REMI N I SCE N CES PO RT A N D T OW N O F L EI T H R E J O H N M A T I N , A UT HO R OF RE MI N I SCEN CES O F T HE ROYA L B U RG H O F HA D D I N G T O N , ET C. E D I N B U R G H P R I N T E D FO R T HE A U T H O R 1 8 8 8 P R E F A C E . HE Port an d Town of Leith present a field r st r tra r ich in hi o ical , ditional, and antiqua ian s a old or — treasure . M ny auth s Maitland , o rs— to Kincaid , and the have handed down th e or of its s and e posterity hist y ri e, progress, trad importance . 1 82 s In 7, Mr Alexander Campbell publi hed what ever was valuable and interesting as collected from “ f r a o es r o ormer histo i ns, a v lume entitled Tal , T aditi ns, t u s of t t e of e and An iq itie Lei h, wi h Notic s its Trad e &c . and Commerc , D r . r 1 8 1 . of In 5 , D H Robe tson, a native Leith, “ s h is arc ha olo ic al r publi hed interesting g wo k, The f ” e o o &c . Sculptur d St nes Leith, “ 1 8 of In 5 3 , Mr William Hutchison , author Flying “ o u s s an d s of Sh ts, p bli hed Tale Tradition Leith, 1 86 o of its . with n tices antiquities In 5 , Mr Charles o o r u ed a n ew and r s Drumm nd , b okselle , p blish evi ed ’ o edition of H utchis n s work . The following pages are humbly submitted to the f u public, in the hope that they may be o nd readable and interesting. 1 L ENG YL E ERRA CE 3 G T , H 1 ED I NB U RG , 888. C O N T E N T S . T HE SHORE SHI PPI N G OLD MERCHANTS GRAIN I MPORTS NOTED CHARACTERS L EITH N O B ILITY CELEB RATED MEN TRADE O F L EITH IN 1 8 14 L EITH WALK L EITH STAG ES AND B OWED J OSEPH ” LEITH RACES WINE TRADE OLD L oc A L I T I Es ODD CHARACTERS OLD PLACES O F B USINESS THE VA UL T s A RETROSPECT CHRONOLOG ICAL N OTICES T H E S H O R E . HEN a person in the present d ay walks along i r of h e a but the Quay or Sho e Leith, c nnot f be struck with the absence o vessels. Ifhalf a - e or so are doz n lying along the quayside, f th e of th e a to r rom top Co lhill the lowe drawbridge, it is e an xception to the ordinary state of matte rs . Such w as as ma e not the c e long ago . It y be int resting at the present day to note some particulars of Leith fifty to ar a o an d s e s or es sixty ye s g , om t i connected with the 1 826 e afte a town in and som years rw rds, which came e o of und r the n tice the writer. For a very long period of years before 1 82 6 th e Shore of Leith was the a for i r es s princip l quay d scha ging and loading v sel , s c s rs . w as e pe ially coa te The new dock, as it then 1 8 6 oa 0 . called, was only finished in The C lhill, as its m r r name i ports, was the quay whe e coal ca goes were u . discharged . Between the pper drawbridge and the on e th e e s an d u s lower , N wca tle H ll trader , the three o o e s L nd n compani s, and the Inverne s one had their an d re u - berths . The Glasgow G enock t g boats lay on s e . T h e th e Fidelit the north id Lerwick trader, y, o u - r a A im ed a st ut, trig, f ll igged schooner (C ptain ), us ’ lie th e r s of to on no th ide the Coalhill, next to Innes s shipbuilding yard . A busy place the Shore of Leith A 2 REMINISCENCES OF LEITH . was in those days on the arrival a n d departure of the r an d London and othe smacks. The London Leith o w as r Old Shipping C mpany, which o iginally a e w one w as sferr th e B r ick , tran ed to Leith in beginning of the e u o m o c nt ry. L ng ago the goods fro Lond n to &c . r ar e r m a o s Leith, , we e c t d f o Berwick by w gg n with or fou se s r or ran f om three r hor s in a t ing, t shipped r e raf m s Berwick to L ith in small c t, which u t have made the charges on them for freight and carriage very s t an d th e s e e co ly, long tran it v ry inconveni nt to m r a s e sea t s e ch nt . P rsons going to London by in ho e days had to go to Berwick and take shipping there in th e er w s a r s B ick m cks . The Be wick shipma ters and their d escendants long continued to navigate the s s of T h e ve sel th e Old Shipping C ompany. Berwick am of esbitt r o s r w n es N , C abb, J hn ton, Cha ters, Cro , &c . ere ma s n . , w long know in Leith The s ck were ou - u s 1 8 s e st t b ilt hips of 1 40 to 0 tons regi t r, able to s e tand v ry heavy seas . They had a tall thick mast a u - out r e e with heavy r nning bowsp it, and a v ry larg a s e ma a sa s fa m in ail . Th y de quick p s ge with a ir wind, bu t were sometimes two to three weeks on the pass age e ar of wh n contr y winds blew. Six to nine them have been known to have come into the harbou r on a change of o e th e wind in n tide. During war times they were ar e si x 1 8 - o s well m d, and carried pound carr nade and o - ou s tw 4 p nd gun . ’ It is recorded that th e Old Shipping Company s smack the Queen C/za rl otte (Captain Nesbitt) w as once a e r r of f att ck d by a F ench p ivateer, ourteen guns, r u betwi x t C omar and the Sp rn . Captain Nesbitt and his r r s c ew, aided by his passenge s, tood bravely and fu c man lly to their guns, and gave the Frenchman su h a THE SHORE . 3 r e o a w as o e to e off wa m rec pti n th t he blig d she r . a n f r er C ptain Nesbitt an d o e o the c ew w e wounded. o a o t th e r The Old Shipping C mp ny, al ng wi h unde s e s of o s on o s e writer and own r go d b ard, pre ent d es u u e s s Captain N bitt with one h ndred , g in a , be ides making allowances to the crew proportionally liberal f r u u u f th e o their gallant cond ct . A partic lar acco nt o ’ ’ privateer s attack i s given in th e E d zn bu rg /z Weekly ournal of 2 th u 1 80 . a o r a j 5 J ly 4 Captain D vid G u l y, o of L ad Forbes on e of l ng captain the y , William ’ fl e of a e a Sibbald Co . s et West Indi m n which s iled f e w as for of rs a a e of th e rom L ith, a period yea m n g r a u fi n e - Old Shipping Comp ny. He was a sto t, looking s an d sma s s man, harp active, and kept the ck in the be t f s o . a s order and ailing trim On sailing d y , Tuesdays a s t e th e s . and Frid y , he was all ac ivity g tting hips away eo e s o a e Old p ple in L ith will till rec llect him .