if it did and what they got up to during the visit?

A charabanc was an early form of bus. Initially horse-drawn, these became motorised in the early 20th century. Usually open-topped and typically used for pleasure trips, charabancs had bench-style seating arranged in rows facing the front of the vehicle (see photographs below). The name derived from the French char à bancs - carriage with wooden benches. A canvas folding hood was located at the rear of the vehicle, similar to a convertible car. 

The demise of the charabanc was hastened by its poor safety record (often caricatured in postcards - see end of post). Little protection was offered to passengers in the event of an accident and their high centre of gravity was not helped by the tendency for them to be well-loaded and to travel steep and winding tourist routes. 

​The accident detailed above (from the Fifeshire Advertiser of 28 December 1918) sees charabancs being used in unusual circumstances - in use to transport wartime workers at night in the middle of a harsh winter. Slipping on an icy surface on a steep and winding road, the lead vehicle "crashed into the parapet wall at Mr Adam's painter's shop". The painter's shop is the light-coloured tall building on the right hand side of the road in the image above.

The 'Pier Pavilion' on Largo Pier changed in appearance over the years, as the selection of images above shows. The temporary and portable nature of the structures plus exposure to the salty air would mean frequent repairs and a limited lifespan. The 'pavilion' with its stage was accompanied by a fenced off section containing seating. An early reference to the Pier Pavilion exists in the 9 January 1913 'The Stage' newspaper, which said:

"Wanted to Let; very reasonable terms to really First-Class Concert party or Attractive Entertainment - Largo Pier Pavilion. Tip-up stalls, stage and scenery. From Easter to end of June. Only tip-top show would be entertained."

The 'tip-up stalls' were later replaced with benches and (more pricey) deck chairs. While a charge would be made for a seated view of the performance, those trying to watch from outside the fencing would not escape the notice of the company - members of which would pass around the crowds with collection tins. The 22 June 1929 Fife Free Press snippet below gives a flavour of the popularity of the venue in the 1920s.

Owned by the Pier Committee by the 1920s, the pavilion could be rented for the season (see example adverts below from The Stage for the 1927, 1928 and 1934 seasons respectively).
​

​

While 'The Rigmaroles' enjoyed a twelve week run on the pier in 1927, one of the most regular performing companies was led by Tom O'Reilly. In 1925, 'O'Reilly's Vaudevillian Orchestra' were in residence at Largo. By 1929 they were still around but known as 'O'Reilly's Hammer and Tongs' (see piece below from 29 August 1929 The Stage). The company provided a ventriloquist act, comedy, songs, sketches, dancing and various musical items featuring a range of instruments. Further below, is a notice from The Stage on 11 September 1935 where the retitled  'O'Reilly's Serenaders' were performing for a sixth season.

By 1936 there was debate over the future of the pier pavilion and its alfresco shows. As the feature below from the 25 July Fife Free Press indicates, many would have wanted to preserve this traditional form of entertainment. But the unreliable weather, changing fashions and lack of profitability were beginning to work against it. The option to hold more events in La Scala was proving to be popular. The pavilion's days were numbered.

On 24 Dec 1937, the Dundee Courier ran the advert below when one of the structures was put up for sale along with a quantity of deck chairs. However, perhaps a sale was not secured as the pavilion was still mentioned in the 1938 season, including a performance by the local silver band. The era of the Pier Pavilion came to an end early during the Second World War when the Pier Committee was dissolved. 
​