Day 2
Mapping Leith
Places of Leith:
Day 2 of 100 Days of Leith takes a closer look at the changing boundaries of Leith.
One of the first mentions of Leith in written records can be found in the Royal Charter granting the land of Holyrood Abbey to the Augustinian order in 1128. While it is likely that the Leith was settled for a long time prior to this, without written records it is difficult to know what the lives of these early Leithers would have been like.
One of the earliest surviving town plans of Leith comes much later, in 1777, by which point Leith had grown in size and importance becoming a bustling port. It had also been attacked and rebuilt on multiple occasions – one particular attack by the Earl of Hertford as part of the ‘Rough Wooing’ of Mary Queen of Scots by Henry VIII, saw the pier and town (along with nearby Edinburgh, and Musselburgh) largely burned to the ground, this, along with many regeneration schemes over the years explains why some of the oldest buildings still standing date from the 15th century.
As shown in historic maps over the next 100 years Leith grew to encompass nearby Trinity and Newhaven in the North and Restalrig and Craigentinny in the South East – recorded as North Leith and South Leith respectively. With buildings only slowly creeping up what is now Leith Walk by 1827.
With the boundary between town and city running through the built environment, one quirk of the gradual growth of Leith and Edinburgh resulted in the Boundary Bar (now the Bier Hoose). Straddling the boundary, the bar famously called last orders on the Edinburgh side half an hour before Leith called time.
This unique state of affairs ended only when the amalgamation took place and by laws were aligned across the newly enlarged Edinburgh City. At this point in 1920 time had moved on again, and the land between Edinburgh and Leith was almost completely settled, with small pockets of greenery all that was left of what had been fields.
100 years later again in the present day, what we consider Leith has changed considerably. With many people extending their vision of Leith as far west as McDonald road and Elm Row, well past the original Pilrig Street boundary line, and narrowing their view from north to south generally excluding Trinity, Newhaven, Restalrig and Craigentinny.
One thing hasn’t changed though, the people that make Leith the place it is.
You can find copies of maps in the National Libraries Collection below.