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,^[3][4][5] and resulted in the movement of families to public housing in new estates on the outskirts of the city.^[3][6] Demolition was halted due to changes in planning ideology which promoted redevelopment in its place.^[7]

Southside
Boundaries of the Southside area according to its Community Council[1]
Southside Location within the City of Edinburgh council area Show map of the City of Edinburgh council area Southside Location within Scotland Show map of Scotland
Population	36,132 [2]
Council area	City of Edinburgh
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Edinburgh East and Musselburgh
Scottish Parliament	Edinburgh Central
List of places UK Scotland 55.945614°N 3.1847215°W / 55.945614; -3.1847215

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.^[8][9]

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, Sciennes 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.

History

Edinburgh was created as a royal burgh in 1124.^[10] 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.^[11] 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.^[12] 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.^{[11][12][13][14][15]} In 1836 the opening of George IV Bridge increased commercial links with the Royal Mile and the New Town.^[15]

In Victorian Edinburgh, industrial growth attracted rural Irish and European immigrants.^[16][17] 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.^[18] These were multiple flats in a single building, housing large, multi-generational families, and later destined to be condemned as slums.^[19][20]

Timeline of historic events which shaped the Southside
1621	Utilities	Edinburgh water originally supplied from the Boroughloch now supplied from Comiston.[21]
1628 - 1636	Expansion	Telfer Wall is built to extend the Edinburgh Town Walls with ports (gates) opened to The Pleasance and Buccleuch Street in the south.[22]
1647	Housing development	The 'Bird's eye view of Edinburgh in 1647' depicts, south of the city walls, scattered private houses and a substantial amount of development around Potterrow and The Pleasance.[23]
1722	Development	Thomas Hope of Rankeillor (Baronet) ordered greater drainage of the Boroughloch, taking lease of the land with the intention of making a park for citizens. The Edinburgh Improvement Act of 1827 secured the site of the old loch for the citizens of Edinburgh to pursue leisure and recreational activities. It became 'The Meadows'.[24]
1734	Housing development	Hermits and Termits - a house built in St Leonard's for historical artist David Scott, RSA.[25]
1746	Housing development	William Reid leased the ground from Lady Nicolson to build a home now known as Pear Tree House.[26]
1750	Housing development	Chapel House built as a family home by Robert Frame on Sir James Nicolson's land.[27]
1760	Housing development	Start of development of Adam, Argyll and Brown Squares.[22]
1762 - 1764	Connections	Nicolson Street built, linking the early housing developments and providing further development opportunities as Lady Nicolson released her land.[28]
1764	Development	Academy for the deaf and dumb established in 'Dumbie House'.The name 'Dumbiedykes' is based on this house in St Leonard's.[29]
1766	Housing development	George Square built, the first residential group of houses in the Southside.[22]
1772	Connections	North Bridge opened.[15]
1775	Industry	James Pillans started his printing business in Nicolson Street.
1788	Connections	South Bridge opened, spanning "the ravine of the Cowgate".[22]
1790	Housing development	First tenements built on Nicolson Street following the construction of the South Bridge.[30]
1794	Expansion	Nicolson Street extended to Clerk Street.[31]
1800	Housing development	St Patrick Square and Montague and Rankeillor Street built.[32]
1814 - 1833	Housing Development	Main housing development in 'The Dumbiedykes' and 'St Leonards' - Brown Street, Arthur Street, Salisbury Street, Carnegie Street, Beaumont Place, Forbes Street and St. Leonard's Hill.[33]
1821	Industry	Bertrams, a major employer in the Southside, founded by brothers George and William Bertram, manufacturing paper-making machinery for worldwide export.[34][35]
1831	Industry	Usher's brewery business started in Chambers Street.[36]
1831	Industry	St. Leonard's Railway Station Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway opened.[37]
1827 - 1836	Connections	George IV Bridge built, spanning the Cowgate.[22]
1845	Industry	New Nelsons factory opened in Hope Park with 600 employees.[38]
1850 - 1870	Housing Development	Hope Park Terrace, Lutton Place and Bernard Terrace completed.[33]
1850	Industry	Thomas Nelson II develops the Rotary Press, and in 1851 it is exhibited at the 'Great Exhibition' in London.[39][40]
1853	Industry	Ushers produce and market the first ever blended whisky named 'Old Vatted Glenlivet (OVG)'.[41][42]
1859	Industry	Bertrams engineers move to larger premises in St Katherine's Works site at Sciennes which they occupied for more than a century.[43]
1860	Industry	Ushers open Park Brewery and the largest whisky warehouse in the world at St Leonard's.[44]
1875	Leisure	First football match between Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian held in the East Meadows on Christmas Day.[45]
1878	Industry	In April 1878, the Hope Park company headquarters of Thomas Nelson and Sons, printers, was devastated by fire.[46][47]
1880	Industry	New Nelsons factory opened at Parkside Works.[38]
1897	University	McEwan Hall handed over to Edinburgh University.[48]
1900	Industry	Usher Hall completed and handed over to the city.[49]
1919	Industry	Bernard Terrace works created as Pillans and Wilson company premises.[50]
1939	War activity	500 allotments created in the East Meadows - the last evidence of them was removed by 1966.[51]
1968	Industry	Nelsons printing and binding works and other interests sold to Morrison and Gibb, Parkside Printing Works in Dalkeith Road was closed and later demolished.[52]
1980	Industry	Bertrams business closed and the St Katherine's Works factory demolished.[53]
1981	Industry	Ushers Park Brewery closed.[54]

