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Revision as of 12:53, 19 September 2005
- This article is about Leith, Scotland; see also other places called Leith.
Leith is a town at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is the port of Edinburgh, Scotland. It lies on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, in the unitary local authority of City of Edinburgh.
History
Historically Leith and Edinburgh were separate, but growth over the centuries means that Leith and Edinburgh now form a contiguous urban area. Leith merged with Edinburgh in 1920 following a referendum (in which the people of Leith overwhelimingly rejected the merger!).
Leith has a long and prominent role in Scottish history. As the major port access to Edinburgh, Leith has served as the stagin point for many of Scottish history's significant events. Mary Queen of Scots's mother - Mary of Guise - ruled Scotland from Leith, as Regent for her daughter in 1560. At that time the Scottish Court was situated in Leith. The Regency ended in disaster with French Catholic troops being ousted by Scottish forces aided by English protestant troops. The following year Mary Queen of Scots arrived in Leith to begin her ill-fated six year reign.
About a century later Leith was both a battleground and ultimately headquarters for Cromwell forces. An archway of the old Leith Citadel stands as the only remnant of extensive Cromwellian fortifications forced upon Leith following the move north of a roundhead army.
The remains of the battlefield are now a park called the Leith Links and the grassy mounds mark former cannon emplacement earthworks. This was also where the earliest record of golf is found - being the subject of a ban by King James II in 1457 as it interfered with the more useful sport of archery. The links are the site of an early five hole golf course built in the 18th century. Leith bolsters its claim to being "the home of golf" because the official rules of golf that were initially formulated at Leith in 1744 by the Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, were then later adopted by St Andrews.
During the American war of independence John Paul Jones, a Scotsman who is credited as founder of ther US Navy, led a flotilla of three former French vessels against Leith. The heavily armed warships were, reputedly, repulsed by appaling weather. Leith built fortifications after this event to prevent any repeat threat to the port and to Edinburgh. Part of Leith is still known as "The Fort" to this day, although all of the 18th Century biuldings, save a gatehouse, are long since gone.
The docks at Leith underwent severe decline in the post Second World War period, with the area gaining a reputation for roughness and prostitution. In recent years Leith has undergone significant regeneration and is now a busy port with visits from cruise liners and the home of the Royal Yacht Britannia, Ocean Terminal, and administrative headquarters of the Scottish Executive. The council and government's 'Leith Project' provided a further economic boost. The shore area of Leith, once seedy, is now a centre for a range of new pubs and restaurants in charming surroundings.
The New Face of Leith
After the decades of post-war industrial decline, slum clearance and resultant depopulation in the post war era, Leith gradually began to enjoy an upturn in fortunes in the late 1980s. Several old industrial sites were developed with modest, affordable housing, while small industrial business units weere constructed at Swanfield, Bonnington, Seafield and off Lindsay Road. The Shore developed a clutch of chic restaurants, while the once industrially-polluted, desolate banks of the Water of Leith were cleansed and a public walkway opened.
Leith's gradual revival was greatly accelerated, however, by the decision of the The Scottish Office (a government department - now the Scottish Executive) to purchase the disued (and filled-in!) Old East and Old West Docks as a low cost site for one of its civil service offices in the mid 1990s. The influx of well-paid civil service jobs boosted local commerce and fostered Leith's growing reputation as a white-collar small business location. Further large-scale service and tourist development followed, including the Ocean Terminal complex and the permanently moored Royal Yacht Britannia.
The new millenium witnessed proposals to entierly develop the entire western half of Leith Docks (the "North Leith" bank of the river), fueled by the continued boom in the British property market and the downturn in Leith's role as a commercial port. Alexandra Dry Dock, Victoria Dock, Prince of Wales Dock, Albert Dock and Edinburgh Dock - collectivly the eastern docks - are all expected to remain.
The masterplan for what will be virtually a new town entails a luxury new residential area named Platinum Point (designed by Robert Adam), a fitness centre, and later, a central park surrounded by narrow streets and grand crescents and avenues. The whole project is expected completed by about 2020. Ocean Terminal is considered the first stage of this new development, and poigniantly, is constructed upon the exact site of the last shipyard in Leith, Henry Robb's, which closed in 1984.
The significance of this should not be overlooked, for it encapsulates the "gentrification of Leith" which many "natives" have complained of. Unfortunatley, most of the new developments are branded "luxury" or "exclusive" and indeed are exclusive - well beyond the price range of indigenous working-class Leithers. The danger exists of a two tier Leith, split between original residents and middle-class incomers, and the contrast is startling - less than 200 metres from the new development lies the Fort housing scheme, one of the most deprived areas in Edinburgh. Time will tell whether such large scale development will enhance or destroy the traditional spirit and charm of Leith.
Famous people from Leith
- Eduardo Paolozzi - Pop Artist and sculptor.
- Chris Small - professional snooker player.
- Charlie and Craig Reid from “The Proclaimers”.
Notable streets in Leith
Constitution Street | Great Junction Street | Leith Walk | Timber Bush
Other points of interest
Leith is home to Hibernian FC, who play at Easter Road Stadium. (NB: Easter Road Stadium actually stadles the old council boundary between Edinburgh and Leith, the north end being in Leith, the south in Edinburgh).
The Proclaimers had a hit with "Sunshine on Leith". They are supporters of Hibernian Football Club and the song is regularly played before home matches.
Several of Irvine Welsh's books, most famously his debut novel Trainspotting, are partly set in Leith.
Grand Theft Auto computer game developers Rockstar North are based on Leith Street, the road (continued as Leith Walk) to Leith from central Edinburgh.
External link
http://www.edinburgh-forthside.co.uk/forthside/
References
- John Russell, The Story of Leith, 1922.