Talk to Newhaven Community History Group - Photos and Memories of Edinburgh

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Photos and Memories of North Edinburgh

Introduction

Page 1

Newhaven

Page 2

Leith

Page 3

Granton

Page 4

Other Districts

Page 5

Photos and Memories
of North Edinburgh

Talk to

North West Heritage Group
(Edinburgh Villages)

20 March 2014

Page 3.

Photos and Recollections of

Leith

- Maps and Aerial Views

- Old Engravings

- Old Photos

- Photo Comparisons - 1910 and 2010

- Recent Photos - Edinburgh at Work

- Recent Photos - Leith Harbour

LEITH

Maps
and Aerial Views

1693

NOTE: South is at the top on this map

1804

Engraving from Old & New Edinburgh - published 1890

1840

This map by WH Lizars appeared in the Letter Carriers' Directory, 1840-41.

1860

This map by W & AK Johnston appeared in the Letter Carriers' Directory, 1860-61.

1870

Extract from a map in the Post Office Directory, 1870-71.

© For permission to reproduce please contact peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk
Extract from a map in the Post Office Directory, 1870-71.

1917

This map by James Bartholomew appeared in the Post Office Directory, 1917-18.

2001

zoom-in

2001

key added

2001

dates added

LEITH

Old Engravings

Modern Athens

Published 1829

Leith Harbour from the Pier

Exchange Buildings - Leith

Leith Harbour - Signal Tower

Leith Town Hall

Leith Custom House

Old & New Edinburgh

Published c.1890

Leith Streets

Kirkgate

Sheriff Brae

Leith Buildings

Leith - The Exchange Buildings

Leith - Custom House

Leith Shipping

Leith Harbour - about 1700

Pier and Harbour - 1798

Entrance to Leith Harbour - 1826

Leith Harbour - 1829

The Shore

Signal Tower

Edinburgh Dock

East and West Piers

LEITH

Old Photos

The first six photos below are all taken from stereo views by Thomas Vernon Begbie. These photos would have been taken around the late-1850s

Late-1850s

Leith Shore
The landing place for King George IV on his 1822 visit

Late-1850s

Leith Inner Harbour
with the barque Neptune

Late-1850s

Leith Harbour
with timber cantilever bridge in the background

1889

Great Dock Strike - Protest on the streets of Leith - 1889

... and here are some photos taken about 3 decades later:

1889

Leith Docks Demonstration - The Shore, Leith, 1913

Late-19th Century

Paddle Steamer and Swing Bridge at Leith Docks

© Reproduced with acknowledgement to Paul Mottram, Montrose, Angus, Scotland

Late-19th Century

Paddle Steamer at Leith Docks

© Reproduced with acknowledgement to Paul Mottram, Montrose, Angus, Scotland

Late-19th Century

Ships at The Shore, Leith

© Reproduced with acknowledgement to Paul Mottram, Montrose, Angus, Scotland

Around 1910

Lower Drawbridge

Removed March 1910

Around 1910

Water Street

Demolished 1912

Around 1910

Leith whalers, working for Salvesen in the South Atlantic

1914

Opening of the Tennis Courts at Leith Links

Around 1920

zoom-in

Around 1920

LEITH

Photo Comparisons

1910 and 2010

Lower Drawbridge

Removed March 1910

Site of Lower Drawbridge - 2005

Upper Drawbridge, Leith - 1910

Sandport Place Bridge, Leith - 2011

Upper Drawbridge, Leith - 1910

Sandport Place Bridge, Leith - 2011

Junction Bridge - Bridge Widening - 1910

Junction Bridge - 2011

Junction Bridge - Bridge Widening - 1909

Junction Bridge - 2011

Buildings demolished 1914

Site of Jenny Green's Close - 2011

The corner of St Andrew Street (on the left) and Sheriff Brae (on the right)

Demolished 1915

The corner of Parliament Street (on the left) and Sheriff Brae (on the right)

2011

Sheriff Brae

Demolished 1915

Sheriff Brae

2011

LEITH

Recent Photos

'Edinburgh at Work'

Crabbie's Green Ginger

Great Junction Street

Crabbie's Green Ginger had a brewery and bottling plant in Great Junction Street.

