Edinburgh History

[PTBCAL]

Slightly off topic but has anyone been to the Robert Bloomfield photography exhibition at Edinburgh Uni. Called Student of Kight 

 

Pics from the 50s of Edinburgh 

 

Im heading along on Friday 

[PTBCAL]

Just now, PTBCAL said:

Slightly off topic but has anyone been to the Robert Bloomfield photography exhibition at Edinburgh Uni. Called Student of Night

 

Pics from the 50s of Edinburgh 

 

Im heading along on Friday 

 

[Lone Striker]

14 hours ago, henryheart said:

 

In the 1960s and 70s it was called Windy Vale garage. It sold Esso petrol and I remember in 1970 the guy in the kiosk kept a pile of loose World Cup coins and us local kids went there to swap. I remember getting Allan Clarke to complete my collection. 

Thanks - the name rings a bell, but not sure if it still had that name in the 80s.   

 

Bit of a long shot -  but do you remember another garage back in the 60s  on Turnhouse Road where Craigs Road joins it (opposite Lennie cottages) ?   I think it sold Fina petrol  - the owners name was Pettigrew, a very helpful & friendly guy.     

 

I could be wrong, but it seemed back then that most garages had a mechanic/repair service in addition to just selling petrol.   Changed days now though.😟  

[Footballfirst]

Fuel crisis?  Lets use the ingenuity of WW1 with a coal gas powered bus, or maybe not. No smoking allowed on upper deck.

 

Bus pictured on Waverley Bridge. 

 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2022 by Footballfirst

[JudyJudyJudy]

On 16/05/2022 at 13:04, Salad Fingers said:

This popped up on my YT recommended videos the other day. Thought it might be of interest to some on. Anyone brought up there?  

 

 

I know a few in the video . 

[bairdy]

On 16/01/2022 at 04:37, Wonfiveone said:

A lot like the old Leith Shore area when I started drinking all these many years ago: definitely a place to be avoided if possible at that time but now completely transformed.

I remember the Shore Area in the 60's, bloody rough area !

The old joke comes to mind, ''Any cat there with two ears was a tourist !''

[henryheart]

11 hours ago, Lone Striker said:

Thanks - the name rings a bell, but not sure if it still had that name in the 80s.   

 

Bit of a long shot -  but do you remember another garage back in the 60s  on Turnhouse Road where Craigs Road joins it (opposite Lennie cottages) ?   I think it sold Fina petrol  - the owners name was Pettigrew, a very helpful & friendly guy.     

 

I could be wrong, but it seemed back then that most garages had a mechanic/repair service in addition to just selling petrol.   Changed days now though.😟  

 

Sorry, but I cannot remember it at all. In those days I would primarily venture into a garage to buy sweets and refreshments in the garage kiosk, and despite it being across the road from a friends house (he lived in Lennie Cottages) and Turnhouse Golf Club, where I was a junior in the 1970s it was never on my radar. I was a regular in the garage shop at Appleyard on the Glasgow Road. I lived a really exotic life in those days! 

[Shanks said no]

On 08/05/2022 at 14:24, Radio Ga Ga said:

Now Tesco Superstore Corstorphine

Some recollections about this area from http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/

The Piggery

"My Uncle Davie and my dad bought this piggery called Windyvale around 1951/52.  We lived at Chesser near Gorgie, then we moved to Featherhall Road at Corstorphine, to be near the piggery.

My dad worked at the piggery.  Davie had a butcher's shop in Westfield Rd, Gorgie, where he worked.  Davie stayed in the house which lay where American Golf Centre is now.

The piggery stretched from there to close to Murray Cottages. You can still see the wee road that was at bottom of field, going round Wester Broom Place, Corstorphine, to Gylemuir School.

Adjoining piggery was Willie Newbigging`s and in Gylemuir Road there was a guy called Pettigrew."

Garage

"Eventually, after being wiped out by swine fever in mid-1950s and generally having not been profitable, the piggery was sold off to make land a petrol station and car servicing. 

The garage, called Windyvale Service Station, opened in 1961.   It was  and was owned by D and W McDermaid . They then sold it in 1963 to a guy called Morris who in turn sold it to Carnie`s"

There is now a small car park for Tesco's where the garage once stood."

