Apparently, back in the late 19th century, Emsdorf Street was referred to by the inhabitants of Lundin Mill simply as "The Street". This was in the days before any significant development along Leven Road. As described in an earlier post, there was a communal drying green, known as Pump Green, close to the east end of Emsdorf Street. So it makes sense to hear that, at this end of the street, on the south side, was a house where two ladies took in washing for mangling. As Esther Menzies recalled....
"The mangle was long and low and the rollers were big and heavy and seemed to chase each other along a board a few inches above the floor....I remember that we paid two pence (old money) for the mangling of a big clothes basket full of linen."
Mrs Menzies goes on to compare "The Street" of the past to Emsdorf Street of the 1970s. She said that in the place of Gosforth Place was Mr Kinnear's Builder's Yard. There was no Jurecki's shop (the one which became Hogan's) as this had not been built and the space was simply part of the gardens of Emsdorf House. Many of the cottages were the same but had been improved over the years. There was no McMillan's hardware shop - this was built later, initially as a baker's shop. Neither did the shops at the far end of Emsdorf Street exist, nor Park Terrace round the corner (now the start of Links Road). Gardens filled with flowers occupied the space opposite the Post Office on Links Road.
Mrs Menzies, then described the north side of "The Street", beginning with the hotel. Next to it was a coach-builder's business run by Willie Dick and son. There was a pend for carriages to go through and a workshop at the bottom of the garden. The account continues:
"It was a fascinating place to be sent to. There were wheels all over and upended gigs and such like with the shafts up in the air. He also sharpened lawn mowers and knives. Next to this were two cottages or maybe one and a byre. There wasn't much difference. Two old women stayed there. Maggie Drummond sold sweets which were displayed in her window on a table....when you were in the shop or room and looked along the passage you could see the cows flicking their tails. The Seaway is there now."
Much of the rest of the street was unchanged, although there was once a bakehouse where "there was always the glorious smell of freshly baked bread" and a water pump near it on the street.
So clearly, there were a few businesses operating along Emsdorf Street in the 1890s, yet Mrs Menzies maintained that Hillhead Street was the main shopping street at that time. However, with the development of Leven Road beginning in the closing years of that century and continuing into the early 20th century, there seems to have been a shift away from Hillhead towards the west over time. The Post Office probably took over as 'hub' of the village and more shops popped up along Emsdorf Street, in addition to the new shops on Leven Road.
"The mangle was long and low and the rollers were big and heavy and seemed to chase each other along a board a few inches above the floor....I remember that we paid two pence (old money) for the mangling of a big clothes basket full of linen."
Mrs Menzies goes on to compare "The Street" of the past to Emsdorf Street of the 1970s. She said that in the place of Gosforth Place was Mr Kinnear's Builder's Yard. There was no Jurecki's shop (the one which became Hogan's) as this had not been built and the space was simply part of the gardens of Emsdorf House. Many of the cottages were the same but had been improved over the years. There was no McMillan's hardware shop - this was built later, initially as a baker's shop. Neither did the shops at the far end of Emsdorf Street exist, nor Park Terrace round the corner (now the start of Links Road). Gardens filled with flowers occupied the space opposite the Post Office on Links Road.
Mrs Menzies, then described the north side of "The Street", beginning with the hotel. Next to it was a coach-builder's business run by Willie Dick and son. There was a pend for carriages to go through and a workshop at the bottom of the garden. The account continues:
"It was a fascinating place to be sent to. There were wheels all over and upended gigs and such like with the shafts up in the air. He also sharpened lawn mowers and knives. Next to this were two cottages or maybe one and a byre. There wasn't much difference. Two old women stayed there. Maggie Drummond sold sweets which were displayed in her window on a table....when you were in the shop or room and looked along the passage you could see the cows flicking their tails. The Seaway is there now."
Much of the rest of the street was unchanged, although there was once a bakehouse where "there was always the glorious smell of freshly baked bread" and a water pump near it on the street.
So clearly, there were a few businesses operating along Emsdorf Street in the 1890s, yet Mrs Menzies maintained that Hillhead Street was the main shopping street at that time. However, with the development of Leven Road beginning in the closing years of that century and continuing into the early 20th century, there seems to have been a shift away from Hillhead towards the west over time. The Post Office probably took over as 'hub' of the village and more shops popped up along Emsdorf Street, in addition to the new shops on Leven Road.
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