20th century redevelopment

By the end of World War I, the Southside of Edinburgh housing was described as having "the worst slums in Edinburgh".^{[3][55][56][57]}

It was a neighbourhood of industry, housing, shops and local businesses.^{[3][55][8][24]} Tenements were in a poor state, not maintained by their landlords, lacking sanitation and overcrowded.^[57][55][58] 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.^{[59][60][61][62][63][64]}

From the 1920s to 1970s, multiple factors influenced Edinburgh city planning and specifically for the Southside.^[13][8]

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.^[3][65][66] This heavily impacted long-standing communities with a loss of local heritage.^[65][67]

Between 1950 and 1973, the Edinburgh Corporation closed or demolished 16,556 homes and displaced 35,237 individuals.^[66]

The 1972 Town and Country Act introduced Local Plans and the mandatory involvement of residents.^[68][13][65] 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.^[8][69]

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.^[8]

Planning proposals and decisions and their impact on the Southside
1927	City Improvement Scheme.[70]	Demolition and redevelopment of housing (1931 – 1938).[13]	Part of the Pleasance, East Crosscauseway, Buccleuch Street, Simon Square, Gifford Park, St Patrick Square.
1931	Corporation Plan for Central Edinburgh & Old Town.[56]	Frank Mears city plan: 50 year vision, road network modernisation, new government, administrative and educational buildings, "Greater University", slum clearance.	Extensive clearances, renovation and new building across the city and Southside Delayed due to financial crisis of 1931 and outbreak of war in 1939.[71]
1947	Town & Country Planning Act.[72]	Introduced Comprehensive Development Plans & Areas.[73][74][75]	Empowered local authorities to redevelop land, or use compulsory purchase orders.[76][74]
1949	Abercrombie Civic Survey and Plan.[77][55]	Proposed: Clearly defined zones, dual carriageway with tunnel through the Old Town, road through Holyrood Park, University expansion, Bridges Bypass.	Demolition of 'slum' districts with two decades of demolition of housing and historic buildings. Redevelopment of George Square.[3] Road development abandoned in 1977.
1950	Comprehensive Development Area (St. Leonard's).[3]	Permission granted for University construction in George Square.	.
1953	City & Royal Burgh of Edinburgh Development Plan.[74]	Comprehensive Development Area for St. Leonard's/Dumbiedykes submitted to Secretary of State 66 objections & public inquiry.	Secretary of State granted permission in 1955 (full plan by 1957).
1954	Housing (Repairs and Rents) (Scotland) Act, Section 3.[78]	Additional powers of local authorities: Clearance Areas, purchase of houses liable to demolition, landlords responsible for repairs. Recovery of expenses by tenants in rendering houses fit for human habitation.	Initiated the slum clearance programme in Edinburgh.[79] Local authority required, within 1 year, to submit proposals to Secretary of State.
1956	City Planning Permission - University Expansion.[13]	Integration of scattered parts of the University with redevelopment of George Square and wider Southside.	Modernist blocks replacing Georgian buildings Public Inquiry in 1959.
1957	City and Royal Burgh of Edinburgh Development Plan.[80]	Comprehensive Development Area' specific to St Leonards (Dumbiedykes) - North zone 'educational and cultural', Southern zone residential. City-wide development focused on road networks, St. Leonard’s roundabout, Eastern Approach Road, Bridges Relief Road, Tollcross Link Road, University Medical School, Bus station.[75]	Demolish housing along road routes - Canongate, Dumbiedykes, Arthur Street, St. Leonard’s Street, Holyrood Road, Potterow, Nicolson Street, Hope Park Terrace, George Square. Dalkeith Road, Railway Yards, Tunnels under Arthur Street and Meadows, Displaced populations.
1959	Public Inquiry.[14]	Review of 1956 permission to redevelop George Square with redevelopment of parts of Southside to create a campus.	Buildings not comparable to Charlotte Square and dilapidated. Redevelopment allowed to proceed and implemented through 1960s.[71]
1959	'Penny Tenement' collapse.[81] Carnegie Street Clearance Area.[79]	Tenement in Beaumont Place collapses with no fatalities. Owner attempted to sell in 1953 for a penny. Raised in UK Parliament and clearance areas declared around Carnegie Street.	Evacuation of families. Rehousing of 250 people including evacuation of 10,12,14 and 15 Beaumont Place, Dalrymple Street, Dumbiedykes, St. Leonard's Hill. Viability of shops in St. Leonard's under threat.[82]
1961	Comprehensive Development Area “Mound/Lawnmarket” proposed by Edinburgh University.[76]	Renovation of New College and Old Town. Re-development of 8 acres.	Did not obtain approval.
