Leven House History
Kindly researched and written by Alan Cattell
The First Owners – The Anderson Family – 1879 – 1925
Charles Anderson a master plumber built what was later to be called Leven House on Comrie Street, Crieff in 1879. As an employer, the 1881 Census shows him employing 7 men and 5 boys and living at 2 Marshall Place, Comrie Street, East Side in a house with garden , whilst also having another house with garden at 2 Marshall Place, Comrie Street, East Side and also a separate shop and workshop on Comrie Street from where he ran his business.
At this date (1881) he and his wife Christina have 7 children and employ a servant. In the period 1881/1882 he is named in the Dundee Advertiser as one of the tradesman working on the newly built Free Church which was built on Comrie Street during that period.
1897/1898 Stent and Valuation records show that he still retained houses on Comrie Street one of which had Janet and Elizabeth Miller as tenants.
In the late 1890s he built and moved to The Heugh, Comrie Road with his wife and their 3 children who were still living at home including his eldest daughter Eliza. By this time he was wealthy enough to employ 6 servants.
British Listed Buildings records state that that Valuation Rolls for 1901 show that one of the houses became a Temperance Hotel in 1901 owned by Charles Anderson and occupied by Janet and Elizabeth Miller.
1901 Perth and Kinross electoral rolls show that Christina and her daughters Eliza, Harriett and Christina Jr were all joint owners of property on Comrie Road. Whilst the sons of the family Alexander (Solicitor), Charles Jr (Plumber), Donald (Actor in Silent Filma and on Broadway see info below), Daniel (Stationer), William (First Mate) and George (Vet).
The photograph below shows Dallas Anderson (originally christened Donald). He appeared on Broadway and in several silent films in America in the 1920’s and was killed in a road accident in the USA in 1934. The Dundee Courier carried an article on 19th November 1934 highlighting the fact that he had attended Morrisons Academy in Crieff and was a well known actor locally before going to America to pursue his acting career. It also identified him as one of the sons of Charles Anderson, Plumber of Crieff.
Christina his wife died at the Heugh in 1902 and Eliza her eldest daughter is named in her will.
1905 Stent and Valuation records show that Charles still retained his Comrie Street houses, one of which is recorded as being a Temperance Hotel.
Between this date and the sale of the hotel in 1925 there are several references to the hotel in local newspapers:
1906 – Leven House Boarding Establishment contact Mrs Walter Taylor
1907 – First Class Accomodation – Leven House Boarding Establishment Contact Miss Lyons (her name is shown on one of the photographs in Our Story on your website)
1908 – Leven House Board and Residence – Contact Miss Lyons
1908 – Mrs Slade-Hawkins is providing exercise classes at Leven House in July and August
Charles Anderson died at the Heugh in 1909 leaving £1498 in his will
1914 – Leven House Board and Residence
In the 1920 Stent and Valuation records, Eliza Anderson is shown as the Proprietor of a number of properties in Crieff including a house at 2 Marshall Place, Comrie Street, East Side, a Temperance Hotel at Marshall Place, Comrie Street, East Side, another house on Comrie Street, East Side and her Father’s original Shop, Workshop and Showrooms on Comrie Street, East Side. She had obviously been running the family property portfolio since her Father’s death eleven years before. At this stage she is age 53.
From January to April 1925 Leven House was advertised for sale as “ Desirable property known as Leven House, in an excellent situation at the beginning of the residential district. Well situated for a High Class Boarding House or Private Hotel. Three Public Rooms, and Eleven Bedrooms”
The Second Owners – The Page Family 1926 to 1936
From 1926 to 1935 there are adverts in the Dundee Courier for Pages Temperance Hotel, on Comrie Road, Crieff. It would appear that the Page family bought Leven House from the Anderson family when it went up for sale in 1925 and renamed it as Pages Temperance Hotel.
From 1931 until 1935 James Page and his sister Marion and brother Nicholas are shown in the Perth and Kinross Electoral Rolls as living at Leven House, Comrie Street. James had worked in hotels and been a Hotel Proprietor prior to moving to and living in Crieff.
The Hoskins Family 1936 to 2019
On 3rd June 1936, three weeks before the death of James Page, the Dundee Courier announced that the Leven House Hotel was under new management and that terms were two pounds two shillings weekly. This is I think when the Hoskins Family bought and took over management of Leven House.
The Fraser Family 2019 – Present
See ‘Our Story‘…………….