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