1961 - 1964	George Square demolition and redevelopment.[83]	Redevelopment of George Square, demolishing existing tenements to build modernist university buildings.	Construction of the University Library, Appleton Tower & David Hume Tower. Destruction of Georgian buildings; 50% later to become a UNESCO World Heritage site.[84]
1962	Comprehensive Development Area “University/Nicolson Street”.[76] Proposed by Edinburgh University.	“Historic tenements to be replaced by a new urban landscape of slab blocks…. creating a seamless continuum between the university and the city”.[75]	"The character of the area was to be annihilated. The whole fabric, history and community of the South Side were to be utterly destroyed".[73] Not presented by Edinburgh Corporation (City Council) to the Scottish Secretary. Not approved; defunct in 1975.
1960 - 1963	University Comprehensive Development Area proposed.[85]	Joint plan to develop east of George Square to accommodate university growth and to create a larger 'campus area'.	University proceeded with development but the Council did not.
1963	Buchanan Plan.[86][87]	Landmark study on urban transportation planning. Inner city ring road; including bridges and flyovers.	Demolition and clearance through central Edinburgh affecting Pleasance, Bristo Dumbiedykes Road, Arthur Street. Revised proposals until bypass constructed between 1981 and 1990.
1965	Nicolson Street Comprehensive Development Area adopted by Edinburgh Corporation Planning.[88]	Previous proposal from Edinburgh University adopted and budgeted by Council.	Parts of Nicolson Street; 500 residents re-housed.
1965	Clearance Area declared.[73]	Compulsory Purchase Order (confirmed January 1968).	212 houses dating from 1770;Davie Street, West Richmond Street. 78-140 Nicolson Street reprieved after objections.
1966	Population decline.[74]	Since 1951 population declined by 62%.[73]	In early 1960s, 1,030 houses demolished in the St Leonard's. Estimated 1,977 people displaced.
1966	Quinquennial Review of 1957 Development Plan.[3]	Southside recommended as an Action Area.	Nicholson Street considered an ‘obsolete development and bad layout’.[75] 1968 Action Area removed. 1974 Review approved. Period of uncertainty over plans for the Southside.
1967	Civil Amenities Act 1967.[89]	Concept of conservation areas introduced. Protection and improvement of buildings of architectural or historic interest and of the character of these areas. Statutory requirement to consider improvement not demolition.	Impacted future proposals for a Southside Conservation Area in mid 1970s.
1967	Public Inquiry over 'Bridges Relief Road'.[75]	Six week inquiry on proposal for a double-level four lane road through the Southside. Recommendation by the Secretary of State for Scotland that Transport and Planning consultants be employed.[90]	Delayed or disrupted development or improvement in the Southside until study completed in 1972.
1968	Southside Action Area removed and Clearance Order approved.[75]	Secretary of State instructed that 1957 zonings be restored. Edinburgh Corporation increased the annual target for houses to be demolished from 700 to 1,000.[73]	Highlighted by the Nicolson Street Traders' Association.[91] Council acquired and cleared Nicolson Street and adjacent areas.
1968	Hill Place.[73]	Houses declared unfit.Hill Square remained as the properties better maintained.	96 people displaced and Georgian houses built in 1809 demolished.[90]
1968	Clearance Area declared.[73]	Clearance of buildings in St. Leonard's and the Pleasance.	Community of 675 people displaced and businesses demolished. 276 200 year-old, three to six-storey houses, shops and pubs demolished. East and West Adam Street, Richmond Place, Drummond Street, Ingliston Street, North Richmond Street.
1968	Forbes Street and St Leonard's Lane designated a Clearance Area.[73]	Different construction - squat buildings and narrow streets.	Forbes Street, St. Leonard's Lane; 310 houses cleared, 675 people displaced.
1969	Housing Act 1969.[92]	UK Legislation - established the concept of General Improvement Areas to allow for regeneration. Replaced Comprehensive Development Areas with Housing Treatment Areas; required Local Authorities to rehabilitate obsolete buildings.	Areas previously declared for 'clearance' survived and were improved - "paradigm shift in approach to urban renewal".[90]
1969	Pleasance and West Nicolson Street declared unfit.[73]	Houses purchased by Edinburgh Corporation.[13]	Proposal to demolish blocks of historic buildings. Impact: 83 houses and 157 people, Pleasance. West Nicolson Street. Public enquiry called in 1972.
1970	Eastern Link Road proposed by Edinburgh Corporation.[75]	Six lane road as part of the Inner Ring Road.	Large scale demolition in the Pleasance. Abandoned in 1977.
1971	'Parkers Triangle' demolished.[93][14]	Implementing University plan of 1963. Tenements declared unfit in 1966.	All buildings demolished in zone bounded by Lothian Street, Bristo Street, Charles Street, Crichton Street and Potterow. 270 people displaced; car park created.