Police Station and Roundabout

"A farm field was sold to the police and corporation so that a Police Station and a roundabout could be built.  The No.1 bus then terminated there.  That was back at end of 1961 /62."

 

[Lone Striker]

9 minutes ago, The Frenchman Returns said:

Some recollections about this area from http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/

The Piggery

"My Uncle Davie and my dad bought this piggery called Windyvale around 1951/52.  We lived at Chesser near Gorgie, then we moved to Featherhall Road at Corstorphine, to be near the piggery.

My dad worked at the piggery.  Davie had a butcher's shop in Westfield Rd, Gorgie, where he worked.  Davie stayed in the house which lay where American Golf Centre is now.

The piggery stretched from there to close to Murray Cottages. You can still see the wee road that was at bottom of field, going round Wester Broom Place, Corstorphine, to Gylemuir School.

Adjoining piggery was Willie Newbigging`s and in Gylemuir Road there was a guy called Pettigrew."

Garage

"Eventually, after being wiped out by swine fever in mid-1950s and generally having not been profitable, the piggery was sold off to make land a petrol station and car servicing. 

The garage, called Windyvale Service Station, opened in 1961.   It was  and was owned by D and W McDermaid . They then sold it in 1963 to a guy called Morris who in turn sold it to Carnie`s"

There is now a small car park for Tesco's where the garage once stood."

Police Station and Roundabout

"A farm field was sold to the police and corporation so that a Police Station and a roundabout could be built.  The No.1 bus then terminated there.  That was back at end of 1961 /62."

 

Thats a really good find, great to have some written history about that area. Thanks for posting.    Carnie's does now ring a bell alongside the name Windyvale.  I only started using that garage a few years before it closed to make way for Tesco's carpark - but the mechanic guy there was superb, and took time to explain what faults he found and what he did to remedy them.   

 

Isn't it weird how some mundane insignificant things  from decades ago stick in your mind .... but you can't remember what you did yesterday !!!  😳

 

 

[Shanks said no]

44 minutes ago, Lone Striker said:

Thats a really good find, great to have some written history about that area. Thanks for posting.    Carnie's does now ring a bell alongside the name Windyvale.  I only started using that garage a few years before it closed to make way for Tesco's carpark - but the mechanic guy there was superb, and took time to explain what faults he found and what he did to remedy them.   

 

Isn't it weird how some mundane insignificant things  from decades ago stick in your mind .... but you can't remember what you did yesterday !!!  😳

 

 

 

Here's another view nearby, Murray Cottages, across from the Police station and Tesco. But before Wester Broom / Broomhall etc. 

 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2022 by The Frenchman Returns

[Angry Haggis]

Anyone recall the name of the bar/lounge that used to be where the American Golf is situated? I’m thinking early 90’s era……

[Montgomery Brewster]

34 minutes ago, Angry Haggis said:

Anyone recall the name of the bar/lounge that used to be where the American Golf is situated? I’m thinking early 90’s era……

Gylemuir inn or something along those  lines 

[¼½¾]

38 minutes ago, Montgomery Brewster said:

Gylemuir inn or something along those  lines 

I think it was the Swiss Cottage before that.

[Stuart Lyon]

12 minutes ago, Meathook said:

I think it was the Swiss Cottage before that.

Also called the Gyle Park at some point.

[Australis]

On 16/05/2022 at 20:54, Jambo-Jimbo said:

 

We must have just been around the corner as we lived in the last block at the top of the road, across the road was the fields, football pitch on the right hand side, then a field then the castle.  Seem to recall gardens or greenhouses on the left, there was a youth club at the end of that road.

 

All changed now, agreed for the better.

Remember a young chap known as Ecky Delmer from that stair if I am right, think he had a disability.

 

The McCartneys on the corner right between our tenements.

[Jambo-Jimbo]

33 minutes ago, Australis said:

Remember a young chap known as Ecky Delmer from that stair if I am right, think he had a disability.

 

The McCartneys on the corner right between our tenements.

 

None of those names ring a bell, mind I was only a young laddie at the time, the only name I can remember was an Irene Turner and that's only because she was my go to if I needed anything when my mum & dad were out working.

[Australis]

22 minutes ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

 

None of those names ring a bell, mind I was only a young laddie at the time, the only name I can remember was an Irene Turner and that's only because she was my go to if I needed anything when my mum & dad were out working.

