Sunday 24 February 2008

Ruined Houses and Salt-panning

Ruined house in field next to disused railway track

Ruined house at the top of the beach

About half a mile East of Lower Largo village at a site named as Viewforth on the map, there are some ruined houses on either side of the disused railway track. At one time they would have been known locally as 'The Pans' and the people who first lived in them during the second half of the 18th Century were engaged in salt-panning. Sea-water was collected in pans and then a fire set beneath the pans so that the water evaporated to leave the salt, which at that time was a prescious commodity for preserving meat and fish. It was dependent on a local supply of coal and whilst the main coalfields were in the West of Fife , there were small mines in the Largo area. There were several salt-pans along the Fife Coast. There are substantial remains at St Monans a few miles East of Largo.

Houses at the top of the beach in 1947

Although the salt-panning had long since ceased, the houses continued to be occupied for some time. By 1951 they had almost completely disappeared into the sea


The information on salt-panning and the 1947 picture were taken from the book Largo. An illustrated history by Eric Eunson and John Band. It is an excellent account of the history of the area, and has some fascinating photographs, some from the early 1900s and before. There is a detailed history of salt-panning in the Largo area. Sadly the book is now out of print but local libraries have copies, which can be borrowed.

4 comments:

sslargo said...

Came across your blog completely by chance(a random search for something completely unconnected about Upper Largo) - a lovely blog and I've now forwarded the link to several friends who I know will enjoy it as much as me - when you're stuck in an office all day, it's great to be able to take a few minutes out and enjoy what's right under our noses but we're too busy to see.

Largo observer said...

Thanks sslargo,
Great to get a comment from someone who's enjoying the blog.

Mel said...

Love the post!
I enjoy learning about other places, being far away doesn't mean I don't care about history from miles away ;)
Thanks for sharing the information.
Greetings from Peru!

Mosura said...

My Gt Gt Gt Gt Grandfather, Thomas Syme, was a salter at Lower Largo Pans in the 1790's so these photos were of great interest. Thanks for sharing them.