These have now closed:

- The Brewery has been converted to housing

- The Bottling Plant has been demolished

Here is how the buildings looked in earlier days!

Looking to the SE along Great Junction Street and past Crabbies

Looking to the north across Great Junction Street towards Crabbies

Raisins in the Tank

_________________________________

Anderson's Cooperage

in sheds on the south side of Edinburgh Dock, Leith

At one time, Leith had a large cooperage industry, but by the time I came to take my photos of 'Edinburgh at Work' in the 1990s, only two small firms had survived - and not for much longer:

- One was near Maritime Street

- The other was in one of the sheds beside Edinburgh Dck.

Anderson's Cooperage - Edinburgh Dock, Leith - 1992

Anderson's Cooperage - Barrels and Straw - 1992

Anderson's Cooperage - Black cat in the Cooperage - 1992

Anderson's Cooperage - Cooper in the Cooperage - 1992

_________________________________

Drysdale

Tea and Coffee

Fountainbridge

During the 1990s, Drysdale Tea & Coffee Manufacturers underwent several change of both:

Ownership: Drysdale THEN Brodie Hamilton Melrose NOW Brodie's.

Location: Fountainbridge THEN Constitution Street THEN Dock Street NOW Musselburgh.

Drysdale - Grove Street Premises, Fountainbridge - 1991

Drysdale - Newly Roasted Coffee Beans - 1991

Brodie Hamilton Melrose

Tea and Coffee, Constitution Street, Leith

Brodie Hamilton Melrose - The Coffee Roaster - 1992

Brodie Hamilton Melrose - The Scales - 1992

Brodie Hamilton Melrose - Tea Sacks - 1992

Brodies

Tea and Coffee, Dock Street, Leith

Brodies occupied these premises around 1993 until July 2002 - Photo taken 1994

Brodies - Newly roasted coffee beans - 1994

Brodies - Coffee grinders - 1994

Brodies - Coffee Beans - 1994

________________________________

SAI
Scottish Agricultural Industries, subsidiary of ICI

Chemical plant at Leith Docks

FERTILISERS

AND OTHER CHEMICALS

SAI Plant and railway at Leith Docks - 1991

SAI - Spheres for storing ammonia at Leith Docks - 1991

SAI - Nitric Acid plant at Leith Docks - 1991

________________________________

Craig & Rose

Leith Walk

PAINT

INCLUDING PAINT FOR THE FORTH BRIDGE

Craig & Rose - Filling Paint Tins - 1992

Craig & Rose - Machine for mixing paint for the Forth Bridge - 1991

Craig & Rose Yard, Leith Walk

LEITH

Recent Photos

Leith Harbour

View from the west - from Granton Harbour

This memorial to sailors was erected in 2010 in front of the Malmaison Hotel, close to the old Tower Street entrance to Leith Docks, now an entrance to the docks for pedestrians.

Looking north towards Tower Place and Leith Docks

Scottish Government Office, Leith Docks - Built 1993-96 - Photographed 2006

Scottish Government Office, Victoria Quay, Leith Docks - Built 1993-96 - Photographed 2006

Cranes beside Albert Dock, Leith, close to Cascades restaurant and casino at the Constitution Street entrance to Leith Docks - 2005

The Ark Royal moored at Leith Docks - 1992

British Antarctic Survey Ships 'RMS James Clark Ross' and 'HMS Endurance' moored at Leith Western Harbour - 2006

Northern Lighthouse Board vessel, 'Pharos IX' moored in front of
the Royal Yacht 'Britannia' beside Ocean Terminal, Leith - 2006

Cruise Ship 'Europa' at Leith Western Harbour - 2006

Cows at Leith Docks - awaiting transport by road, 3 miles to Edinburgh - 2006

Alexandra Dry Dock, Leith - 1992

LEITH

A few extracts from
Recollections

1.

