Talk to Museum of Edinburgh - February 4, 2013 - Page 3 - Edinburgh Old Town

Dumbiedykes

Houses in the Dumbiedykes district, that lies between Pleasance and Holyrood Park, were demolished in the 1960s and replaced by modern flats.

Here are some views looking down on the district from Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park:

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Around 1940

View from Salisbury Crags

Looking down on Dumbiedykes and across to Edinburgh Castle

View from Salisbury Crags

Around 1950

View from Salisbury Crags

Looking down on Dumbiedykes and across to Edinburgh Castle

© Reproduced with acknowledgement to Norward Inglis and his daughter, Barbara Simpson

Around 1995

The same view as above, but taken 45 years later

with the newer housing in the foreground

© Reproduced with acknowledgement to Al Lorentzen, Inverness, Illinois, USA (RAF Kirknewton, 1959-62)

Around mid-1960s

View from beneath Salisbury Crags

Dumbiedykes, following demolition, with only the church still standing

Here is another photo of the church, taken in the days when it was still surrounded by houses:

1959

Prospect Place +Prospect Terrace

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Arthur Street

Arthur Street ran through the middle of Dumbiedykes, leading from Pleasance down to Holyrood Park. There was a gentle slope near the top of the hill, becoming steeper as the street approached Holyrood Park.

Map of Dumbiedykes

Three streets ran to the south from Arthur Street. They were:

- West Arthur Place

- Middle Arthur Place

- East Arthur Place

These were know locally as 'Westie', 'Middlie' and 'Eastie'

This is the new housing that can be found today where the top of Arthur once stood, looking down from Pleasance towards Holyrood Place.

New Arthur Place

December 2007

Here's what the area looked like early in the 20th century ...

Arthur Street - c.1914

© Reproduced with acknowledgement to David Taylor, Polwarth, Edinburgh, whose family ran this shop.

Arthur Street - early-1920s

... and here it is in the mid-20th century, shortly before demolition:

Looking up Arthur Street - 1959

Looking down Arthur Street to the junction with East Arthur Place - 1960s

Here are the buildings on the corner of Arthur Street being demolished a few years later:

The corner of Arthur Street and East Arthur Place

© Photograph reproduced with acknowledgement to Allan Dodds, Nottingham, England

East Arthur Place

Two Children + Two Workers

East Arthur Place

Two Children (again)

Here is the southern end of the three streets 'Eastie', 'Middlie' and 'Westie' That's the end furthest from Arthur Street. Part of the slope of Arthur's Seat in Holyrood Park can be seen in the background.

East, Middle and West Arthur Place - 1959

These two views look along one of the three Arthur Place streets towards Arthur Street:

Arthur Place - 1959

This is the coal lorry that ran out of control down Arthur Street and into Holyrood Park in 1958.

Leckie's Coal Lorry

that ran out of control down Arthur Street and into Holyrood Park

© Reproduced with acknowledgement to Ron Leckie, California, USA

Recollections

Coal Lorry

Here are a few of the comments that I received about these photos

1. "Kids were hovering to pick up the coal without the policeman seeing them."

2. "I can see my ma's hoose from that angle, Dod's grocers shop and Spier's the newsagents."

3. "My sister is the little girl on the left in this photo."

4. "I don't recognise the bairns or the policeman. It wasn't 'Big Ginger, the Polis' (ha ha ha). He would just let us help ourselves."

5. "My fondest memory of the free coal was of a local character, Mrs. Wynn, shovelling it into her message bag."

6. "Arthur Street was very steep. There were many accidents there. A coal lorry and a sweet lorry both 'ran away' out of control down Arthur Street."

7. "The best laugh was watching the men with their fruit-barrows. There were several of these being pushed around the streets, but when they came to the hill down Arthur Street, the owners had to hold on tight to the barrow handles to prevent the barrow from running away down the street.

The local children knew this, so they used to run down the street beside the barrows, pinching the fruit, and there was nothing that the owner could do about it!"

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The Scotchie

The Scotchie was the level raised area of open land in Dumbiedykes.

Arthur Street and 'The Scotchie' can also be seen on the left of this photo:

Looking down on Dumbiedykes following demolition

Only the church is still standing

Several people have sent me their memories of 'The Scotchie'. Here are some of their comments.

