History of Leith, Edinburgh

The trouble with a place like Leith is that for such a small place it has a huge recorded history going back well over three thousand years and in this short article I will give a very small taste of what I mean. Let us take for example Trinity House which lies tucked away at the back of the New Kirkgate Shopping Centre and faces South Leith Parish Church in what is known locally as the Kirkgate.

Trinity House itself looks like a typical Georgian House but within it has the finest Museum of Shipping perhaps in the whole of Scotland and if that is not enough it has a history spanning well over six hundred years. Within the museum can be seen paintings by Sir Henry Raeburn and David Scott’s huge painting of Vasco de Gama passing the Cape of Good Hope. Also, Mytens famous portrait of Mary of Guise the mother of Mary, Queen of Scot’s and among the many model ships a model of the La Belle Esperance which according to a very doubtful tradition was the ship in which she came to Scotland. She actually arrived in Leith in the Mary Willoughby. There is also a fine model of a sixty-eight gun man-of-war made by a French prisoner of war in Edinburgh Castle in 1799. Also a letter written by Charles I amongst artefacts from around the world including the Second World War.

Trinity House is the home of the Incorporation of Mariners and is headed by the Masters of Trinity House. Its history dates back to the 14th century when the original hospice for seamen wasn’t in South Leith at all but in North Leith at the Hospice of St Nicholas. However the hospice was destroyed during what was called the “Rough Wooing” in 1544 and because of this it was transferred from North Leith to South Leith to the hospital of the Preceptory of St Anthony which stood in what was to become in later centuries the Kirkgate. It was during the Siege of Leith in 1560 that most of the monastic buildings of the Preceptory, including the Church, which was one of the largest and most beautiful in Scotland, was destroyed, because the French had mounted cannon in the tower of the Church, leaving only the Hospital of the Preceptory itself standing and it is at this point that the Preceptor of St Anthony becomes the “Master” of the Hospital and that title has continued on to the present day.

Trinity House received it’s Royal Charter in 1566 from Mary, Queen of Scot’s and Henry, Lord Darnley and a further Charter in 1797 which formally incorporated the Incorporation and licensed Trinity House to license and examine Pilots for the Firth of Forth.

During the time of the Protectorate it was full of the munitions of General Monk. The cellars being used to store wine. Later members of Trinity house tried to protect Leith against John Paul Jones the founder of the American navy in 1779 by bringing cannon down from Edinburgh Castle. It was also involved in the building of the Bell Lighthouse at the mouth of the Tay which was a great feat of engineering during the 19th century.

Trinity House was eventually rebuilt in 1816 on its original medieval foundations by Thomas Brown.

Although it was in 1296 when Leith became the Principal Port of Scotland until the rise of Glasgow in 1707 after the Union of Parliaments. It was only during the reign of James IV that an effort was made to develop Scottish sea power and it was at this time that we see the building of the “Great Michael” being built at Newhaven less then a mile from Leith which was the largest Tudor warship of the period and sea Captains like Sir Andrew wood and Sir Andrew Barton and his family. Even at South Leith Church was a altar erected to St Barbara the patron saint of Gunners. Leith seamen when they couldn’t find legitimate sea trade turned to piracy and fought against the Dutch, English and Portuguese. It is odd to think that although England defeated Scotland in 1513 at the Battle of Flodden it was the Scottish Navy that defeated England on the High Seas. It is on record that Henry VII and VIII had a great respect for Leith Seamen and their ships. In fact after the defeat of Sir Andrew Barton by Sir Thomas and Edward Howard in the English Channel, Sir Andrew’s Ship the lion became after the Great Harry the largest man-of-war in the English navy.

However Scottish Naval power ended really with the death of James IV because future Kings of Scotland simply weren’t interested in the sea or Ships. Though it was through these stories of Leith pirates and adventures on the high seas that encouraged a young man to write later a famous book called “Treasure Island” taking the name of John Pew the Blind Pirate, who gives the black spot to Billy bones at the Admiral Benbow Inn, from a gravestone in South Leith Parish Church. That young man was of course Robert Louis Stevenson. I could also mention that John Silver who became Long John Silver in the story is actually buried in the Old Calton Churchyard in Edinburgh.

Trinity House is located at 99 Kirkgate, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 6BJ

Open all year, Guided Tours only, Contact Steward in advance to arrange booking, No disable access
Telephone 0131 554 3289

Admission Charges £2 for adults, children 75p, reduced (OAP) £1.50 and a discount for group bookings.

Website http://www.historicscotland.gov.uk