History

The Story of Leith On the Firth of Forth near to Scotland’s Capital city is the Port of Leith. Not a large Port by international standards but despite this one of the most famous ports not only in Scotland but also in the United Kingdom. Within its small compass the story of Scotland can be told. It has seen war and death, times of plague, battles on the Forth, Kings and Queens of Scotland, days of high adventure, the Reformation of the Church of Scotland started here and was completed in Leith in 1560 decided on the battle field between Leith and Edinburgh at the Siege of Leith, it has seen Trials for Witchcraft, The Knight Templars (Crusaders) and the Knights of St John from Torphican, The Industrial Revolution which brought wealth to a few and misery to the many (the industrial Revolution was the period from the late 18th century to throughout the 19th century which saw people move from the countryside into the large towns and cities to find work in the new factories driven by the newly invented steam engines, it also seen the development of steam trains, the replacement of wooden hull ships by steam ships (eg the Sirius which was built in Leith in the 19th century was the first steamship to cross the Atlantic), the list of famous people and events in the history of Leith is endless. So where to begin the Story….

Imagine in you minds eye a river running through a thick forest. Within the forest are deer, wolves, foxes, bears and the Great Elk. On the banks of the river is a small village of the Votandini these are a Celtic people who covered their bodies in Tattoos from head to foot. In battle they would cut of the heads of their enemies and drill holes in the skull (Trepanning) after which they were buried around sacred wells. The idea was that the spirits of the dead warriors would protect the sacred wells from evil spirits because in Celtic Mythology the wells were gateways to the other world. The world of Ghosts and spirits such as the earth spirits, the spirits of the nature. This was Leith almost 3000 years ago before the Romans ever saw our district long before the district was ever called Leith. Near to the village was a clearing in the forest and the people decided to hack a path from the village to the clearing and the clearing became the village Graveyard. The path from the village to the clearing became in time the “Kirkgate” and for centuries chapels were built along the Kirkgate. The Graveyard in time became the Churchyard of South Leith Parish Church. It is known from archaeology that South Leith Parish Church sits on an ancient Celtic sacred site.

The name Leith itself comes from two possible roots. If you look at old maps of Leith the spelling of Leith Changes in several different ways but the main spellings are “Leeth” and “Lyth” the meaning of “Leeth” is a crossroads and Lyth means fish in short Leith was the town which could be approached from the east or west along the coast or from the South and it was possible to catch a ferry to go north across the Forth it also had a fish market. The people paying their tithes (a tenth of their earnings were paid to the church) in fish, which was eaten on the many holy days of the Roman Catholic Church.

The first mention of Leith is in founding charter of Holyrood Abbey in 1128 in which it is called “InverLeith”. The word “Inver” meaning from the Gaelic, the mouth of a river. Leading to the assumption that the river got its name from a family called Leith. The only problem with this is there was never a family called Leith connected to Leith to give it its name. Also Leith was never a Gaelic speaking area it became Anglo- Saxon and formed part along with Edinburgh of Northumbria, which was made up of two Kingdoms Bernica and Deria with its capital at Bamburgh.

The first important family connected to Leith was the de Lestalric family who were Normans invited into Scotland by David I and they built a castle at Lochend giving the district around it the name in later years Restalrig. This family died out in 1382 and passed onto the Logan family until 1609 when James VI disinherited the Logan family for high treason. After which it was held by the Balmerino family until 1746 which because of their adherence to the Jacobite cause (ie supporters of the Stewart cause to claim the throne of Great Britain) Lord Balmerino was not only disinherited but was beheaded for treason. Leith was passed to Lord Murray until the 1920’s when all the remaining land at Restalrig and Lochend was passed to the Edinburgh Council.

The main trades in the past were Shipbuilding, the Wine Trade, flour milling, biscuit making, rope making and the Timber Trade. In Leith Ramage and Fergusons, Hawthorns did shipbuilding. Cran and Somerville, Robb and Mortons. Rope making was done at the Roperie at Salmander St. Along with these was sugar refining and Glass making.

So how did Leith become the Principal Port for Scotland? This happened in 1296. Edward I of England realised that the only way to defeat the Scots was by destroying the economy of the country. At this time wool from the Border Abbeys such as Melrose and Kelso was exported to the Low Countries (Belgium and Holland which were part of what was called the Hanseatic League) through Berwick. So in 1296 Berwick was destroyed, something like 7-9000 people were killed, and the trade was destroyed. The monks had a problem, which was solved by putting the wool on the backs of horses over the hills, up the Old Dalkeith road, around Arthur Seat, and into Leith and so from 1296 to 1707 Leith was the Principal Port for Scotland. In 1707 due to Union of Parliaments Glasgow gradually superseded Leith due to the Clyde being deeper and because of Trade with North America.

