Edinburgh History - Leith Walk

Alan Sinclair

British Columbia, Canada

Alan Sinclair wrote:

Trace Horses

"I have vague memories of trace horses, being hitched up in front of the horses pulling the brewers' wagons up Leith Walk.

At the top of the Walk, they were unhitched, and the young lads looking after the trace horses would ride them, bare-back, to the Fit o' the Walk.

As the horses (Clydesdales) were colour-blind, they did not respect traffic lights, so motorists had to give way.

I would like to hear from anyone who remember this."

Alan Sinclair, Squamish, British Columbia, Canada: September 29, 2007

George T Smith

British Columbia, Canada

George T Smith wrote:

Trace Horses

"While I have no personal recollection of the trace horses, I do remember that the east side of 'The Walk' had smooth stone slabs let into the cobbles to provide an easier pull for horse drawn traffic coming up hill from Leith.

I do not think that the other side of the road surface was similarly laid out but I think other steep cobbled streets had similar 'rails' let into them."

George T Smith, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada: November 13, 2007

Update

Bob Henderson wrote:

"There were the same tracks on the up-going side of Liberton Brae. These disappeared after the trams stopped and the road was tarmacked."

Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh: April 21, 2009

Alfred Bouch

Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England

Question

Alfred Bouch wrote:

The Bell Man

"I was brought up in Edinburgh and I wonder if anyone knows anything about the 'Bell Man' who used to walk around Leith Walk, at least, with a can of Brasso and some rags, polishing the brass stair door bell pulls and name plates, all for, I think, a sixpence a fortnight.

This was in the 1950s and into the 1960s. He must have collected a lot of tanners in his time, but I have never seen or heard anything about him, not even on this site. Can any of your correspondents shed some light on him?"

Alfred Bouch, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England: April 6, 2008

If you know anything about the 'Bell Man', please email me, then I'll pass on your message to Alfred Bouch.

Thank you. - Peter Stubbs: April 6, 2008

Thank you to Pearl Koch (née McNicol): See recollections 8' below.

GM Rigg

Edinburgh

Thank you to GM Rigg for posting a message in the Edinphoto guest book.

GM Rigg wrote:

Halloween

"I remember:

- toffee apples

- dooking for apples

- treacle scones on a string hanging from the pooley

- other high jinks at Halloween."

Bonfire Night

"On Guy Fowkes' or bonfire night, someone always had on old settee that we could rip apart, looking for loose coins inside, before burning it on the bonfire.

Our bonfire was always erected opposite the GPO sorting office, on the site of the demolished store house, once used by Grants of The Bridges."

GM Rigg, Edinburgh: Message posted in EdinPhoto guest book: April 15, 2009

Mary (Mari) Johnson

Jamestown, Foothills of California, USA

Thank you to Mary Johnson who wrote:

Parade and Contest

Clydesdale Parade

"I remember the Clydesdale Parade, once a year. It went down Albert Street and turned left onto Leith Walk.

The horses would come from the stables with decorations on, such as ribbons and bows, and their manes in pigtails. They always looked splendid.

These horses were entering a contest. All the harnesses and bridles were shining, and sometimes the manes and hoofs were braided and ribboned."

Carts

"I remember so many carts being driven with the drivers standing up on the carts, very proud of their entries.

If memory serves me correctly, these horses and their carts carried the milk from the coop."

Memory Lane

"My grandfather was the night watchman. He sat in the box in the middle of the street.

I think it would be very interesting to have more trips down memory lane, as those are very much part of history."

Mary Johnson, Jamestown, Foothills of California, USA: November 22 + 23, 2009

Betty Wallace (née Baxter)

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Thank you to Betty Wallace (née Baxter) who wrote:

RS McColl

"I lived at 11 Albert Place, Leith Walk, and I recall the little RS McColl sweetie shop, right across from the Shrubhill tram depot.

I could go in there after school and buy a penny worth of sweeties. The lady would weigh them on little scales and put them in a little white paper bag."

Betty Wallace (née Baxter), Hamilton, Ontario, Canada: January 18, 2010

Kath Wyatt (née O'Donnell)

Thetford, Norfolk, England

Kath Wyatt wrote:

Hugh O'Donnell

"I'm hoping that someone will remember my grandfather, Hugh O'Donnell. He lived at 334, Leith Walk from about 1910 till he died in 1934.