1972	South Side Association formed.[73]	Formed to represent the people of the Southside (and oppose wholesale demolition). To counter University ambitions to establish CDA covering Meadows to St. Leonard's. Influenced Public Inquiry re-proposed demolition of houses in West Nicolson Street.	Secretary of State confirmed Compulsory Purchase Orders for demolition.[90] Plans placed under review.
1973	South Side Local Plan[94]	Major change in City planning. Removed requirement for UK Government approval. Work in South Side proceeded on the basis of a Local Plan rather than a Comprehensive Development Plan.	Change of focus for planners, residents and traders "at their core was the wish to create an environment satisfactory to the existing community".[75]
1973	Buccleuch Street demolition order reversed.[73]	South Side Association opposed 1970 and 1972 proposals for demolition in West Crosscauseway and Buccleuch Street.	Buccleuch Street secured from demolition.
1974	Edinburgh Corporation 1974/78 Housing Programme.[73]	Establishment of a rehabilitation policy.	5,821 sub-standard properties, 41% to be demolished and 59% improved.[73] Properties recommended for improvement: Howden Street, Drummond Street, East Crosscauseway and High School Yards.
1974	South Side Advisory Panel[75] of Edinburgh University formed.	Bringing together all stakeholders to create a 'policy package'.	Associations formed: Dumbiedykes Residents' Association, Nicolson Street Traders' Association, Southside Residents' Association, Cockburn Association.
1975	South Side Conservation Area designated.[14]	Conservation Area designated, later (extended in 1986, adjusted in 1996). Changed the solution to improvement not demolition.	Regeneration of the remainder of the Southside area and the retention of its remaining historic identity.
1976	South Side Local Plan - Pilot Scheme.[94]	Pilot study to assess feasibility of rehabilitating other housing areas in the Southside.	Davie Street, West Richmond Street to be replaced in historic style.
1977	Eastern Link Road plan abandoned.[14]	Final attempt to build a major road through the Southside.	0.9 miles long, linking St Leonard's with Leith Walk via Calton Hill. Leith Street and Greenside demolished. Removed threat to Southside neighbourhood.
1978	Pilot Block.[13]	Partial restoration and rebuilding of a full street block on Nicolson Street. Conservation and restoration of buildings replacing those beyond repair in a historic style to preserve the character of the area.	Creation of 69 flats, a supermarket, 24 shops and a pub between East Crosscauseway and Richmond Street.
1995	Old and New Towns of Edinburgh designated as UNESCO Heritage Site.[84]	City's unique architectural and historical significance.	Highlighting contrast and evolution between the medieval Old Town and 18th century Georgian New Town
2002	South Side Conservation Area Character Appraisal.[14]	Scottish Ministers require Character Appraisals for areas before approving any new Article 4 Direction Orders. Character appraisals to define special qualities and architectural and historic interests.	Conservation Area status: demolition requires consent, and attention to character and appearance.
2019	South Side Conservation Area updated.[95]	Addition of a group of category A listed buildings, with special architectural and historic importance. Buildings having distinct character and significant value cited as good architectural styles.	Additions: The Royal Commonwealth Pool, Scottish Widows building, Pollock Halls. Removed: Forbes Street, St Leonard’s Police Station.

Notable buildings in the Southside

The Southside has examples of Georgian and Victorian architecture and structures from the last 300 years.^[96] 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.^[97]

• 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.^[18][98]

  

  Hermits & Termits 1734

• 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.^[99]

  

  Chapel House 1750

• 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.^[100][101]
• 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 - 1777

• 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.^[102]
• 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.^[18]
• '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.^[103]
• 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".^[18]

• Summerhall, home to Royal Dick Veterinary College (1909 onwards) now in entertainment use.
• Surgeons' Hall, the Headquarters of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, opened in 1832, it is now a popular museum.^[18]
• 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.^[104]
• 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.^[105]
• 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.^[18]
• 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.