Recollections

The Scotchie

Here are a few of the comments that I received about these photos

1. "The Scotchie was a hill that had a level top, used for football matches."

2. "The car in the photo of Prospect Place was my dad's car."

3. "We played Cowboys & Indians and British & Germans on 'The Scotchie'."

4. "We would play 'kick the can' on the Scotchie, and bonfires were lit on the brae."

5. "The 'Scotchie' was used as a gambling area and boys were used as lookouts, in case the polis arrived.

If they did arrive, everybody would run like hell as the gambling was illegal."

6. "I have good hearing. If I was at the top of the brae in Arthur Street I could hear a mouse in the Parkie's Hoose.

That's why the men gambling used me as a Shottie in the Scotchie to hear and see the polis coming (ha ha ha)"

7. "After the start of the war, they built air raid shelters on the empty space at 'The Scotchie. After the start of the war, they built air raid shelters on the empty space at 'The Scotchie' ."

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Dumbiedykes Road

This is the road at the foot of Dumbiedykes which ran alongside Holyrood Park.

Dumbiedykes Road - 1959

... and a few photos from people who lived in or near Dumbiedykes Road:

Pat Ramage
on the Second Balcony at 34 Dumbiedykes Road - around 1955

Elizabeth Bottomley and Jean Aithie

in the snow outside outside No 42, Dumbiedykes Road

Three workers

from William Waugh Ltd, Metal Merchants - late-1950s

Waugh's yard used to be in the Southside before moving to Granton.

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St Patrick's School

St John's Hill

I'm pleased to say that after looking for several years to meet a request for a photo of St Patrick's RC school at St John's Hill, to be added to the EdinPhoto web site, two turned up together.

Please scroll down to see these two photos, followed by two photos of the housing with balconies at St John's Square

St John's Hill - 1959

St John's Hill - 1960s

St John's Square, looking east - 1959

St John's Square - 1959

St Leonard's

ST Leonard's district lies to the south of Dumbiedykes. It also lies next to Holyrood Park, and at one time included St Leonard's Brewery and the old railway sidings and engine shed.

St Leonard's district is in the lower portion of this map.

Incidentally, the top of this map also shows the old industries including the breweries and gasometers that were once at Holyrood.

Holyrood (top): Dumbiedykes (centre): St Leonard's (bottom)

© For permission to reproduce, please contact peter.stubbs. This is an extract from a map of Edinburgh & Leith by
John Bartholemew FRGS . The map was published in the Edinburgh & Leith Post Office Directory, 1925-26

Leckie's Coal Lorries

It was one of Leckie's coal lorries that ran out of control down Arthur Street. Here are a couple mor of the company's lorries in the coal yard at St Leonard's.

- A snow-covered Arthur's Seat is in the background of the first photo.

- The lorry in the second photo has been decorated to commemorate the Coronation of King George VI in 1937.

Around 1965

Another Lorry belonging to the Hugh Leckie & Sons.
This one has been photographed in their coal yard at St Leonard's

© Reproduced with acknowledgement to Ron Leckie, California, USA

May 12, 1937

Another Lorry belonging to the Hugh Leckie & Sons.
This one has been decorated for the Coronation of King George VI

© Reproduced with acknowledgement to Ron Leckie, California, USA

Here is another photo taken in what used to be the railway yard at St Leonard's. This building has now been converted into a vegetarian restaurant named 'The Engine Shed'.

St Leonard's Sidings - 1959

It was Ron Leckie, son of the owner of the 'Hugh Leckie & Sons' coal merchants' business who sent me the photos of the coal lorries above. He also sent me a photo of this local school class of barefoot children that included his father:

Milton Street School - Around 1895

© Reproduced with acknowledgement to Ron Leckie, California, USA

Milton Street School - Around 1895

© Reproduced with acknowledgement to Ron Leckie, California, USA

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Carnegie Street

Exterior and Interior Views

Carnegie Street

West end of the street- 1959

Inside No.35

Carnegie Street - 1959

Inside No.35

Carnegie Street - 1959

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Forbes Street

It looks as if there would have been no problem in finding a parking space in Dumbiedykes or St Leonard's in the 1950s.