He worked at the docks and was married to Elizabeth. He had four children:

- Mary (b.1904)

- Hugh (19006, d.1910)

- George (b.1908, d.1910

- Thomas (b.1912)

Thomas was my father. I have no information on any of the family as my dad came to England after his parents died and settled in Paddington, London.

All I know about the family in Edinburgh is their address in Leith Walk and the details above. So if anybody could tell me what school Mary and Thomas went to, or has any photos of any of the above, I would be truly grateful."

Kate Wyatt, née O'Donnell, Thetford, Norfolk, England: May 3, 2010

Reply to Kath

If you'd like to send a reply to Kath, please email me, then I'll pass on your message to her. Thank you.

Peter Stubbs: May 3, 2010

Pearl Koch (née McNicol)

Thank you to Pearl Koch who wrote in response to Alfred Bouch's comments in 3 above.

Bell Man and Lamp Lighter

"I remember the 'bell man' in Leith Walk in the mid-1950s polishing the Brass plates on the doors as well as the bells. There was also the man who lit the gas lamps, I think they were related.

We emigrated to Oz in 1958. We came back to Leith Walk in 1962/63 for a holiday. The 'Bell Man' was still working there, but unfortunately the lamp-lighter was no longer lighting the lamps.

My Granny lived in 78 Leith Walk, which fortunately has been Heritage Listed. The 'Bell Man' had a cuppa in her wee flat on many occasions – the cost of the cuppa? - of course, it was a polish up.

My Mum and Granny are both gone now, so unfortunately I can’t ask them about him. But I'll ask my Dad if he remembers the 'Bell Man'. Dad may, as he was the Meter Reader."

Rag & Bone Man

"I also remember the rag and bone man, and trying to get money for trash in 1962/63."

School

"I attended Dr Bell’s public School in 1956/57. On our return to Leith Walk, my sister and I were attending Dr Bell’s when it was renamed 'Bonnington Annex'."

Pearl Koch (née McNicol): November 15, 2010.

Thank you Pearl. I've passed on your message to Alfred Bouch

Recollections

John Elliot

Leicester, Leicestershire, England

Thank you to John Elliot who wrote

Steam Lorries

"I remember, well, the steam lorries (from the brewery?) chugging up Leith Walk when I was about three.

We lived in a fourth-floor flat on Leopold Terrace, at the corner with London Road, and I could just glimpsed them from my bedroom window.

One morning, my mother popped out to the shop after leaving me harnessed to my bed with a large safety pin and the window open. She returned to find me standing on the parapet with a crowd, including police and fire brigade below!

I only wanted to get a better look at the steam lorries on Leith Walk. It seemed quite reasonable to me !!!

Finding your website brings it all back"

John Elliot, Leicester, Leicestershire, England: November 22, 2010

Recollections

10.

David Mitchell

Portobello, Edinburgh

Thank you to David Mitchell who for following up the comments in 'Recollections 8' above with more memories of the 'Bell Man'.

David wrote:

Bell Man

"I remember the Bell Man working in McDonald Road in the 1950s and 1960s. As a toddler, I used to shadow his progress down the street from my pedal car as he cleaned the brass bell pulls and door handles of his customers

He always wore denim blue overalls and carried his cloths and Brasso in a tin can under his arm, his hand on that side didn’t seem to operate.

He was a friendly chap and at the end of the street (or as far down it as I was allowed by my mother to go) he would polish the chrome radiator on the front of my car."

David Mitchell, Portobello, Edinburgh: December 5, 2010

Recollections

11.

Bill Hall

Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland

Thank you to Bill Hall who wrote:

Bell Man

"The 'Bell Man' who cleaned brass bells and name plates used to come to us in Easter Road around the 1950s and 1960s.

His name was Willie. I can't remember his last name. He had a disability, possibly as the result of polio. He was a shy, quiet and studious man.

Willie married later in life and lived in Williamfield Square opposite the Police Station in Portobello. His hobby was Classical and Church music. I may be wrong, but I think he played the organ in a church in Portobello"

Bill Hall, Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland: December 16, 2010

Recollections

12.

Yvonne Cain

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

After reading Frank Ferri's memories of Benny's shoe shop in Lothian Road, Yvonne Cain wrote:

Manderston Street Area

Shops

"I can remember a shoe shop on the first street on the right off Manderston Street, from the Leith Walk end of the street.