They were happy days, we are both older and wiser and we knew which team to support.

Keep safe and well Jimbo 🙂👍

 

[Jambo-Jimbo]

46 minutes ago, Australis said:

They were happy days, we are both older and wiser and we knew which team to support.

Keep safe and well Jimbo 🙂👍

 

 

Mostly happy days, but then again we were kids.

I need to get on with my family history and get the memories from my childhood down on paper, whilst I still can, because where I/we lived as kids, doesn't exist now, it's gone.  The street names might be the same, but they're not the same, the world we knew is gone now.

 

That's why this thread is the best on kickback by a long way, so many memories, stories & photo's of a bygone age.

Edited May 18, 2022 by Jambo-Jimbo

[PortyBeach]

On 16/05/2022 at 20:25, **** the SPFL said:

Most of her punters were judges lawyers cops @Sharpie possibly attended in an official capacity of course👍 she always got just a slap on the wrists and small fines I wonder why 

Great extract from Wiki…

”While she claimed in an interview that demand for her services was greatest during the Edinburgh International Festival, her second busiest period was when the general assembly of the Church of Scotland was in session each May.

 Queues formed around the block when certain ships were in port. The aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedydocked at Leith in 1970 leading to her women reportedly attending to £4,000 of business in one night. The ship's captain was forced to declare the house off-limits.”

£4,000 in 1970 - how much is that in today’s money, I wonder? 

 

 

 

 

[Fxxx the SPFL]

38 minutes ago, PortyBeach said:

Great extract from Wiki…

”While she claimed in an interview that demand for her services was greatest during the Edinburgh International Festival, her second busiest period was when the general assembly of the Church of Scotland was in session each May.

 Queues formed around the block when certain ships were in port. The aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedydocked at Leith in 1970 leading to her women reportedly attending to £4,000 of business in one night. The ship's captain was forced to declare the house off-limits.”

£4,000 in 1970 - how much is that in today’s money, I wonder? 

 

 

 

 

Hilarious 😂 

[The Real Maroonblood]

58 minutes ago, PortyBeach said:

Great extract from Wiki…

”While she claimed in an interview that demand for her services was greatest during the Edinburgh International Festival, her second busiest period was when the general assembly of the Church of Scotland was in session each May.

 Queues formed around the block when certain ships were in port. The aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedydocked at Leith in 1970 leading to her women reportedly attending to £4,000 of business in one night. The ship's captain was forced to declare the house off-limits.”

£4,000 in 1970 - how much is that in today’s money, I wonder? 

 

 

 

 

Approximately £70,000 today.

[John Findlay]

1 hour ago, PortyBeach said:

Great extract from Wiki…

”While she claimed in an interview that demand for her services was greatest during the Edinburgh International Festival, her second busiest period was when the general assembly of the Church of Scotland was in session each May.

 Queues formed around the block when certain ships were in port. The aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedydocked at Leith in 1970 leading to her women reportedly attending to £4,000 of business in one night. The ship's captain was forced to declare the house off-limits.”

£4,000 in 1970 - how much is that in today’s money, I wonder? 

 

 

 

 

It was only ten Bob a trick back then😁

[PortyBeach]

50 minutes ago, John Findlay said:

It was only ten Bob a trick back then😁

🤣 Those “girls” earned their money!

[PortyBeach]

1 hour ago, The Real Maroonblood said:

Approximately £70,000 today.

The price of inflation, you might say.

 I wonder how much Dora’s share was? Can’t have been cheap owning and running a property in Danube Street mind you.

Stockbridge’s other “Grande Dame” was of course Isabella Coutts, aka “Madame Doubtfire”…

[The Real Maroonblood]

2 minutes ago, PortyBeach said:

The price of inflation, you might say.

 I wonder how much Dora’s share was? Can’t have been cheap owning and running a property in Danube Street mind you.

Stockbridge’s other “Grande Dame” was of course Isabella Coutts, aka “Madame Doubtfire”…

She certainly must’ve been pretty well off.

[PortyBeach]

1 hour ago, The Real Maroonblood said:

She certainly must’ve been pretty well off.

Correction - I think her name was Annabella

[Wonfiveone]

7 hours ago, PortyBeach said:

The price of inflation, you might say.

 I wonder how much Dora’s share was? Can’t have been cheap owning and running a property in Danube Street mind you.

