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Recollections Haymarket |
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1. |
Doug
Chatham |
AJ Downie Cycle Agent - Question 1 |
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2. |
Roller Skating Indoor Park |
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3. |
Simon Capaldi |
Roller Skating Rink |
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4. |
Yvonne Cain |
Ice Skating Rink |
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5. |
Peter Stubbs |
Skating Rink |
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6. |
Gus Coutts |
Skating Rink |
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7. |
Jeff Nisbet |
17 Elgin Place |
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8. |
Jeff Nisbet |
17 Elgin Place |
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9. |
Breave Moffat |
17 Elgin Place |
Recollections 1. Doug Chatham |
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Doug Chatham wrote: A J Downie - Cycle Agents "I have recently restored a 1960 Heinkel Scooter which has its original dealer transfer from AJ Downie, cycle agents of Haymarket.. I believe the shop was part of the block demolished, probably around the late 1960s to form Haymarket station car park." Doug Chatham: December 4, 2008 |
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NOTE The Edinburgh & Leith Post Office Directories appear to confirm Doug's belief above. Haymarket Railway Station is at 1 Haymarket Terrace. - The 1961-62 PO Directory includes Andrew Downie Ltd at 19-33 Haymarket Terrace. - The 1970-71 PO Directory lists no buildings between 3 and 53 Haymarket Terrace (now the station car park), and shows that Andrew Downie Ltd had, by then, moved to 40-44 Lochrin Buildings, Gilmore Place, Tollcross. Peter Stubbs: December 13, 2008 |
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Doug asked Question AJ Downie, Dealership "Does anybody have recollections or photographs of the AJ Downie dealership to complete my dossier on the bike, which includes the original hire purchase agreement signed by AJ Downie as witness along with his wife(?), Margaret who was apparently the saleswoman." Doug Chatham, Edinburgh: December 4, 2008 |
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If you have a response to Doug's question, above, please email me, then I'll pass your message on to him. Thank you. Peter Stubbs: December 13, 2008 |
Recollections 2. Gerald J Robertson |
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Gerald J Robertson wrote: Question Roller Skating Indoor Park "I am 63 yrs of age and I vaguely remember there being a roller skating indoor park at Haymarket. I'm sure that it was made of wood. Can anybody enlighten me on this please?" Gerald J Robertson : June 1, 2013 |
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Reply to Gerald? If you remember the roller skating indoor park that Gerald mentions, and would like to send a reply to him, please email me then I'll pass on his email address to so that you can contact him. Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: June 1, 2013 |
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Recollections 3. Simon Capaldi Sheriffhall, Midlothian Scotland |
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Thank you to Simon Capaldi for replying to the question in 2 above asked by Gerald J Robinson yesterday. Simon wrote: |
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Reply Roller Skating Rink "I remember the rink that Gerald asks about. It was on the south side of Haymarket Terrace, about 150 yards west of the station. Steps lead down to it. There is now an office building there. I think the rink was demolished mid- to late-1970s." Sheriffhall, Midlothian, Edinburgh: June 2, 2013 |
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Recollections 4. Yvonne Cain Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
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Yvonne Cain wrote: |
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Reply Roller Skating Rink "I remember the rink that Gerald asks about. It was on the south side of Haymarket Terrace, about 150 yards west of the station. Steps lead down to it. There is now an office building there. I think the rink was demolished mid- to late-1970s." Yvonne Cain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
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Recollections 5. Peter Stubbs Edinburgh |
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After reading Recollections 4 and 5 above, I'm left wondering: Skating Rink "Was the skating ring at Haymarket a roller skating rink or an ice skating rink - or was it perhaps a roller skating rink in the summer and an ice skating rink in the winter?" Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: 2 June 2013 |
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Recollections 6. Gus Coutts Duddingston, Edinburgh |
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Thank you to Gus Coutts who wrote |
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Skating Rink Ice Skating "The rink was 150 yards west of Haymarket Station. It was definitely an Ice Rink - at least it was in winter. I don't know about it ever being a Roller Rink in the Summer. I went there every Saturday afternoon for about 3 years in the early-1950s, from 1952 - 4.30 till 6.30, Admission 2 shillings." Curling "As I remember it, most of the ice time was devoted to curling, and the rink just closed in the summer, although I may be wrong about the closing as I was only in my early teens then. Haymarket and Murrayfield Rinks Haymarket was generally considered to be upmarket compared to Murrayfield which had a reputation for unruly behaviour. Furthermore, Haymarket didn't turn off the freezing so one didn't get soaked if one fell, unlike Murrayfield where the ice normally had about half an inch of water on the surface." Gus Coutts, Duddingston, Edinburgh: June 3, 2013 |
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Recollections 7 Jeff Nisbet Midland Park, New Jersey, USA |
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Thank you to Jeff Nisbet who wrote: wrote: |
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17 Elgin Place 1970s I originally had this photo dated '1970' but 'K' car registration numbers were not issued until August 1971.