Some dates of importance:

AD 80 Agricola marches through Leith from Inveresk

AD 208 The Emperor Severus encamps at Cramond

AD 1128 David I founds Holyrood

AD 1296 The Abbot of Holyrood. Sir John de Lestalric, and the Parson of Restalrig swear fealty to Edward I

AD 1314 Edward II camps on Leith Links before Bannockburn

AD 1335 The English occupy Leith

AD 1434 James I builds the Kings Wark (Armoury for Scotland)

AD 1493 Robert Ballantyne Abbot of Holyrood builds St Ninians Church. This later becomes North Leith Parish Church

AD 1511 The Great Michael launched at Newhaven (this was the Largest warship of the Tudor age)

AD 1544/47 Leith burnt on the orders of Henry VIII during the “rough Wooing”

AD 1560 The Siege of Leith

AD 1593 Trials and executions for witchcraft

AD 1631 Balmerino House built in the Kirkgate

AD 1650 Battle of Dunbar. Leith occupied by Oliver Cromwell

AD 1698 The Darien Expedition leaves from Leith

AD 1751 Turnpike Act. Bonnington Toll erected

AD 1806 The Old Dock opened. The Queens Dock built 1817, The Victoria Dock 1852, The Albert Dock 1869, The Edinburgh Dock 1881 and the Imperial Dock 1904

AD 1822 George IV lands in Leith

AD 1833 Leith becomes an independent parliamentary Burgh

AD 1915 The Gretna disaster

AD 1920 Leith is amalgamated with Edinburgh

Leith has an extensive history going back several thousand years. The above is just a very small sample of what is available and known about Leith. For example the history of South Leith Church goes back several hundred years, The Preceptory of St Anthony founded approximately 1380 and was demolished in the Siege of Leith, Writers and Painters connected with Leith, The Templar connection the list goes on and on and is too large a subject to cover in this brief introduction.

Leith Historian and Genealogist.Owner of http://www.lineages.co.uk and http://www.leithhistory.co.uk. Married with two sons

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The Gallowlee midway between Edinburgh and Leith and near the present Shrub Place was a well known and famous place. An old “Chronical of Tales and Traditions of Leith” thus narrates about it-”During the troublous times of Morton’s regency (in the 16th century) the Gallowlee had rather an undue share of notoriety.

According to Captain Grant while Morton strung up his prisoners by fifties on a gigantic gallows at the Gallowlee midway between Leith and Edinburgh, the Loyalists displayed an equal number on a gibbet which reared its ghastly outline on the Castle Hill, in view of the Regents camp.

(This was during the period after Mary,Queen of Scot’s had fled to England in 1568 and civil war broke out in Scotland between the supporters of Mary,Queen of Scotland and her the supporters of her son James VI who in time became James I of England. Morton was one of the Regents of Scotland)

The gibbet at the Gallowlee was occasionally used for the purpose of exhibiting the effigies of individuals who had rendered themselves in some way obnoxious to the populace. For example when the celebrated John Wilkes in 1763 published the memorable No 45 of his periodical entitled, the North Briton, the bitter satire in which he indulged towards Scotland and Scotsmen gave great offence in the North and a famous leader of the Edinburgh mob, named “Bowed Joseph” got a cart fitted up with a high gallows from which suspended a figure stuffed with straw intended to represent the arch enemy of Scotland with the Devil perched on his shoulder.

The cart with its curious burden was leisurely paraded through the principal streets until it reached the Gallowlee where two criminals were at that moment dangling in chains and alongside of these Wilkes and his companion the devil were elevated amid the enthusiastic applause of the multitude. No opposition was offered by the authorities to the proceedings for two reasons they fully participated in the angry feelings entertained towards Wilkes and they were not in a position to oppose the will of such an independent leader as “Bowed Joseph”. The magistrates on many occasion displayed a disgraceful timidity unbecoming their position and they frequently sent for the “bowed” leader to consult him regarding the best means of dispersing and appeasing a troublesome mob. On such occasions he always stood up zealously for his people and his boldness generally compelled the feeble authorities to comply with whatever terms he dictated. These interviews generally ended in his being authorised to promise a reform of the evils complained of and also to dispense among his followers a hogshead of good ale. The promise and libation never failed to success and the popular favourite had no difficulty in clearing the streets by the simple command of “Now, disperse my lads”

