The corner of Sheriff Brae and St Andrew Street at Coalhill, Leith

Comparison of 'demolished 1914' photo and 2011 photo

The Corner of St Andrew Street and Sheriff Brae

None of the old buildings have survived. New buildings and cars can be seen in their place - together with a not very attractive high-rise block in the background, probably from around 1970.

Corner of

St Andrew Street and Sheriff Brae

The First Photo

This view looks to the SW towards the corner of Sheriff Brae and St Andrew Street, now Parliament Street at Coalhill, Leith, on the south bank of the Water of Leith *

* In fact, this is not entirely accurate. Parliament Street (in photo 2) is not in exactly the same position as St Andrew Street was (in photo 1). See 'Street Names' in 'Recollections 6' below.

The buildings on left-hand side of the photo above are the same ones as those on the left-hand side of the row of buildings in the photo below, taken from few yards further to the west along Sheriff Brae.

St Andrew Street

Here is another photo taken from nearby. The photo was taken from St Andrew Street. The building at the corner of St Andrew Street and Sheriff Brae can also be seen on this photo:

Location

1870 Map

Sheriff Brae is an extension to the west of Coalhill, the street beside what was the upper drawbridge over the Water of Leith at Sandport Place. The upper drawbridge can be seen on the 1870-71 map of Leith (below) immediately to the left of the letter 'L' of LEITH HARBOUR' printed along the centre of the Water of Leith.

Google Map

St Andrew Street is one of the Leith streets that was re-named to avoid duplication of names when Leith and Edinburgh merged in 1920. St Andrew Street used to follow the course of what is now Parliament Street and the northern part of Giles Street

The corner in this photo is immediately to the left of the point on the 'A' arrow symbol on this Google map.

This photo of the upper drawbridge over the Water of Leith at Sandport Place was taken from immediately to the right of the point on the 'A' arrow symbol on the same Google map.

Acknowledgement: Archie Foley, Joppa, Edinburgh: January 5, 2010

The early photos above are from a series of photos posted onto boards in an old album that Archie Foley acquired a few years ago. Archie believes that these are likely to be official photos that probably once belonged to Leith City Council.

Recollections

Frank Ferri

Newhaven, Edinburgh

Frank Ferri added:

Shirra Brae

"To this day, many old Leithers still refer to Sheriff Brae (the road linking Mill Lane and Coal Hill) as 'Shirra Brae'.

The Sheriff

"It was named after the wealthy Leith Merchant, Sir John Logan of the Logan’s of Coatfield, who became Sheriff of Leith. His son, James, was knighted by king James IV and became Deputy Sheriff.

Sir John bestowed the lands to his son, along the Water of Leith from Bridge End (Sandport Place) to Ballantyne Rd and Leith Mills at North Fort. Mill lane was just then a rough walkway lined with hawthorn bushes.

Sir John’s manse was on the site now occupied by St Thomas’s church."

Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh: January 28, 2010

Recollections

Tomo Noda

Morningside, Edinburgh

Tomo Noda wrote:

Old House

"James Grant's 'Old & New Edinburgh' says in Chapter 29 that there is an old house near the top of Sheriff Brae with the door lintel that says: "Blessit be God and His Gifts" with the date 1601 and initials."

Question

"Do you think this is the house that Grant observed in 1880? It suspiciously matches Grant's description.

My reason for writing is that I found a lintel from 1629, lying around in Potterow.

I wonder if any of the visitors to the EdinPhoto site remember Sheriff Brae before it was cleared of old houses in the 1960s and 1970s."

Tomo Noda, Morningside, Edinburgh: October 1 + 6, 2011

Recollections

Tomo Noda

Morningside, Edinburgh

Thank you to Tomo Noda for writing again with an update.

Tomo wrote:

Corporation Buildings

"I've now discovered a decisive development as to the lintel. It was placed on "Corporation Buildings on Giles Street, Leith". It was there in 1951."

Questions

"Can anyone remember when these Corporation Buildings were built and torn down. And what kind of buildings were they?

I presume it was the one the local people called 'The Corpy' . It must have been a row of buildings. Does anyone remember the lintel that read: 'Blessed be God.... 1629'? "

Tomo Noda, Morningside, Edinburgh: October 8, 2011

Photo

Please click on the thumbnail image below to see a photograph of the Corporation Buildings taken in 1982.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: October 8, 2011

Recollections

John Dickson

Royston, Edinburgh

Thank you to John Dickson for replying to Recollections 2 and 3 above, about the door lintels.

John wrote:

Door Lintel

"The door lintel that Tomo Noda is talking about appears as this drawing in D H Robertson's book 'Antiquities of Leith, 1851'.

Originally, the lintel was in a house opposite St Thomas' Church in Leith Mill Lane."

John Dickson, Royston, Edinburgh: October 15, 2011

Recollections

George Geddes

Edinburgh

Door Lintels

Thank you to George Gibson for writing from RCAHMS to clarify the situation concerning the door lintels at Sheriff Brae and Potterow mentioned by Tomo Noda in his Recollections 2 and 3 above.

It appears that there have probably been at least three lintels with similar inscriptions.

The inscription mentioned and illustrated by John Dickie above reads:

BLISSIT BE GOD OF HIS GIFTS 1601 W H

George Gibson wrote:

1. As far as I can tell, there was a lintel of 1629* built into a later building at 11 Potter Row. Inscription:

BLISED BE GOD / FOR AL HIS GIFTS, with R A C H

2. There was also a lintel of 1629* built into the Corporation Buildings, Giles Street, inscribed with:

I H BLESSED BE GOD IN ALL HIS GIFTS 1629 K G

George Geddes, RCAHMS, Edinburgh: October 20, 2011

* These links are to pages on the RCAHMS Canmore web site.

RCAHMS = The Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland

Recollections

Tomo Noda

Morningside, Edinburgh

Thank you to Tomo Noda for writing again.

Tomo wrote:

Corporation Buildings

"Thank you to John Dickson for posting the 1601 panel in 'Recollections 4' above.

I have been doing my research about the 'Coppy'. As I did the research, I came to know more and more about Leith and its history. I find it fascinating. The changes it went through are amazing."

Tomo Noda, Morningside, Edinburgh: October 21, 2011

Street Names

Tomo also mentioned that the Parliament Street (in photo 2 above) is NOT in exactly the same position as St Andrew Street (in photo 1 above).

Parliament Street (in photo 2) is in fact built on the line of Parliament Close (a narrow lane that bypassed St An

I hope that all makes sense to anybody who is interested in the topic!

Tomo added:

Sheriff Brae

"I would be very interested to hear from anybody who lived in or around Sheriff Brae, telling me about how the area changed and how life changed."

Tomo Noda, Morningside, Edinburgh: October 21, 2011

Recollections

Annette Gowans

Granton, Edinburgh

Annette Gowans wrote:

Corporation Buildings

"I had a Great Aunt, born 1910, who could remember going along to visit a relative who lived at Corporation Buildings on a Friday night to get a bath, as they had a communal bath in the building.

I don't know where about the bath was. It may have on the ground floor. My Aunt was the youngest of the family. I think she would have gone there with her brother and sisters nearest her age group.

Annette Gowans, Granton, Edinburgh: June 26, 2012