I also remember a cake shop in the same street from the time when I worked in the hairdresser in Manderston Street."

Yvonne Cain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: July 2, 2012

Recollections

13.

Yvonne Cain

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Thank you to Yvonne Cain for writing again, after seeing this photo of the re-painted old police box at the corner of the Montgomery Street Park, at the junction of Montgomery Street and East Montgomery Place.

Yvonne wrote about the area::

Montgomery Street Area

Shops

"I remember two shops on the corner of Elgin Street or Terrace:

- One was on was a paper shop where I used to get Dad's paper. I think he used to sell bread rolls as well.

- The other was run by a lady. She sold everything in that shop. She came every day left late. She walked to Easter Road to get a bus, but I don't know where she lived."

Montgomery Street Park

"I remember cutting my finger on a piece of wire while in the park a couple of friends who lived in Elgin Street - Billy Brown and Suzanne. I wonder where they are now."

West Montgomery Place

"I remember the block of flats in West Montgomery Place, across the road from the police box. A few 'ladies of the night' lived there. They could be seen at the brick wall near our garage."

Yvonne Cain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: August 7, 2012

Recollections

14.

John Stevenson

Trinity, Edinburgh

Thank you John Stevenson for telling me about transport up and down Leith Walk in the days of horse-drawn transport.

John told me:

Trace Horses

"Additional horses were kept beside Leith Walk at Pilrig to assist on the steeper part of the road, the stretch between Pilrig and Edinburgh.

One of these horses was attached as a trace horse to a heavy load requiring it to assist on hauling the load up the hill to Edinburgh.

The horse would return to Pilrig attached to the back of a different heavy load. On this return journey, it would act as a brake as the load proceeded down the hill."

John D Stevenson, Trinity, Edinburgh: February 5, 2013

Recollections

15.

Kenneth Williamson

Silverknowes, Edinburgh

Thank you to Kenneth Williamson who told me:

Tramways Bowling Club

"Tramways Bowling Club was at Shrubhill. When I played there, I was shocked to see that old enamel destination boards from Edinburgh cable cars had been used to mark the edge of the bowling green.

I told the people in charge that they should take them out of the ground and store them somewhere where they would not deteriorate."

Kenneth Williamson, Silverknowes, Edinburgh: May 23, 2013

Recollections

16.

Malcolm J B Finlayson

Arbroath, Angus, Scotland

Thank you to Malcolm J B Finlayson who wrote:

Record Shop

"I remember a record shop situated on the east side of Leith Walk opposite the junction with McDonald Road.

My paternal grandmother lived in McDonald Road. On my six-monthly holidays in Edinburgh in the mid-1960s, I used to visit her and be given ten shillings which I would subsequently spend on records of artists from the early-1960s

IThe shop's name was 'The Record Exchange' had a bright yellow frontage and was a virtual goldmine of material. I am uncertain of how long it existed, but it was certainly there from 1964 to 1967.

Over the years, I've retained all of the records that I bought. This is just as well, as I feature some of the rarities on my radio programme, the music of the early 60s being my particular specialty."

Malcolm J B Finlayson, Arbroath, Angus, Scotland: November 7, 2013

Hi Malcolm:

Second-Hand Record Shop in Edinburgh

There is still a shop on the east side of Leith Walk that sells second-hand records. It also sells second-hand books. The name of the shop shop is Elvis Shakespeare.

The address of the shop is 347 Leith Walk. That's at Pilrig, a little further down the Walk than the shop that you mention.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: November 7, 2013

Recollections

17.

Edmund Raphael-Beldowski
formerly Edmund Brymner Murray

Edmund Raphael-Beldowski wrote:

Question

Union Grill Restaurant

"Can anyone tell me what became of the Union Grill Restaurant at the top of Leith Walk and of the Pelosi family who were the owners?

I was at the Edinburgh 'Dough School' with Roderick Pelosi, in 1959-1960. He was a great friend. We shared a common interest in domestic interest and science, but I've not seen him for all those years."

Edmund Raphael-Beldowski (formerly Edmund Brymner Murray:
Kentisbearne, Devon, England: April 20, 2015 (email) + 21 April 2015 (2 emails)

Reply to Malcolm?

If you'd like to send a reply to Malcolm, please email me, then I'll pass his email address to you.

