The series of images above illustrates the changes in village life around the viaduct over the Keil Burn at Lower Largo. This view, looking north from the gap between the Crusoe Hotel and the start of Main Street (see map below) has inspired both painters and photographers. This perspective offers layers of interest - from the Railway Inn in the foreground, through the viaduct, to the changing buildings beyond. The earliest image at the top was taken during the 1885 celebrations to mark the unveiling of the Crusoe statue and features the oil and cake mill framed behind the arches.
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The artworks by George Leslie Hunter represent just two of the many pieces he produced over the years that he frequented Largo in the 1920s. Local subject matter that Hunter captured included the pier and harbour, the pier pavilion, the beach, Drum Lodge, Dunkirk, the mill, street scenes and the viaduct. People he knew and places where he stayed also featured amongst his work, such as the Woman in the Hat and Beach House.

A few decades after Hunter, Tom Gourdie captured many views of the changing landscape in Fife. During the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, he set out to record streets and buildings due for demolition in a time of rapid architectural change. His subject matter included old houses, boat building yards, harbours, collieries, gasworks, mills and churches and covered places across Fife including Kirkcaldy (where he had his studio), Dysart, Leslie, Aberdour, Burntisland, West Wemyss, Kelty, Lochgelly, St Monans, Pittenweem, Anstruther and Lower Largo. By the time an exhibition of his work took place in Kirkcaldy Galleries in 1967, 30 of the 50 featured scenes had already been lost, with others earmarked for demolition (according to the 16 February 1967 Scotsman).

Gourdie developed an interest in industrial architecture early in life, after spending a year in the Fife Coal Company’s architect’s office as a teenager. His Largo piece above exemplifies this interest, with the gasometer and part of the gas retort house prominently framed by one of the viaduct's arches. Unusually for Gourdie's paintings, there are quite a few people featured in the painting. Their presence adds to the sense of this being a working harbour area. Perhaps Gourdie anticipated that this would not always be the case. Of course, the steam train crossing the viaduct represents another part of life now lost to history.

The above photograph features a nostalgic view looking towards the viaduct in the 1940s. Taken after the demolition of the old oil mill but before the creation of the caravan site. It's a familiar scene, yet much has changed since this image was captured. Of course the cylindrical gas holder is long gone and the adjacent gas works retort house was demolished more recently. Now newly-built houses occupy the gas works site, above the Seatoun Place development of the 1980s ,which is situated on the lower slopes overlooking the Keil Burn (see recent photographs below).

Another change since the 1940s is the slight repositioning of the bus stops on either side of Harbour Wynd, which are now located further away from the junction with Main Street. Note the old bus stop on the far left in the top photograph, with its black and white striped pole. A closer up view of a similar bus stop of the era is shown below. On the far right of the top image, a double-decker bus has stopped at the bus stop next to the Railway Inn. The destination of the Leyland Titan bus seems to read 'Buckhaven' and a conductress appears to be waiting in front of the bus. Double-decker buses have been used in Fife since 1929.

If you have ever wondered what the view through the viaduct at Lower Largo looked like 150 years ago, take a close look at the photograph above. This is one view of a scale model of Largo Mill, created by John Band in April 2021.  A series of different perspectives of the model are shown in the photographs below.

The model itself will be on display as an installation in the foyer of the Largo Library and Community Hub on Crescent Road, Lundin Links during Largo Arts Week. Display boards with photographs and detailed information about the mill will accompany the model. Arts Week runs 17-25 July 2021.

Below is an aerial view which clearly shows the layout of the buildings on the site. The Mill Cottage is set back, elevated beside the dam. Harbour Wynd runs up the right hand side of the scene. In the centre-ground from left to right are the gasworks/forge (partly obscured by trees); the main mill (centre with many windows); the steam engine house (to the immediate right of main mill); and the oil refining house / office (formerly the spinning mill flax heckling house (angled on the left). In the foreground is the viaduct, with the track visible. The Keil Burn runs through one of the arches and a ford can be made out just above the line of the viaduct. The ford is shown in greater detail further below.

Note the many tiny details within the model, such as the mill's bell tower, flights of steps, barrels and small bridges over the sluices. The landscaping features are also incredibly detailed. Best seen in full 3-D and up close but if you can't make it along to the installation at the library this summer I hope that these photos provide a sense of the huge amount of work that has gone into producing this showpiece. If you would like to learn more about the history of the site and read further details on its buildings and infrastructure, take a look at this series of in-depth posts (content created by John Band):

lundinlinks.weebly.com/blog/largo-mill-in-depth-part-1
lundinlinks.weebly.com/blog/largo-mill-in-depth-part-2
lundinlinks.weebly.com/blog/largo-mill-in-depth-part-3
lundinlinks.weebly.com/blog/largo-mill-in-depth-part-4

Reading the content of the above posts in conjunction with viewing these images of the model should transport you right back to circa 1870.

