Editing Largs (section)

==History==
There is evidence of human activity in the vicinity of Largs which can be dated to the [[Neolithic era]]. The [[Stones of Scotland|Haylie Chambered Tomb]] in Douglas Park dates from c. 3000 BC.

Largs evolved from the estates of North Cunninghame over which the Montgomeries of [[Skelmorlie]] became [[Lords Temporal|temporal]] lords in the seventeenth century. Sir Robert Montgomerie built [[Skelmorlie Aisle]] in the ancient kirk of Largs in 1636 as a family mausoleum. Today the monument is all that remains of the old kirk.
[[File:(From the Red Road, Largs, Scotland) (LOC) (3450331430).jpg|thumb|left|Largs, Scotland, ca. 1890 - 1900.]]
[[File:Largs, The Brisbane Aisle.JPG|left|thumb|The [[Brisbane Aisle|Brisbane family]] vault in Largs.]]
[[File:Largs Pencil.jpg|thumb|right|The "Pencil" monument commemorating the [[Battle of Largs]], which stands just over {{cvt|1|mi}} south of the town centre]]

From its beginnings as a small village around its kirk, Largs evolved into a busy and popular seaside resort in the nineteenth century. Large hotels appeared and the pier was constructed in 1834. It was not until 1895, however, that the railway made the connection to Largs, sealing the town's popularity.

It also became a fashionable place to live in and several impressive mansions were built, the most significant of which included 'Netherhall', the residence of William Thomson, [[William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin|Lord Kelvin]], the [[physicist]] and [[engineer]].

Largs has historical connections much further back, however. It was the site of the [[Battle of Largs]] in 1263, in which parts of a Scottish army attacked a small force of Norwegians attempting to salvage ships from a fleet carrying the armies of King [[Magnus Olafsson|Magnus Olafsson of Mann and the Isles]] and his [[liege lord]] King [[Haakon IV of Norway]], beached during a storm. The Norwegians and islemen had been raiding the Scottish coast for some time, and the Scots under [[Alexander III of Scotland|Alexander III]] had been following the fleet, attempting to catch its raiding parties. The outcome of this confrontation is uncertain, as both sides claim victory in their respective chronicles and sagas and the only independent source of the war fails to mention the battle at all. The battle was followed soon after by the death of the 59 year old King Haakon in [[Bishop's Palace, Kirkwall|Bishop's Palace]] on [[Orkney]]. Following the king's demise, his more lenient son [[Magnus VI of Norway]] agreed the [[Treaty of Perth]] in 1266, under which the [[Hebrides]] were sold to Scotland, as was the [[Isle of Man]] after the demise of Magnus Olafsson.

The Largs war memorial dates from 1920 and was designed by Sir [[Robert Lorimer]].<ref>Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Robert Lorimer</ref>

During [[World War II]], the Hollywood Hotel was designated HMS ''Warren'', which was Headquarters, [[Combined Operations (United Kingdom)|Combined Training]]. A conference was held there between 28 June 1943 and 2 July 1943, [[code name]] RATTLE, under [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|Lord Louis Mountbatten]]. It was known as the "Field of the Cloth of Gold" (named after [[Field of the Cloth of Gold|a famous historic event]]) because of the number of high-ranking officers taking part. The decision that the [[invasion of Normandy|invasion of Europe]] would take place in Normandy was made at this conference.<ref>''Shield of Empire - the Royal Navy and Scotland'', Brian Lavery, Birlinn 2007, {{ISBN|978-1-84158-513-0}}</ref>  Churchill and Eisenhower attended the conference, staying at St Phillans which later became the Manor Park Hotel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Largs and the WW2 D Day Landings |url=http://www.oldlargs.com/d%20day.html |access-date=2025-05-24 |website=www.oldlargs.com}}</ref> 

[[King Haakon VII]] of Norway, then in exile in Britain due to the [[Nazi-Germany|German]] [[Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany|occupation of his kingdom]], visited Largs in 1944 and was made the town's first [[honorary citizen#Honorary citizenship|honorary citizen]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 December 1944 |title=Miscellany |work=Time Magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,791786,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215003819/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,791786,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 December 2008 |access-date=17 January 2009}}</ref>

Largs was (from the summer of 2017) the first place in the world to introduce a fully integrated system to activate pedestrian crossings using a series of [[Neatebox]]es.<ref name="largsandmillportnews.com">{{Cite web |title=Remote controlled traffic crossing world first for Largs |url=http://www.largsandmillportnews.com/news/15097533.Remote_controlled_traffic_crossing_world_first_for_Largs/ |website=Largs and Millport Weekly News}}</ref> This system allows visually or physically impaired persons to activate the crossing button with no actual requirement to find or push the button, and will be of great benefit to the disabled community.<ref name="largsandmillportnews.com" />