© Jeff Nisbet, USA "The last place I lived in Edinburgh before emigrating to the USA in 1960, aged 11, was up a stair at 17 Elgin Place -- the top three windows of the building shown in this photo. The building was located at the extreme south end of the road, and faced into Sutherland Street. As you mention on your site, the entire community was demolished in the mid-1970s. I took the photo in 1970, on a trip "back home. At 17 Elgin Place, we had: - cold water - a coal fire in the living room/kitchen - two bedrooms - one inside latrine - a coal bunker. Nobody had a telephone, but there was a booth at the far end of Sutherland Street. I was happy living there, and attended Roseburn Primary School." Jeff Nisbet, Midland Park, New Jersey, USA, 20 April 2016 |
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Recollections 8 Jeff Nisbet Midland Park, New Jersey, USA |
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Thank you to Jeff Nisbet for sending me more recollections of his homes in Edinburgh. Jeff wrote: |
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My Edinburgh Homes
"I emigrated from Edinburgh to the USA in
1960, when I was 11 years old, but have been 'back home' many times
since. I suppose I could speak for thousands of ex-pats around the
world when I thank you for the many pleasurable hours I've spent on your
site, looking at the many photos and memories you have posted of my dear
home town. My folks and I lived in three Edinburgh neighborhoods before we emigrated.
1. Herriot Mount, near the steps
leading down to Holyrood Park.
2. Jamaica Street. 3. Elgin Place
I attended Roseburn Primary while living at
Elgin Place. I am attaching a photo of our building, taken circa 1970
before the demolition. All three neighborhoods are now, sadly, gone -- but they live on in your site, and therefore in my memory. Elgin Place "I lived in the top flat of the 24-flat, three-floor building at No. 17 Elgin Place, set a among the warren of Colony Flats across from Donaldson's Hospital during the latter half of the 1950s while a student at Roseburn Primary School. 17 Elgin Place My folks and I lived there until October 1960, at which time we emigrated to the USA. It was a cold-water flat, consisting of:
- a kitchen/living room with a coal
fire - two bedrooms (one big, one small), - a coal bunker and toilet (no bath) in our hallway. The place was a vast improvement from our previous Edinburgh flats in that we did not have to share our toilet with any of the building's other tenants, and the building had already been converted from gas to electric. Our small community of Colony Flats was served by one public telephone booth, one general grocery store run by a Mr. Holmes, and, of course, coal and milk deliveries still brought by horse and cart at the time. In spite of the fact that our material wealth was low, we were happy there. I took the photo you see here circa 1971, on my second trip 'back home', and the entire area was bulldozed a few years later to make room for new housing. Elgin Place, as a street name, no longer exists, but the Edinburgh I knew as a schoolboy still exists in both my mind and your website. Jeff Nisbet, Midland Park, New Jersey, USA, 19 February 2017 (3 emails) |
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Recollections 9 Breave Moffat Newhaven, Edinburgh |
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Thank you to Breave Moffat who wrote: |
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17 Elgin Place "My mum and dad moved into the flat at 17 Elgin Place when they got married, straight after Jeff Nisbet and his folks (Audrey and Jim) moved to the USA." 17 Elgin Place "My sister was the 1st born so she was delivered in hospital, but I was born in the flat itself in 1963. it was exactly the same as Jeff describes it - an inside toilet, no bath and no hot water. We stayed there until Dec 1978. We were one of the last families to move out of the area before the demolition occurred in 1979/80. I believe the whole area had been condemned by council in early-1960s due to the conditions there. In No.17, there were back-to-back flats, and there were only two 3-storey stairs in the street. Sutherland Street originally had wee single-storey 2-roomed coal workers' houses with no inside toilets." Breave Moffat, Newhaven, Edinburgh: 19 March 2017 (2 emails) |