Demolition will mark the final chapter in the story of the Lundin Links Hotel, which was once a fashionable watering-hole for the rich and famous.
The Lundin Links Hotel in the village’s Leven Road opened in 1900 to meet the growing demand for accommodation for summer visitors and golfers.
There was a coaching inn at the site from the early 17th Century, which apparently encompassed a house, coach house stable and large garden by 1878.
Human bones were unearthed behind the coaching inn’s garden wall by workmen in 1890, rumoured to be the remains of a traveller who went missing.
On May 24 1900 the Lundin Links Hotel was opened by Sir John Gilmour after being designed by architect Peter Henderson, who was also captain of Lundin Links Golf Club.
The Courier said the “whole conception and arrangement” was carried out “in the most lavish manner” and reflected “the greatest credit on everyone concerned”.
“The old inn at Lundin Links, which has been well-known in the locality for many years, if not centuries, is now in the course of demolition.
“Like many old and deserving institutions, it has had to give way to modern ideas and usages and to accommodate itself in the development of the place.
“Lundin Links within comparatively few years has come to be one of the most popular summer resorts, and is frequented by visitors from both east and west.
“The growth of the Lundin Links Golf Club is but one evidence of the popularity of the locality, and the links themselves are admittedly of the first rank.
“To meet the requirements of the great influx of visitors arising from this growth of the neighbourhood, the new Lundin Links Hotel has been built and equipped, and the style and taste with which it has been fitted up reflects great credit on Mr and Mrs McTavish and augurs well for the reception which visitors may expect in the future.”
The hotel was renovated in 1905 before a fire broke out in 1920.
The Evening Telegraph reported the “alarming fire” started in the kitchen and rapidly spread to the roof, ultimately causing £700 of damage.
“When Buckhaven Fire Brigade arrived on the scene the men at once started to cut the roof, which prevented the fire spreading to other portions of the property.
“With a copious supply of water the fire was soon got under control.
“Great credit is due to the manager, Mr Tom Harris, for the manner in which he fought the outbreak until the arrival of the fire brigade.”
A new bar opened in 1935 and, during the Second World War, the building was used to house Polish soldiers, many of whom settled in the area.
The hotel was close to Fife’s most stunning coastline and some of the most beautiful golf courses in the world and, as such, would attract visitors from across the world.
John Hammond, the original Oliver Twist from the J. Arthur Rank movie of that name released in the 1940s, climbed the stairway with his mother to enter the hotel at the start of a visit on February 2 1949.
In 1952 the Sultan of Brunei, Omar Ali Saifuddin, and his entourage enjoyed lunch.
In 1953 the Sultan of Perak, and Maurice Chevalier, the French star of film and cabaret, who became one of the top-paid actors in Hollywood, paid a visit to the hotel.
Margaret Cameron catered for the comfort and requirements of those guests and was manageress at Lundin Links Hotel from 1932 up until her death in 1962.
However, her memory lived on well beyond that time – with ongoing tales of her ‘ghost’ walking around the hotel rattling her keys and turning the lights on in reception!
The hotel was a landmark building for decades and became a hugely popular place for weddings, Hogmanay dinner dances, birthday parties and family meals.
Harry Potter actor Robbie Coltrane famously wore a silver lurex suit when an episode of legendary Glasgow drama Tutti Frutti was partly filmed at the hotel in 1986.
Episode two of John Byrne’s six-part series saw Coltrane’s character, Danny McGlone, getting ready for the band’s performance at the Denbeath Miners’ Welfare Club.
Owners Campbell and Helen McIntyre’s 10-year-old pet boxer dog, Butch, got an unexpected role in the episode, although locals struggled to recognise the place.
Producer Andy Park and director Tony Smith transformed the sumptuous interior into the type of accommodation the Majestics rock ‘n’ roll band might use!
Lundin Links Hotel suffered as a result of the recession in 2012 and the owners unsuccessfully applied to tear the place down and redevelop it into a retirement facility.
Kapital Assets bought the building after approval was given to partially demolish and convert it into sheltered housing in 2012 but nothing ever happened.
The hotel closed in 2014 and much of the Tudor-style building’s interior was gutted following a major blaze in November 2016, amid claims the outbreak happened after folk were playing a role-playing zombie apocalypse game inside that led to a fire.
In October 2017 Councillor Colin Davidson warned the abandoned hotel could be burned to the ground unless it was given a long overdue new lease of life.
Mr Davidson said: “My concern is that we are going to end up with another Denbeath miners’ club or Viewforth High School and the place will go up in flames.
“If it goes on fire one night or someone gets trapped, suddenly people will ask what the council has done about it.”
The building was described as “the most iconic slum in Scotland” after vandals daubed Satan 666 on the walls in February 2022.
Fife Council took court action to secure the eyesore building in March after almost every window was smashed.
But just two months later firefighters were called to extinguish a blaze there.
Kapital Residential petitioned the Court of Session in Edinburgh in July 2022 for a wind-up order, which was the first step towards liquidation.
A major fire on August 17 was the final nail in the coffin for the 122-year-old building, which will now be demolished “as soon as possible”.
It marks a sad end for this once-grand hotel.
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