THE photographs in this week’s trip down West Fife’s Memory Lane look at the area around the bottom of the New Row.

The first image is of the Brig Tavern that used to be situated underneath the railway viaduct and was a popular stopping-off point for rail travellers using the nearby Dunfermline Lower Station as recalled by Geoff Werner: “I used to have a drink in there before getting the train to Edinburgh on a Saturday night.”.

Ian Bridges remembers the difficulties encountered when leaving the pub: “You used to take your life in your hands trying to cross the road after a few pints in there.”

Given the number of years since the pub was demolished, it’s little wonder not everyone remembers it being there which is the case with Linda Muir: “Wow! I never knew that was there!”

The next photograph shows the Dunfermline and West Fife Hospital that was situated on the west side of the New Row just up from the Brig Tavern and Neil Pozzi remembers his time in the hospital and a link with the Brig Tavern: “When I was in the West Fife hospital across the road in 1974 after a bad car crash, our ward had a door from the conservatory extension outside to stairs down to the pavement. Two of the fittest guys would collect our orders and sneak across to the Brig Tavern for a carry-out. Unfortunately for me I needed help holding it as amongst other breaks both my arms were broken and they poured it into the empty water jug for later. The two male nurses that were on duty got wind of this and appeared saying my water appeared to be dirty. I told them it tasted OK, so they said they’d better taste it and proceeded to drink it down between them. They then gave me a lecture about drinking with the meds I was on. So much for a fly pint ...”

The hospital served as the main emergency and surgical hospital for Dunfermline and West Fife for more than 100 years before becoming redundant after the Queen Margaret Hospital was built. Priory House on the top right was retained with the majority of the other buildings being demolished to make way for housing. Office accommodation was also created that incorporated part of the old Cottage Hospital, becoming ‘New City House’.

The next grainy old image is of the area around the railway viaduct in Nethertown in the 1950s before the buildings on the left were demolished as part of road improvements. This was taken near where the Bothwell Street Bank of Scotland is now.

Richard Drylie remembers some of the shops in this area: “The Brig Cafe and chip shop was on the right-hand side of the road here in front of the church before it moved round the corner to the start of Nethertown Broad Street."

The final photograph is a view looking towards the bottom of the New Row from the south.

More photographs like these can be seen in Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries as well as at facebook.com/olddunfermline.

With thanks to Frank Connolly.