Waste ground behind the Pleasance - 1959
©
Reproduced with acknowledgement to Edinburgh City Libraries and
Information Services
Neg. E932D
Recollections
1.
Bob Cockburn |
Thank you to Bob Cockburn for
sending writing about this photo, based on his memories
from the time when he attended James (Jimmy) Clark School and used to go
to his granny's for my dinner, around 1940.
Bob wrote: |
Backgreens
behind The Pleasance
Drying Green on the Roof
"This picture looks like the tenement
where my Granny stayed.
It had a flat roof which was the drying green,
covered in lush grass and had a large water tank in the centre which you
can just see in the photo. |
The Windows
"She stayed in the top flat to the left of the
photo. The big window was the living room, complete with black grate
and bed recess. The small window was the scullery with a black cast
iron sink." |
Joiners and Bakers
"The basement was occupied by a
joiner/cabinetmaker.
The building to the right on the ground floor
was Young Brothers' bakery." |
Bob Cockburn: November 7, 2006 |
The large photograph above was one of several dozen taken in 1959 by Adam H
Malcolm in the Dumbiedykes area of Edinburgh. These photographs were
taken shortly before the houses were demolished. Adam H Malcolm donated these photographs to the Edinburgh City
Libraries in the 1960s and they can now be found in the Library's
Edinburgh Room Collection.
|
Recollections
2.
Eric Gold
East London |
On reading the comments above, Eric Gold
wrote: |
Backgreens
behind The Pleasance
'The Backie'
©
"The tenements in the background in the photo
above are in the Pleasance. The land in front is
the Backie (backgreen) between Arthur Street and the Scottie. The
backgreen stretches from the top of the
brae near the Pleasance to Prospect Place. *
* In fact, Bill Cockburn (below) describes these backgreens
as being one street further to the south.
Before I was born, 58
years ago, part of West Arthur place was knocked down as was Prospect
Place and they formed waste grounds for us to play
© For
permission to reproduce please contact
peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk
After my sister got married in 1956, she lived
in a middle flat, at 33 Arthur Street, with a chip shop at the foot of the
stair, above East Arthur Place. Her
home was on the right-hand side of the street, looking up the brae from
the police box and the wee
sweetie shop.
All at number 33 shared the same backie as so
did the rats (ha ha ha ha). They were not shy either. I played
as a kid in the backie. We would see the rats and we shout at
them to go away but they more or less said it was our home too (ha ha ha)
until my cat Toodles appeared with his mates.
I bet you that was her laundry in the photo as
she at the time had 3 young children. I remember her husband bought
a TV and my mum and dad and I would watch the TV there often until we had
a TV."
Eric Gold: East London, November 10, 2006 |
Recollections
3.
Bill Cockburn
Comely Bank, Edinburgh |
Bill Cockburn, Comely Bank, Edinburgh added: |
Backgreens
behind The Pleasance
120, The Pleasance
"This picture shows the rear of The Pleasance.
The large tenement at the centre of the picture is No. 120 The
Pleasance.
©
|
Charles Linton
"The row of windows at the base of the
tenement is the workshop of Charles Linton Joiners & Cabinetmakers.
His son James was a friend of mine. James kept pet rabbits on the roof." |
Young Brothers
"The
building to the right of this is Young Brothers Oakfield Bakery. The
backgreens in the foreground are not as Eric Gold suggests, Arthur Street.
They are, in fact, the backgreens of the tenements in Salisbury Street,
and stretched right down to the Dumbiedykes." |
Access to the Backgreens
"There was no access originally to these
backgreens from West, Mid, or East Arthur Place, which were in effect dead
end streets. Eventually the walls that separated these streets from the
Salisbury Street backgreens fell into disrepair and collapsed, no doubt
helped by us youngsters.
There are three backgreens in the picture.
They were accessed through back stairs in Nos. 2, 5 and 7 Salisbury
Street. These backgreens were my playground for a number of years, and
many a happy hour I spent there.
One of my best friends, Alan Duff, lived in
No. 5, which is the backgreen with the bigger amount of washing hanging
out." |
Bill Cockburn, Comely Bank, Edinburgh: May 6 + 7, 2007 |
Recollections
4.
Bill Cockburn
Comely Bank, Edinburgh |
The Front of the Buildings
Bill Cockburn (above), has also sent his
recollections
of the the front of these buildings, facing on the Pleasance.
Please click the thumbnail image below to read his recollections:
©
|
Recollections
5.
Eric Gold
East London |
Eric Gold responded: |
I agree with Bill
"Bill Cockburn is definitely right about the
backies in the photo. Do give Bill my thanks for correcting the
matter.
I made a mistake thinking it was of Prospect
Street. What a slip up I made, as my big brothers and aunts hoose
looked straight in to the backies.
I remember there was a wee stair on the left
so you could get in to Salisbury street."
Eric Gold: East London, May 8, 2007 |
Eric Gold added: |
Bakery and Whisky Bond
"I remember I used to climb the big wall in
East Arthur Place to get to my brothers' house in Salisbury Street.
I can still smell the beautiful bread getting
baked in Young Brothers' bakery and in Stewart's whisky bond were my
sister worked."
Eric Gold: East London, May 9, 2007 |
Recollections
6.
Dave Elgin
Dundee, Tayside, Scotland |
Thank you to Dave Elgin who wrote: |
Pleasance Boys' Club
Seeing the photo of the University Buildings
©
reminded me that about 50 years ago the
buildings on the left of the photo were home to the
Pleasance Boys Club.
This was a club run by 3 gentlemen:
- Dr. Loudon
- Mr. Pinkerton
- Mr. Reid.
They took about 50 boys, living around the
area, on Friday nights for a few hours and played table tennis, football
and other sports in the large gymnasium hall.
Through the archway and up the stairs at the back
led you to the hall where the Pleasance basketball team played their home
matches. I recall seeing them many times playing against such teams as
Kirknewton Comets and the Hornets. The Pleasance team were not that
good and rarely won but it was good to watch.
Once a year a camp was organised and this took
the club to Pease Bay, Cockburnspath, just outside Dunbar where you spent
the week camping.
The club was a real bonus in these days
because many of us had no television and having a place like the club to
go to kept a lot of boys off the streets."
Dave Elgin, Dundee, Tayside, Scotland: November 27 +
December 12, 2008 |
Please click
on the link below for more recollections
|