Olympic Games

"We played in the piggery, a colloquial name for a large stretch of waste land in Ballantyne Place, so called because in days gone bye, this area was probably used to keep farm livestock

This was another safe area. In summer, we held our own Olympic Games there, competing with our neighbours from Bowling Green Street (when we were not fighting with them).

We used:

- any piece of brick or wood lying about for makeshift hurdles and high jumps from .

- railing spikes as javelins

- roof slates as the discus and

- big Yawkers (large stones) for the shot-put.

Track events were marked out on hard compacted earth. We we used bows and arrows made from bamboo sticks with the arrows tipped with tar. The Bamboo was bought from the victual dealers in Junction Street."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh: March 18, 2010

2.

Axes and Fire Cans

"As kids brought up in the 1940s. There was no end to our imagination or improvisation. I remember the kids having seen a movie about the stone age, circa 1940, 'One Million Years BC', starring Victor Mature.

Influenced by what we saw in this movie, we purloined slates from any building we could safely climb and used these, tied to a stick to make a stone-age axe, emulating the film.

An old Tate & Lyle syrup tin would come in handy. We attached a long piece of wire to this for a handle, to create a fire can. This was filled with a few very tiny sticks, pieces of old linoleum lying about, or any other anything small but combustible.

We would then light the fire can, then swing it about our heads to stimulate the wee fire inside. In the dark evenings, you would see the sparks fly. Where we got this idea from has been lost in time. It was like the religious ritual that some South American natives do to ward off evil spirits."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh: March 18, 2010

3.

Swings

"Playing on the swings in the local Keddie Park, off Ferry Road, was another way to pass the time on a warm summer’s day. We did 'broncos' - standing on the swing and making it go as high as you could, then jumping off. Many a bang on the head was received if you did not clear the swing fast enough.

Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh: March 18, 2010

4.

Capitol Picture House

"The Capitol Picture House in Manderston Street, Leith, must have be one of the few, if not the only one, having a railway line pass right over it.

Thinking back to the 1940s, I'm sure we could hear the rumble as the train passed over.

I hope others can remember this."

Alan Sinclair, Squamish, British Columbia, Canada: January 10, 2008

5.

The Cappi Club

"The Cappi Club was the Saturday morning kids' cinema matinee, with its own song that the kids sang. On their birthday, each child received a card giving them free admission.

"These were the austere days when all cinemas were closed on a Sunday and there was literally no entertainment anywhere other than The Capitol, and perhaps something similar happening at the Regent cinema at Abbeyhill."

Frank Ferri, Leith, Edinburgh: February 22, 2011

6.
Kerby

"We played Kerby in Fort Place. One kid would stand on the opposite pavement, and would throw a football at the kerb, hoping it would bounce back to them. If not, the other person got their turn!

You can't really play it nowadays as there are too many parked cars, and too much traffic :-( .

While sitting, waiting my turn to play (we only had one ball!!) I used to enjoy cleaning in between the cobbles on the road with an ice lolly stick!"

Annie (née Richardson), Edinburgh: March 16, 2009

7.
Play

"I stayed in Fort Place, Leith from 1940 to 1965.

-   We played Bows and Arrows.

-   Kites.

-   Girds, rolling a metal wheel around the street.

- Marbles, kneeling on our hands, then up the dirty gutters, in short trousers, it's a wonder we never ended up in hospital.

- We played in the bombed buildings in George Street, looking for money. There was no 'health and safety' then. Did we ever find any money? Sad to say, not a penny, but great fun!"

John Carson, Edinburgh: February 27, 2013

8.