Many will remember with great fondness the cine films made by Ernest Mackie back in the 1960s. Featuring subject matter such as the railway and the local posties. Often humorous - these films were publicly screened from time to time at venues such as the Simpson Institute and the Old Baptist Meeting Hall. Some locals were fortunate enough to have copies of the original films put onto DVD and one of them has suggested sharing the films more widely via this site, so that local people can relive the memories, perhaps see themselves (or people they know) in the films and appreciate once again the talent of Ernest Mackie. 

Ernest was truly ahead of his time in terms of the skill and quality of his film-making. When you watch these short films, please do take time to remember that these were made with 1960s technology. A huge amount of care and thought went into the filming, editing, captioning, music, etc. The first film (which you can link to from here) is entitled 'Sentimental Journey' and it captures perfectly the sadness at the loss of the East of Fife railway line and its stations. It features a very moving poem and shows a mix of clips from both before and after the line's closure. A few stills from the film are shown below.

Sadly, Ernest Mackie passed away on 23 August 2019 at the age of 88. 

George Hunter was a Scottish painter - one of the Scottish Colourists - whose work was characterised by the bold use of colour and loose brushwork. He was born on 7 August 1877 to Rothesay chemist William Hunter and his wife Jeanie Stewart. He was their fifth child. George spent the first fifteen years of his life in Rothesay, where he developed a passion for drawing from a young age.  Early in 1892, two of George's older siblings died while still in their early twenties. Later that year, William, Jeanie and their three surviving children emigrated to California.  They initially settled on an orange grove 50 miles east of Los Angeles, where they enjoyed the change of climate. Two or three years later they moved to the city but in 1899 all except George returned to Scotland.

George moved to San Francisco, where he began using the name 'Leslie' for the first time. There he became a member of the bohemian community of artists, writers and poets. His earnings from work as an illustrator for magazines and books paid for a visit to Paris in 1904. This trip inspired him to try his hand at oil painting. Back in San Francisco, in 1905, he compiled a portfolio of work to be exhibited the following year in what would be his first solo exhibition. However, this would never come to pass, as all of his work was destroyed by the fires that followed the 1906 earthquake in the city.

This was a disaster for Hunter and led to his return to Scotland. He settled in Glasgow later in 1906 but continued to make visits to France from time to time (except during the First World War when travel was restricted). Hunter developed a group of friends based on the east coast of Scotland, who introduced him to Fife. The county's rural architecture and colourful landscapes became an important source of inspiration to him. Ceres and Lower Largo in particular were favourite haunts. In a letter to one of those friends Hunter wrote "Fife is ever a delightful thought on my mind with its beautiful valleys and villages".

Above is 'Cottages and Landscape, Fife' dated 1923-24, which is in fact Drum Lodge looking east.

Above is 'Largo, Fife' (undated) showing Main Street, Lower Largo, looking east where Horne's Buildings now stand on the left and the right turn at White Cottage is off picture to the right.

Above is 'Largo Harbour' dated 1925.

Above is 'Figures on the Pier, Largo' undated.

Above is 'Mill, near Largo' dated 1924, depicting the flour mill at Lundin Mill - not far from another of his subjects, Dunkirk Cottage.

Above is 'Cottages Under a Railway Bridge' (1924) featuring the railway viaduct, cottages and the oil and cake mill. 

Above is 'Boats, Lower Largo' dated 1926, looking west from close to the Orry.

So it was the early to mid years of the 1920s that Hunter frequently visited Largo. This was the same period of his life that he became increasingly associated with the other three Scottish Colourists: Samuel Peploe, Francis Cadell and John Duncan Fergusson. There were also trips to mainland Europe throughout the 1920s. In 1929, while in the French Riviera, Hunter suffered a breakdown and was brought back to Scotland by his sister to recuperate. Despite a period of recovery, his health deteriorated soon afterwards and he died in 1931 in Glasgow aged 54. Exhibitions of his work continued after his death and his art still commands huge interest today.

The above painting by German-born artist Eugene Dekkert was recently sold mislabelled as 'St Monans Harbour'. Many will recognise it immediately as Largo Harbour. The same view is shown below from both c1900 and the present day. One key feature is missing from the painting, however. There is no railway viaduct. This is not because the painting pre-dates the building of the railway line. In fact, it has been deliberately left out - no doubt to create a nostalgic view of old Largo.

Dekkert was born in 1865 - eight years after the opening of the railway line. He came to live in Scotland and lived in first Glasgow and then the East Neuk of Fife in the early 20th century. He and his wife Emma were living in St Monans at both the 1901 and 1911 census. The fact that he lived there, along with the fact that he often painted the harbour at St Monans probably accounts for the inaccurate title on the painting above. It was said in 1906 that "the sea is never absent from his work" and that his style was "strongly individual". He had studied at the Academy in Munich as a student of Theodor Hummel.  

