Southside, Edinburgh

The Southside is an area of Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh, located between its historic Old Town, Holyrood Park and the neighbourhood of Newington. The Southside housed much of Edinburgh's working class through the 150 years from 1800 to the early 1960s before planning decisions led to large-scale demolition to accommodate the expansion of the university and creation of new road systems, and resulted in the movement of families to public housing in new estates on the outskirts of the city. Demolition was halted due to changes in planning ideology which promoted redevelopment in its place. In 1975 the Southside was designated by the City of Edinburgh Council as a conservation area, and in 1995 part of the Southside was included in the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Old Town.

1. Geography

The north boundary is Holyrood Road and the eastern boundary is largely Holyrood Park. The longer western boundary extends from George IV Bridge, through Forrest Road and Middle Meadow Walk, south through George Square, Buccleuch Street, Hope Park Crescent and Causewayside. The southern boundary extends east from Causewayside through Salisbury Place, Salisbury Road and Holyrood Park Road; to Holyrood Park, encompassing St Leonard's. The Southside Community Council boundaries align closely with the City of Edinburgh Council Southside Conservation Area.

1. History

Edinburgh was created as a royal burgh in 1124. The Old Town of Edinburgh began as a collection of dwellings that developed along the Royal Mile. At this time, south of the Canongate was not significantly populated. City Walls were built following the defeat of the Scots army at Flodden in 1513. Changes in the need to live within the town wall of Edinburgh, in order to trade, were lifted in 1752 in order to permit the building of the New Town to the north of the established city and this encouraged growth south of the Royal Mile. There were already a small number of small rural properties along these routes but unlike the north, where streets were formally planned, on the south this happened on an ad hoc basis, centred on existing roads leading out of the city to neighbouring towns such as Dalkeith and Peebles. In 1766, the first planned housing development was George Square; terraced houses with private gardens. Further development included the New Town (1767) and construction of the South Bridge (1788), improving connection to the Southside. In 1836 the opening of George IV Bridge increased commercial links with the Royal Mile and the New Town. In Victorian Edinburgh, industrial growth attracted rural Irish and European immigrants. Housing, industry, education, worship and recreation were in close proximity. Consequently, high density tenement housing such as the Dumbiedykes and St. Leonard's were constructed. These were multiple flats in a single building, housing large, multi-generational families, and later destined to be condemned as slums.

1. = 20th century redevelopment =

By the end of World War I, the Southside of Edinburgh housing was described as having "the worst slums in Edinburgh". It was a neighbourhood of industry, housing, shops and local businesses. Tenements were in a poor state, not maintained by their landlords, lacking sanitation and overcrowded. The UK Government, the Scottish Office and Edinburgh Corporation produced legislation to address this housing crisis; defining the minimum habitable standard, increasing the housing stock and clearing slums. From the 1920s to 1970s, multiple factors influenced Edinburgh city planning and specifically for the Southside. Throughout this period, demolition was the preferred method of redeveloping neighbourhoods, and thousands of families were displaced mostly to new Corporation built housing on the periphery of the city. This heavily impacted long-standing communities with a loss of local heritage. Between 1950 and 1973, the Edinburgh Corporation closed or demolished 16,556 homes and displaced 35,237 individuals. The 1972 Town and Country Act introduced Local Plans and the mandatory involvement of residents. This gave residents the opportunity to preserve the cultural identity of their neighbourhoods, an example was the Southside Association's influence in the reversal of the decision to demolish Nicolson Street. Some of these proposals were realised, such as improved housing, the expansion of the University of Edinburgh, before planning policies changed to prioritise rehabilitation, protection of existing buildings and conservation. Others were abandoned, such as the Eastern Link Road, but only after delays and demolition and dispersal of families to facilitate the proposals had occurred.

1. Notable buildings in the Southside

The Southside has examples of Georgian and Victorian architecture and structures from the last 300 years. Although many historic buildings were demolished in the 20th century, streets and public buildings remain which are a record of the Southside as an industrial area and cultural district. The designation of the Southside in 1975 as a conservation area ensured that a significant element of these historic buildings were protected.