According to that excellent authority Robert Chambers this mob director must have been a formidable person “After he had figured for a few years as an active partisan of the people his name waxed of such an account with him that it is said he could in the course of an hour collect a crowd of not fewer than ten thousand people all ready to obey his orders or disperse at his bidding “He collected his forces by beating a drum and he strode along “thudding out his noisy summons every close and alley poured out their dingy denizens to swell his train “Bowed Joseph” was at last killed by a fall from the top of a Leith stage while returning from the races on Leith sands in a state of intoxication about the year 1780. In the “Traditions of Edinburgh” will be found an interesting account of this singular character.

The fine sand of which the mound at the Gallowlee was composed was carted away to be mixed with the lime used in the erection of the New Town of Edinburgh. The spot once known the dreaded Gallowlee is now or was lately occupied as a marble work. But chiefly by the nursery of Thomas Methven and Sons. The proprietor of the ground at the time referred to according to Mr Chambers was nearly as much of a sand bed as his property. He was a big man and one of those persons on whom drink never seemed to have much effect. It is related that every day while the carts were taking away his sand he stood regularly at the place receiving money in return which was immediately converted into liquor and applied to the comfort of the inner man.

A public house was at length erected at the spot for his particular bnefit and assuredly as long as the Gallowlee lasted this pub house did not want his custom. It must be borne in mind however that the gibbet laird only got quit of the hillock of sand in this way he still retained the ground the grog supplying process having merely converted it from a considerable eminence into a deep hollow which remains to the present day as nursery ground.

The Gallowlee and the victims of its gibbets are now only matters of history.

John Arthur is a Leith Historian and Genealogist,married with two sons having websites at http://www.lineages.co.uk, http://www.leithhistory.co.uk and http://persevere.lineages.co.uk

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The Yardheads originally was the boundary wall or monastic Garth of the Preceptory of St Anthony. but by the time of the story of the Warlock the area had a few scattered cottages, Now in one of these cottages lived a Anthony Gordon and his cottage was exactly the same as all the others in the area except between the back of the cottage and resting on the Garden wall was a tower over fifty feet high with little turrets stuck to it. Unfortunately the building has been demolished which is a pity because it was a remarkable building of its type.

Anthony Gordon came to Leith late in life but nobody was ever able to find out where he came from. On arriving in Leith he began work as a coopers labourer on a very low wage but he worked quietly away until after six months he asked if he could go on holiday for a week and this being granted he disappeared and came back a week later better dressed, fed and with the clink of money in his pockets. The following year again he asked for a weeks holiday and again he came back richer then before. Not only this but he bought a large house in the Rotten Row and this got people talking. One story was that he had been a pirate and he was drawing on a concealed horde the result of many crimes. So when Gordon asked for his annual leave the following year he was followed to see where he went. At first he went drinking in Kirkcaldy and had a party and then Gordon just loitered in the town talking to the boatmen. Eventually he took a boat and he was followed and the trail ended near North Berwick at Dirleton and it was at this point that the Leith Detective saw an amazing sight of what looked like two giants digging into the ground. At least this was the report and Gordon’s return was anticipated with some curiosity and in time he duly returned and handed in his notice to the Cooper. He then bought all the buildings in the Broad Wynd and people whispered he wasn’t a pirate but had sold his soul to the devil.

The fear was real and people wanted to give up their tenancies but then withdraw their applications because of the shortage of property. It was at this point that Anthony Gordon was seen with a tall, dark man who said nothing but seemed to control everything that Gordon did. It is not known who this man was however the pair really caused as much trouble as was possible for their tenants. Eventually the poor tenants came to the tower in Yardheads to pay there rent and were ushered into a large room. When suddenly Gordon rushed in pursued by the dark stranger and dragged into another room and screams were heard. The tenants took to their heals in fright and ran. They later testified to smelling sulphur and that they saw Gordon being dragged into a hole in the ground which then sealed itself. The Tower itself had collapsed and whatever happened to Gordon he was never again seen in Leith. It was believed for many years that he had indeed sold his soul to the devil and at the end wasn’t able to escape the dreadful bargain.

John Arthur is marrried with two sons and is a genealogist and Local Historian having websites at http://www.lineages.co.uk,http://www.leithhistory.co.uk and http://persevere.lineages.co.uk

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