THE photographs in this week's trip down West Fife's Memory Lane focus on one of the oldest surviving buildings in Dunfermline, Abbot House.

During the renovation of the building in 1992, while it was undergoing extensive work in preparation for its opening as a heritage centre, an original tracery window was uncovered which dated the house back to at least 1460. The first of our photographs doesn't go quite as far back as the 15th century but it does show what the rear of the house and its garden looked like in the early years of the 20th century – on June 10, 1922, to be precise.

The next photograph features a number of people who played pivotal roles in creating the Abbot House Heritage Centre that opened in 1995 to tell the unique story of Dunfermline's history. At the rear, from left, are Sheila Pitcairn, local historian and genealogist who served as a chairwoman of Dunfermline Heritage Trust (DHT); Fred Mann, ex-chairman of Carnegie Dunfermline Trust; Fay Mann, who worked as one of the army of volunteers in Abbot House; Margaret Dean, inaugural chairwoman of DHT; and Sheila Green, who also served as chairwoman of DHT during its 20 years in operation. In front is the late John Amos, one of the original Abbot House guides, pictured alongside his wife, Dorothy.

Abbot House opened to the public after a period of restoration and development by Elspeth King and Michael Donnelly (formerly of the People's Palace, Glasgow). It was described as an experience not to be missed and likened to Dr Who's tardis as its exterior was misleading as to the extent of its contents. In its time, the building had been a laird's mansion, an iron foundry and an art school.

The next image shows one of the display rooms in Abbot House, the Marble Room. Contained within it were a number of historical artefacts that served to relate aspects of Dunfermline's history including a replica of the sword of King Robert the Bruce, implements that were used in the brutal treatment of women who were accused of witchcraft, and a copy of the Pitfirrane Goblet from Pitfirrane House that had been presented to King Charles I that was reputed to change colour if poison had been mixed with wine in the glass. Sadly, the artefacts displayed throughout Abbot House have been disposed of since its closure in 2015, so that despite the building re-opening soon, it will no longer be able to function as the award-winning tourist attraction it once was.

One of the most popular attractions of Abbot House was the cafe and outside seated garden, and, in the final photograph, we can see work taking place to create the garden by members of a popular BBC gardening programme of that time, the Hit Squad from 'The Beechgrove Garden'.

More photographs like these can be seen in Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries and also at facebook.com/olddunfermline. 'Old Dunfermline' DVDs are available online from olddunfermline.com/shop.