Leith Walk

Looking down Leith Walk towards Leith

Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stretches from The Foot Of Leith Walk (The Fit ay the Walk in Scots) at the junction of Great Junction Street and Constitution Street to the junction with London Road, it then links to the east end of Princes Street via Leith Street. Technically however, none of the properties in its upper half are addressed as "Leith Walk" and the name is simply colloquial in the upper section. These sections are correctly titled Elm Row, Haddington Place, Crichton Place, Albert Place etc.

Leith Walk owes its existence to a defensible rampart which was constructed between Calton Hill and Leith. The northern march of Cromwell's army, in 1650, was halted at this line by the Scots, under David Leslie (who was subsequently defeated at the Battle of Dunbar). The rampart was then developed as a causewayed road - a raised bank of earth with a "metalled" surface creating a quick dry road, and a lower wide trench (from which the upper material was taken) creating a secure enclosed (but muddy) road, suitable for moving animals, parallel to the first one. This method of construction was common until the invention of macadamed roads, and were normally termed the High Road and the Low Road. At the time of its creation it gave an alternative (and shorter) route to Edinburgh than the pre-existing Easter Road and its then counterpart Wester Road (now called Bonnington Road/Broughton Road).

Until the sudden burst of tenemental construction (1870–1880), the street was largely rural in character. The few mansion houses which had grown up along its length in the early 19th century were denser on the west side than the east. When the tenements were built, it was easier (cheaper) to buy up the few mansions on the east side, which is why the two sides have different characters.

The most interesting buildings have gone. The Alhambra Cinema stood on the end of Springfield Street and was replaced by a Tyre and Exhaust Centre (now a wine warehouse). This Egyptian style building was originally a theatre. It is remembered only in the name of the pub opposite. Halfway House was a coaching inn at the front of the Shrubhill site, dating from the 17th century. The truncated form survived as a pub until 1981 when it was cleared. Its horseshoe bar was salvaged and reused in the Shrub Bar/ Horseshoe Bar to the north.

Former Leith Central Station and the Central Bar

Also at Shrubhill was the site of the gallows. This appears to have begun life as a dead tree from which bodies were hung, then was replaced by a series of temporary gibbets (there is no evidence of any permanent feature). Most famously Major Weir, the self-confessed warlock, and Thomas Aikenhead, the last person to be executed under Scotland's blasphemy laws, were hanged here.

The Gardener's Cottage at Haddington Place dated from 1765 and originally served the first Edinburgh Botanic Gardens to its rear. It was demolished in 2009 and is to be re-assembled in the current Botanic Gardens in Inverleith in 2011.

The remnants of Leith Central Station still exist at the Foot of the Walk. Although the fascinating and huge columnless station building was demolished in the late 1980s, the building which housed the station bars and waiting rooms etc. still exists. The nearby Central Bar contains over 250,000 Staffordshire potteries tiles including 4 painted panels.

Other curiosities include the City Limits pub, formerly the Boundary Bar, which until 1920 (when Leith and Edinburgh merged) was half in Edinburgh and half in Leith and had different licensing rules in each side. Contrary to local mythology the Edinburgh side was easier (which is why it is bigger) because only towns over 50,000 people could open late. Hence at a given time a bell rang and everyone squeeezed onto the Edinburgh side.

19thC industrial dwellings at the Victoria India Rubber Mills

Pilrig Church (correctly Pilrig St Paul's Church) dates from 1861 and is visible along the entire length of Leith Walk. It was designed by Peddie and Kinnear architects and constructed 1861-3. It has a fine interior including early examples of stained glass by Daniel Cottier and a historic organ by Forster and Andrews (1903). The hall to the rear blends in perfectly but is a later addition of 1892

Harder to spot is the former Victoria India Rubber Mills (just north of Balfour Street) of which only the front building remains, with a fine but broken ornate cast iron gate. This used to specialise in hot water bottles.

Other recent losses include "Craig and Rose" paint and varnish works, on Steads Place/Springfield Street, famous suppliers of the red paint for the Forth Rail Bridge (which was their company logo). This site is now redeveloped as housing.

Today, Leith Walk remains a vibrant street, and retains a historic feel having retained scores of small shop units. It terminates (in colloquial terms at least) at the Omni Centre and St. James Centre at its south end. The lower, north end terminates at the Kirkgate Shopping Centre. Sadly a high-rise blocks South Leith Parish Church which was formerly the focal point of the northward view along the street.

Leith Walk from Pilrig. Site of the 'Pilrig muddle' in the earlier days of tramcars

Leith Walk was to be on the new Edinburgh Trams route (Foot of the Walk tram stop), which was scheduled to open in 2011. However this part of the tram line was cancelled in June 2011 after delays and cost overruns. Ironically, Leith Walk was previously one of the first and last places to have a tram. Leith had Scotland's first electric tram, running from 1905. On Leith Walk this terminated at Pilrig Church and passengers had to change to Edinburgh's cabledrawn cars. This messy exchange was known as the "Pilrig muddle". Edinburgh did not electrify its system and smooth out this problem until 1925. The last tram in Edinburgh ran in 1956 and terminated at Shrub Hill works on Leith Walk. At that time trams were removed due to their "inflexibility" and the advantages of a bus-based system.

External links

• Keep Bleneheim Place Open Steering Group Residents of a side road affected by the implementation of the tramway on Leith Walk