Digs

"It was early January 1948 before I got fixed up with digs from a Mrs Brown in Admiralty Street. But the winter was a severe one. It was so cold that I invested in heavy underwear.

In the house, I had to study in the kitchen/living room, as my room, even after I obtained a small electric fire on paying an extra five bob, was perishing.

I slept on the bed settee in the sitting room with more clothes on than I wore during the day. I also piled everything I could on the bed, chair backs and even a rug, but still froze.

Another problem was the social life which went on in the kitchen, and which made study almost impossible. On my very first evening, they had visitors in and I went to the Sailors' Home to study.

There was another boarder called Charlie Thompson. On my second night, he, the Browns and another woman, played cards with the radio on. It was an impossible situation, so I gave Mrs Brown £2 and told her I was leaving because of the cold."

Leaving Leith

"I left with a great affection for Leith where I had met much kindness and where, on the very day I left the College with my brand new 1st Class PMG in my pocket, I got a friendly wave from Mr Brown who happened to be passing with his horse and cart."

Ian M Malcolm: St Andrews, Fife, Scotland: January 24, 2010

9.

Peanuts

"I also remember, once in Leith docks going up to a big shed which was full of peanuts,  shaking the doors and getting some nuts come out through a little gap at bottom.

I thick there was a thing called the 'Ground Nut Scheme'."

John Ross, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England: July 26, 2007

10.

Swans

"Isn't it funny the memories that stick with us all our lives?

In the 1940s, as a child, I lived in Middlesburgh and my grandmother lived at 5 Stanley Place, off London Road, Edinburgh. Whenever we visited her, we hoped that she'd take us to Leith Docks in order to feed the swans that so gracefully gathered there.

I had never seen a swan before. Just feeding them with bits of bread was quite an experience for a small child. Somehow, I gained the impression that swans were Scots birds, native to Scotland, and of course not found elsewhere in the British Isles.

Leith docks always seemed to me as the best sort of place to live if I was a swan of good taste."

Bob Wilson, Leeds, West Yorkshire: July 19, 2010

11.

Wild Cat at Fairley's

"My big brother, Tam, told me of the puma. I thought he was joking but it was true. The bar was definitely Fairley’s. It was opposite The Jungle (The Kings Wark Pub) in Leith.

The puma was in a cage to the right of the bar. He hissed and spat at the customers all night.   What a beast! I felt sorry for him as he should not have been there."

Eric Gold, East End, London: May 25 + 29, 2008

12.

Wild Cat at Fairley's

"Yes indeed, the eccentric owner of Fairley's did have a puma during the pub's Go-Go dancing era of the 1970s (which was all the rage then). I believe the Police were not amused so it had to be removed

Incidentally, that area of pub life on the Shore at Leith, was once known as the Barbary Coast (after a similar 'Red Light' nautical district in San Francisco) and/or The Jungle, a name that the old King's Wark pub acquired for many years."

Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh: June 10, 2008

13.

Our Wireless

"Popular brands of the old acid-battery-powered wireless (radio) were Phillips, Baird and Bush

The accumulator (battery) was made of thick glass, with a wire carrying handle, and it’s internal components were much the same as that found in a car battery

When the battery had run out of power, I was sent to carry this heavy acid-filled container, with the wire grip cutting into my fingers and awkwardly holding it away from my body so as not to burn myself with any acid leakage, to the wee cobbler's shop situated in a basement area at the top Bangor Road.

I think his name was Frame. He charged six pence for a half- charge and nine pence for a full charge."

Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh: May 5, 2008

End of Page 3

Photos and Memories of North Edinburgh

Introduction

Page 1

Newhaven

Page 2

Leith

Page 3

Granton

Page 4

Other Districts

Page 5

__________________

Links to a few pages on EdinPhoto web site

Home Page + Search

Latest Updates

Index: More Pages

Edinburgh Views

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Leith

Recollections

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Early Photography

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email me

Other Web Sites