Presumably he returned to Germany at the time of the Great War. Later in life Dekkert participated in art exhibitions in Berlin, Dresden and Munich. Many of his works are in international as well as German museums, such as the Neue Pinakothek in Munich. Eugene Dekkert died in 1956.

This week saw the demolition of a Largo landmark - the Largo Gas Works retort house. Many were fond of this industrial building, while others found it an eyesore. But over the century and more that it was there, in its prominent elevated position above the harbour and viaduct, it caught the eye of locals and visitors alike. In order to mark the end of its existence, this post will look in detail at the site, its history and the internal workings of the building. The annotated site drawing below and the floor plan and section drawings further below have been created by John Band. 

As the first drawing below states, the site for the gas works was selected due to its proximity to the railway station and to the buildings that it was going to supply. The works began operation on 20 April 1909. Remarkably, they only operated as originally intended for approximately 16 years, as around 1925 the Largo operation went into liquidation and was absorbed into its Kennoway-based sister company. The inset advert from the 24 May 1926 Dundee Courier gives notice of the pipe laying work to enable gas to be supplied from Kennoway to Largo.

To see the above site drawing as a PDF, please click here. 

If you have ever wondered what originally went on within the retort house and what the process of producing gas involved, then the document below will provide the answers. In order to appreciate the detail within floor plan and section drawings, please open this as a PDF. The Largo operation was typical of small gasworks of the time.

Below is a photograph showing the gas works (partly obscured behind the viaduct) during its short period of operation. This image is pre-1914 as the old wooden footbridge is shown and the existing road bridge is not. The chimney of the retort house is visible in the distance, overlapping with the chimney of the oil and cake (formerly flax spinning) mill which is slightly closer to the camera. Note also the gas lamp visible on Drummochy Road in front of the house to the left of the picture. There is another on the pier.

In the next post there will be some follow-up on the gas works site, including detail on the gas holder that once stood alongside the retort house, the changing uses of the retort house building over the years and the important role that the building played during World War Two - accompanied by some more photos.

The previous post opened a series taking an in-depth look at the former mill close to the harbour at Lower Largo. This post continues the tour of the site. By the time the above photo was captured in the 1930s - by Cowie the photographer - the building was in a ruinous state. However, its condition allows us a glimpse at the interior of the mill. Note in particular how the water wheel house can be clearly seen on the right hand side of the main building. A plan and section of the water wheel house, as it would have been around 1861, are shown in the detailed drawing below, created by John Band. A PDF version of the annotated drawing can be opened by clicking here. 

Looking back at the image at the top of this post, further to the right of the water wheel house, and closer to the foreground, is the former heckle house building. In the spinning mill days, the heckle house was where the first process in the preparation of flax was carried out. However, once the mill had been converted for oil and cake production, this particular building was used to accommodate the oil refining process. The drawing below provides a comprehensive, illustrated explanation of what went on within this part of the mill complex. A PDF of this is available by clicking here. Two further photographs below, show the building in varying states of repair. 

In the next post - a look at the building to the left of the main mill - a particularly old part of the site.

Over the next few blog posts, there will be an in-depth look at the former mill situated alongside the Keil burn, where Seatoun Place was built in the early 1980s. The above image is from the Canmore collection and was taken circa 1890 by the photographer Erskine Beveridge. The history of the mill has been touched upon on this site before - from the early days as a flax spinning mill to its reincarnation as an oil and cake mill and ultimately to a roofless ruin. 

Much of Largo's industrial heritage took place at this site and it is with thanks to John Band that a series of detailed plans can be shared which illustrate the layout and workings of the various elements of the mill. Below is a drawing which overlays the mill buildings, races, tunnels, original sea wall and ford with the present day buildings of Seatoun Place. To view this drawing as a PDF (and to appreciate the detail that lies within it) please click here.

​Having set the scene, let's look inside the main building in the photograph at the top above. The plan below shows the ground floor of the mill around 1861. The fully annotated drawing shows all the key pieces of machinery along with a description of the seed crushing process. To open up this drawing as a PDF please click here.

As many of you will know, the edge runner stones were recovered when Seatoun Place was constructed and still sit proudly at the entrance to the development. Our tour of the mill site will continue in the next post....

Although the above postcard is entitled "Woodlands, Largo", it is taken from Largo Pier looking over to the houses of Drummochy. The east end of Woodlands Road features in the background left, above the railway line. Posted on 29 August 1903 in Lower Largo, the sender (writing to a friend in Ayrshire) has clearly enjoyed holidaying in Largo. The photograph, taken a few years earlier, is a George Washington Wilson image. When magnified, there is some great detail of people captured as well as other detail of life at the time.

Note the wide entrance from Drummochy Road right into the harbour, where carts would ford the burn to reach the other side. See also the fishing paraphernalia and the tree stumps and logs lining the pier. At the foot of this post is a zoom-in on the three-storied Drummochy House which has an interesting statue to the right in the garden!