The address of the shop is 347 Leith Walk. That's at Pilrig, a little further down the Walk than the shop that you mention.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: April 20, 2015

Recollections

18.

Alex Dickson

Edinburgh

Alex Dickson wrote:

Knife Shop

"There was a cutler, or at least a shop which sold all kinds of knives, including sheath knives for Scouts, on Leith Walk.

The sign outside the shop, above its window and easily seen by pedestrians, was a penknife, much the same as a barber had his red and white pole outside his shop.

The penknife was open, like an old fashioned cut-throat razor. The owner also sold those.

The shop was there more than 60 years ago when my father took me in to buy my Scouts’ sheath knife, and my first razor, which was a Rolls, in its shiny metal case enclosing the rubber-and-stones used for stropping the blade.

I presume the shop died when on-line shopping took off. I tried to locate the premises on a recent visit to Edinburgh and think I found them, now turned into a bookmakers.

Staff at the bookmakers knew nothing of what had been there before, but an elderly gent, scribbling his bet with one eye on the racing monitors, said that the knife shop had been there or thereabouts until a few years earlier. For some reason, the name Wilson is in my head - probably nonsense."

Alex Dickson, Edinburgh: Feb 4 + May 7, 2015

Alex added

Leith Walk Cutler

"I shall keep my fingers crossed that there is someone out there with the same strand of nostalgia who might recognise my description of the ironmnonger / cutler / drysalter shop that sold knives forks, sheath knives and Rolls Razors, on Leith Walk, not far from the Pilrig junction."

Alex Dickson, Edinburgh: May 19, 2015

Recollections

18.

John Stevenson

Trinity, Edinburgh

Thank you John Stevenson for replying to Alex Dickson's question above.

John wrote

Cutler at Leith Walk

"Yes there was 'cutler' at Crighton Place, near Pilrig, by the name of Peter Cameron. It was a one-man business. Something niggles me that the business changed names in 1940's but remained there. PO Directories will confirm

My aunt Jessie was a " dressmaker and seamstress " and she got her scissors sharpened there."

Cutler at Leith Walk

"There was also a larger cutler at Leith Street, named Burnet. Here's what I found about them from the PO Directories:

Robert Burnet

Cutler and Surgical Instrument Maker

70 , Leith Street and 14 , Leith Street Terrace

Workshop Nottingham Terrace , Edinburgh

John D Stevenson, Trinity, Edinburgh: May 19 + 20, 2015

Recollections

19.

Sheila Millar

Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Sheila Millar asked:

Knife Shop

"There was a cutler, or at least a shop which sold all kinds of knives, including sheath knives for Scouts, on Leith Walk.

The sign outside the shop, above its window and easily seen by pedestrians, was a penknife, much the same as a barber had his red and white pole outside his shop.

The penknife was open, like an old fashioned cut-throat razor. The owner also sold those.

I presume the shop died when on-line shopping took off. I tried to locate the premises on a recent visit to Edinburgh and think I found them, now turned into a bookmakers.

Sheila Millar, Tamar Valley, Cornwall: Feb 4 + May 7, 2015

Alex added

Leith Walk Cutler

Alex Dickson, Edinburgh: May 19, 2015

Recollections

20.

Sheila Millar

Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Sheila Millar asked:

Bob Thomson / Thompson

"Can anybody help me to find Bob Thomson / Thompson? He was a property developer in Edinburgh in the 1970s and maybe on into the 1980s.

In the mid-1970s, he had a an estate agents on the corner of Leith Walk, possibly where Vittorio’s now is. At that time he lived with his secretary/girlfriend in a big house up on the Southside. He’ll be getting on now, probably 80ish.

Description of Bob ... Well if you squinted your eyes he looked a wee bit like Rod Stewart ... but I think he made a bit of an effort on that front.

He helped me to find a place to live in Cadiz Street, Leith, when I came to Edinburgh from Fife, aged 21. I’ve never forgotten what he did for me, and I'd love the opportunity to be able to thank him personally!"

Sheila Millar, Tamar Valley, Cornwall: 7 May + 16 May 2017

Reply to Sheila

If you know whether or not Bob is still alive and can suggest how Sheila might contact him, please email me to let me know, then I'll pass on Sheila's email address to you so that you can send a message direct to her.

Thank you.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: 18 May 2017