Here are a few photos of vehicles in Forbes Street, close to St Leonard's school.

Forbes Street - 1959

Forbes Street - 1970s

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Heriot Mount

A short street with steps leading into Holyrood Park

Clearing the Drains in Heriot Mount - 1959

Looking down Heriot Mount

to the steps into Holyrood Park - 1959

Here is the same view taken in 2008. The houses have gone. The steps and crags are still there.

2008

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Heriot Mount

continued

Street Party - Coronation, 1953

Recollections

Coronation Party

1. This photograph looks down from the steps into Holyrood Park towards the accordion player in the centre of Heriot Mount, with a good audience around him and bunting across the street.

Does anybody recognise any of the people in this picture?"

2. "I, too, was at the Street Party for the Coronation. I lived at No 6 Heriot Mount from birth in 1944 until 1961. I was age nine at the time of the party.

I remember there being far more people there than the photo suggests. I had never seen so many neighbours in the street before."

3. "I remember that in the recesses at either side of the Park Steps two chairs had been done up as thrones for the two eldest residents!

- One was Mrs Jolly from No.8 whom I knew quite well as my Grandparents also lived in No.8.

- The other could have been Mrs MacPherson, also of No.8, but I'm not sure."

4. "It was a great day, enjoyed by all. Towards the end, we children had to go through the entry of No.8, to the backgreen, where we were each given fruit and sweeties (and pennies?). We came out through the entry of No.6, back intro the street again.

We were also given Coronation Mugs and packets of Merrills at our school. I've still got my mug."

Children at a 'Bring & Buy' Sale

What was the occasion?

Adults at the 'Bring & Buy' Sale

What was the occasion?

View from the Back Window

of No 6 Heriot Mount - Around 1950

© Photograph reproduced with acknowledgement to Tam and Wullie Croal

A Few Photos by Wullie Croal

Several of the photos above were taken by Wullie Croal and enlarged in his darkroom at home, using an enlarger built from an old condensed milk tin and other parts. They were sent to me by Wullie's son, Tam.

Here is a photo of Wullie and his brother taken in Holyrood Road, while they were moving house and transporting all the furniture by hand!

Wullie and Robert Croal - Holyrood Road - 1950s

© Photograph reproduced with acknowledgement to Tam and Wullie Croal

Recollections

Fireplace

Here is a photo that Tam Croal sent me, of the fireplace at the home of his father, Wullie Croal. The photo was taken by Wullie.

I was pleased to receive a few emails about this photo after adding it to the EdinPhoto web site:

Wullie Croal's Fireplace

at 6 Heriot Mountt

© Wullie Croal. Thank you to Tam Croal (Wullie's son) for sending this photograph to me.

Wullie Croal's Fireplace

Comments Received

1. "I am one of Wullie Croal's daughters. I've just seen the photograph of our fireplace that my brother Tam sent to you.

The shoes (from left to right) belonged to:

- my father Wullie

- my mum May

- my sister, June

- myself

- our little sister, Linda."

2. "Every night, my dad would polish these shoes to within an inch of their lives, and mum would iron our hair ribbons, which would hang on the brass rail above the fire (just out of shot in the photo.)

Mum and dad slept in the bed recess (just left of the fireplace) while my sisters and I slept in the bedroom, which also doubled as dad's dark room.

Happy, happy days"

and memories of another fireplace nearby.

3. "At Dumbiedykes, we all had one of these Victorian grates (fireplaces). I remember ours well, with the gas poker and two chairs, one either side, were one could sit and get warmed up especially in the cold winters."

This section ends with a few more photos of streets in Dumbiedykes, some taken in 1959, others taken in the 1920s.

1959

Beaumont Place

Deaconess Hospital, Pleasance

St Leonard's Terrace

Public Wash House, Simon Square

1920s

"Where is it?"

St Leonard's Photos

Wholeplate Negatives

and

Glass Slides

These photos are all taken from whole plate negatives and glass plates. When I added them to the web site, only ten of the 23 locations had been identified.

Within 2 months of adding these photos to the web site, thanks to the research and help from several contributors, all except two of the locations were known.

Now, all except one of the locations are known. All are in a small area covered by the two maps below: