C O N T E X T 1 3 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 17 of working with schools. The building itself was the main focus of interest. It was a somewhat stark set of enclosed and open spaces. There was limited communication to the outside world (via a balcony), and little to distract the incumbent artists in their clean white spaces, relieved only by steam bentwood beech furniture, designed in-house. Accommodation for resident artists was in high-level apartments. There was an impressive range of larger workshops for metal, wood and mixed media (such as clay and plaster). The whole befitted its original concept of a ‘factory for artistic ideas’. Seen from the outside, the building and its intended extension (under construction and illustrated by a model) presented a crisp, white, modernist foil to the backdrop of predominately stone terrace houses. This aspect (particularly the intended clock tower) generated the most discussion. The visit was rounded off with a visit to the Scottish National Art Gallery, recently modernised without losing its Victorian gothic splendour. Carole Ryan Leith: port, townscape heritage initiative and urban regeneration Having visited family near the Scots capital over many years, I thought I knew the Port of Leith. I was mistaken. Standing next to the enormous municipal representation of a narwhale’s spiral tusk that dominates Leith’s latest shopping mall, tour leader Stephen Dickson of Edinburgh City council, shattered my complacency. Dickson is not only a knowledgeable conservation enthusiast but a fanatical purveyor of all things Leith. He treated us to the fascinating insider dealings of the Leith versus Edinburgh story, from a fiercely partisan medieval river-mouth port, through to Leith’s independence in 1827, then to its ‘forced marriage’ to Edinburgh in 1921 and, finally, to its decline in the later 20th century. Since then, Leith has enjoyed a renaissance with the conversion of early warehouses by enlightened housing associations, upgrades of historic vital spaces by the public authorities, many imaginative new residential blocks, and the growth of a busy street life revolving around fashionable restaurants and bars around the river mouth and harbour. We were introduced to ‘four of the best’ historic buildings in the port which survived even the ruthless Leith Improvement Act of 1880, which ‘did for’ many relicts of sea-faring Leith. Trinity House was first built in 1555 with alms houses and a school at a time when Leith’s trading companies themselves provided free education, shelter for the aged and health care. The present handsome building dates from 1816, built over the vaults of the original. Belonging to Historic Scotland, it is a museum of whaling, a significant industry in Leith’s past although not very politically correct today. Opposite is the South Leith Parish Church, founded in 1438 and bombarded by the English in the 1560 siege. The practice was to bury people according to their trade, with each ‘trade area’ marked by a separate glamorous monument. Further north, in Water Close among the mass of Leith’s historic wynds and vennels, stands Lamb’s House, a grand gabled and corbelled merchant house of the 1630s. Its chequered history, after it fell out of family use, includes use as an old people’s home and prolonged periods of vacancy. It was rescued by a firm of architects which extensively refurbished the old fabric and built new period outbuildings, mainly for its own use. The last of the ‘four of the best’ is the (former) British Linen Bank of 1806 on Leith’s grand Bernard Street, the fashionable heart of 19th century Leith. Its domed and columned central pavilion proudly protrudes into the street to assert its importance as a palace of finance. Having majored only on the best, I have no space to mention all the other urban oddities and bits, such as a whaling gun mounted in the harbour, the amazing collection of street names that speak Leith’s story and the bizarrely shaped St Ninian’s church, which all make the urban richness, contradictions and wonders of Leith so fulfilling to visit. David Lovie New design in the historic city The tour, led by Steven Robb of Historic Scotland, looked at new and current developments within the Old Town Conservation Area and the world heritage site.The emerging theme was not just design, but use. Two uses dominate the new build skyline: hotels and student accommodation. Which of them creates the most resentment in the public’s perception is hard to tell. A vast landowner, the university seems to be taking over the town. Unintended consequences include the type of shops springing up in student dominated areas: budget supermarkets abound. The council’s policy on student housing is being stretched. Facade designs for both uses seem indistinguishable and active street frontages rare. St Ninian’s Chapel in the heart of Leith (Photo: Mike Taylor)
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