Royal Infirmary, first established in 1729 in Infirmary Street. In 1741 it moved into new premises designed by William Adam. It remained there until moving to Lauriston in 1879, a building which now houses the University's Futures Institute. Hermits and Termits, a Georgian house in St Leonard's, built in 1734 and still in use as a family home. Pear Tree House, in 1747, one of the first residences established in the Southside. Chapel House, built in 1750 as a family home by Robert Frame on Sir James Nicolson's land. Andrew Melrose, the tea merchant made it home for himself and his thirty apprentices and after his death in 1855, it became the Royal Maternity and Lying-In Hospital. It was here that Professor James Young Simpson first made use of chloroform in maternity cases. In 2025, it was being renovated as an education building for Edinburgh Central Mosque. Buccleuch Parish Church, now St Andrew's Orthodox Church, was created as a quoad sacra church linked to St Cuthbert's Church and opened in 1756 as St Cuthbert's "Chapel of Ease" - reducing the burden on the main church. Although there was plenty of empty ground around, it limited its graveyard to a small parcel of land, avoiding the need to acquire land from third parties. The graveyard was quickly filled and had to be supplemented by the creation of East Preston Street Burial Ground in 1820. One of the famous figures buried here is Deacon Brodie, respected citizen by day and housebreaker by night who was hanged at the Tolbooth in 1788. George Square, developed in 1766 to accommodate the aristocracy who began to look towards moving to houses in this new suburb beyond the city wall. Notable residents were Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sir Walter Scott. Only the west side remains intact after demolition to accommodate university expansion. Archers' Hall, established in Buccleuch Parish in 1777, it is the home of the sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland. Nicolson Square Methodist Chapel, built in 1815 and now a category A listed building. During his visit to Edinburgh in 1877 as part of his world tour, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States, attended worship here at the invitation of Lord Provost Thomas Jamieson Boyd. Heriot-Watt University, a college in Chambers Street from 1821 until its charter as a university in 1966 and move to the outskirts of town in 1992. 'Dick Vet' - Summerhall, founded by William Dick in 1823, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, affectionately known to all as the Dick Vet, was at Summerhall from 1916 to 2011, moving to the new building in the Southside from Clyde Street off St Andrew Square in central Edinburgh. Queen's Hall, opened as Hope Park Chapel in 1824, it was repurposed as a performance venue in 1979. Old College, original design by Robert Adam, with building starting in 1789, using Craigleith sandstone. However, Adam died in 1792 and William Henry Playfair was commissioned in 1815 to complete it. It was opened in 1827 as "the New College".

Surgeons' Hall, the Headquarters of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, opened in 1832, it is now a popular museum. Rutherfords Bar, opened in 1837. There is a plaque on the north west corner of Drummond Street about Robert Louis Stevenson, the Edinburgh born author. He is known to have frequented Rutherfords as a young student at Old College; his work included characters who frequented Rutherfords. Buccleuch Free Church, the foundation stone was laid in 1855 and building was completed in 1857. The spire was given a new design in 1861 and is 174 feet high, getting it into the top 20 of the tallest buildings in Edinburgh. The building was restored between 1981 and 1985. Chambers Street Museum, Opened in 1866 and now, after combining other buildings, is known as the National Museum of Scotland and is one of Edinburgh's major. Edinburgh Festival Theatre, The former 'Empire' theatre, opened in 1892, although there has been a theatre on that site since 1830. McEwan Hall, Gifted to Edinburgh University by brewer William McEwan. Graduation and other ceremonies are held here. Central Mosque, Stone-built in 1998 on land provided by the council. Six years in construction.

1. References


1. Further reading

David Fisher and Keith Smith (editors), Memories of Preston Street School and The Southside, 1988 - Reminiscences of the surviving Southside school and the contemporary living conditions. Jack Gillon, Sixties Southside, self-published, 2023. Detailed neighbourhood and architecture pictures with supporting text. Jack Gillon & Fraser Parkinson, Edinburgh South Side Through Time, Amberley Publishing, Stroud, 2017. A picture collection with descriptive text covering 100 years of development and redevelopment. John G Gray (compiler), The South Side Story – An Anthology of the South Side of Edinburgh, W F Knox & Co Ltd, Glasgow, 1962. Historic focus on the early routes, significant buildings and the events which shaped the Southside, plus local newspaper adverts, black and white photos and plans. Neil Palmer (editor), Memories of Nicolson Street Church, the Community Centre & the South Side, South Side Community Centre, 2007 - An introduction to the attempts made to save and revitalise the Southside. Lisa Sibbald, Edinburgh’s Southside – History, People, Memories, self-published, 2020. Introduction to the Southside in a book which combines history, key buildings, workplaces, leisure, memories and up to date pictures. Lisa Sibbald & Tom King, Edinburgh’s Southside – 1920s & 1930s, self-published, 2022. A photographic record of housing and living conditions with contemporary newspaper reports and articles covering many streets and buildings which were demolished as part of redevelopment. Charles J Smith, Historic South Edinburgh, Birlinn 2023 (Originally published in 1980). An historical record of the development of the city to the south of the city walls, the book covers a much greater area than the Southside but provides context. Keith Smith and Dorothy Finlay (editors), More Memories of Our South Side, The South Side Association, 1997 - Covers lost buildings, communities and activities impacted by redevelopment. John Wishart, The Story of Nicolson Street Church of Scotland, 1953. Development of the main street in the Southside and key buildings.

1. External links

edinphoto.org is a key 'peoples' resource' for Southside pictures showing living conditions and recording events and memories. National Library of Scotland A unique collection of 138 photographs of the Southside in 1929 by Alfred Henry Rushbrook, on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Improvement Trust.