Stockbridge’s other “Grande Dame” was of course Isabella Coutts, aka “Madame Doubtfire”…

 

Please correct me if I am wrong, but what I remember of Madam Doubtfire's shop was she only sold second hand clothes.

[Wonfiveone]

10 minutes ago, Wonfiveone said:

 

Please correct me if I am wrong, but what I remember of Madam Doubtfire's shop was she only sold second hand clothes.

As well as inspiring the book and film of that name.

[Radio Ga Ga]

Longstone Depot 1958

[Radio Ga Ga]

[Radio Ga Ga]

c1870

[Radio Ga Ga]

[Radio Ga Ga]

Riddles Court

[Radio Ga Ga]

Construction of the North British. 

[Radio Ga Ga]

[Radio Ga Ga]

[PortyBeach]

2 hours ago, Wonfiveone said:

As well as inspiring the book and film of that name.

Yes, I believe she sold second-hand clothes. She apparently smoked a clay pipe and had numerous cats.

There were a lot of stories about her premises stinking of cat urine! 
The lady whose book inspired the film “Mrs Doubtfire”, was English and had spent some time living in Edinburgh, so it’s pretty clear where she got the name from.

[Wonfiveone]

49 minutes ago, PortyBeach said:

Yes, I believe she sold second-hand clothes. She apparently smoked a clay pipe and had numerous cats.

There were a lot of stories about her premises stinking of cat urine! 
The lady whose book inspired the film “Mrs Doubtfire”, was English and had spent some time living in Edinburgh, so it’s pretty clear where she got the name from.

She might have also sold other second hand stuff. During the sixties I remember walking past on the way to and from town and usually seeing an old lady with  lots of old clothes sitting outside her basement shop. That would have been long before the book was written.

[Dawnrazor]

I remember my Nana, when the film Mrs Doubtfire came out, saying she can remember the real Mrs Doubtfire, of course I didn't believe, turns out it was true, my Nana would've been over 100 if she was alive.

[PortyBeach]

10 hours ago, Dawnrazor said:

I remember my Nana, when the film Mrs Doubtfire came out, saying she can remember the real Mrs Doubtfire, of course I didn't believe, turns out it was true, my Nana would've been over 100 if she was alive.

Yes, she was indeed a real person. This is her seated outside her shop…

 

[PortyBeach]

5 minutes ago, PortyBeach said:

Yes, she was indeed a real person. This is her seated outside her shop…

 

 

[Jambo-Jimbo]

15 hours ago, Radio Ga Ga said:

 

Is this the start of the Grassmarket just as it turns onto Candlemaker Row (Left of the photo)?

And is there any indication what year this is.

Edited May 27, 2022 by Jambo-Jimbo

[Wonfiveone]

5 hours ago, PortyBeach said:

 

Exactly how I remembered the shop and the good lady.

[Radio Ga Ga]

Lamp post exhibition 1964

[Radio Ga Ga]

3 hours ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

 

Is this the start of the Grassmarket just as it turns onto Candlemaker Row (Left of the photo)?

And is there any indication what year this is.

It is the Grassmarket, unfortunately no date supplied with the photo. 

[¼½¾]

10 minutes ago, Radio Ga Ga said:

Lamp post exhibition 1964

There used to be a council depot on Balcares Street which had a fine collection of old lamp posts. Gone now, but here's a view Google view from 2008 showing some; there were more at one time.

 

[Jambo-Jimbo]

1 hour ago, Radio Ga Ga said:

It is the Grassmarket, unfortunately no date supplied with the photo. 

 

It's a pity there's no date, because the old chap across the road wearing the bunnet and the grey tweed jacket, looks suspiciously like my Grandfather, same stature, same type of clothes, even walking with his hands in his pockets, everything...and he living in the Grassmarket.

 

Without a date though, I can never be 100% sure.

Edited May 27, 2022 by Jambo-Jimbo

[Mister T]

3 hours ago, Radio Ga Ga said:

Lamp post exhibition 1964

Would have been enlightening 🙄

[EH11_2NL]

23 hours ago, Radio Ga Ga said:

Riddles Court

[Sharpie]

9 hours ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

 

Is this the start of the Grassmarket just as it turns onto Candlemaker Row (Left of the photo)?

And is there any indication what year this is.

My guess 1966ish