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.
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 .
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.
Well within living memory, the Southside was home to many industries and trades many of which were small businesses owned and staffed by local people. This meant that for many Southsiders the journey to work was a short one, either on foot or by bus or tram. This has changed hugely over the last few decades, with printers, brewers, manufacturing and other types of business having either closed down or moved out of the city centre.
<small>[Note 1] The City assisted by providing temporary accommodation adjacent to the destroyed building and to recognise this assistance, Nelsons erected the Unicorn and Lion pillars at the entrance to Melville Drive in 1881</small>.
<sup>[<small>Note 2]</small></sup> <small>The distilling industry in the 20c was restructured to manage Scottish malt production and control output. In 1917 J&G Stewart became a subsidiary of Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd (SMD), which was a subsidiary of The Distillers Company Limited (DCL). The Usher distilling interests were disposed of in 1918 (including Pear Tree House) to SMD and hence J&G Stewart.</small>
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.
The Southside was a densely populated area with many large families, which created a strong demand for schools. Apart from James Clark School, all of these were primary schools, as state-funded secondary education did not exist until 1918. With a school leaving age of 14, children stayed at the primary schools from the age of 5 until they left school, with there being what was known as vocational supplementary teaching to prepare them for the world of work. Schools were denominational and the Catholic schools were generally run by religious organisations until they were eventually taken over by the city council.
James Clark Secondary School: A category B listed building designed by John Alexander Carfrae and constructed between 1913 and 1919 on the high ground where the hospital and chapel of St. Leonard formerly stood, dating from the 13th century. It was originally planned as a primary school, to be called King's Park School. The building was completed 1915, but it was taken over as a military garrison, so did not open as a school until 1918. It functioned as a Junior Secondary until 1972 at which time the remaining 300-400 pupils transferred to Boroughmuir High School. From 1974 to 1975, it was used as an annexe for 200 First Year pupils of Castlebrae Secondary School. The building was zoned to be demolished for the proposed Eastern Link Road, which was never built, so the building survived and was converted to housing.
Bristo Primary School: The school was built in 1877, replacing the old Potterrow School. The school occupied the site of the house in which Clarinda, Robert Burns' lover lived. It closed in 1934 and the pupils moved to South Bridge School and Sciennes School. The building was used as a Technical College until it was demolished along with the homes and shops in the 'Parkers Triangle'.
Buccleuch Parish School Built on North Meadow Walk, Hope Park Square in 1839 and designed by architect George Smith. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) added it to the Buildings at Risk register in 200I. It was then purchased (as Hope Park Halls) and occupied by St. Andrew's Orthodox Church from 2003-2013.
Davie Street Primary School: Constructed in 1875 by The Heriot Trust, it was taken over by Edinburgh School Board in 1886. When it closed as a school it became an annexe for James Clark School. In 1969, it was converted to use as a resource centre. The council later sold the property which was then developed for private housing.
Drummond Street Primary School: Built in 1906 and used as the Infants' department for South Bridge Primary School. It closed as a school in 1968, but the building was used by St Patrick's School until June 1984, when it closed. Now converted to flats, the building still rests on, and contains, a section of The Flodden Wall.
Newington Academy: Was a private school at 8 Newington Road (formerly Arniston Place) attended by a young Arthur Conan Doyle between the ages of seven and nine, 1866 and 1868.
Preston Street Primary School: Designed by John Alexander Carfrae and constructed between 1896 and 1897. The school roll was 682 in 1944/45 and 304 in 1974/75. In 1985, owing to the school roll continuing to fall, the school was threatened with closure, but parent action and the concurrent 'regeneration' of the Southside ensured that it remained open. In 1987, the council refurbished the exterior of the school with the building being upgraded two years later.
Robertson's Academy: A private school which was located at 19 East Preston Street.
Sciennes Primary School: Built in 1892, it served children from the Southside until Preston Street School opened five years later. It continues to be the main primary school serving Marchmont, Mayfield, Sciennes and The Grange and is one of the largest in Edinburgh.
South Bridge Primary School: Built in 1880 in Infirmary Street, on the site of the former Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, with a section of the Flodden Wall as a back playground wall. It opened in 1886. The school roll was 1,047 in 1944/45, dropping to 125 in 1974/75, at which time the capacity was 225 at 30 pupils per class. The school closed in 1983, but the building has been actively used since then as a resource centre, a community centre for the local Canongate Youth Project and for Adult Education. In February 2025, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society moved into the building to create a new 'Hub' with Canongate Youth and Adult Education continuing in the same building.
St Ann's Primary School: Located in South Grays Close in the Cowgate, at the bottom of Blackfriars Street. It opened in 1903 and was run by the Sisters of Mercy. Boys transferred to St Patrick's at age 7 with the girls staying on until they went to secondary school. Although St Ann's stopped being a separate school in 1949 with the amalgamation with St Patrick's, the building continued for many years as the St. Ann's Community Centre.
St Columba's Primary School: Moved into the Southside in 1897 at 41/43 Newington Road, from Strathearn Road in Marchmont. In 1924 it moved again to Causewayside where it became a Primary and Secondary school. The school closed in 1941 as the roll fell.
St Leonard's Primary School: Built in 1876 in Forbes Street. It closed as a school in 1931 and became an annexe for James Clark School. The building was demolished with the rest of Forbes Street in the 1980s.
St Patrick's Primary School: Established in Lothian Street in 1845, in the basement of the church of the same name. In 1873, the school moved to the Cowgate and expanded into the St Mary's Street Halls. It moved to the former Industrial School in St John's Hill in 1921, where it remained until 1968 when St John's Hill was to be demolished. Pupils moved to the former Drummond Street School building until the school closed in June 1984.
St Mary's Primary School: Originally established in the early 1870s at 55 Lothian Street, in the former St Patrick's building, it was later combined with St Ann's in the Cowgate.
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.
The Southside, an historic student and intellectual hub, hosted many famous figures, including literary giants, scientists, artists, religious leaders and numerous academics and professionals associated with the nearby university.
Alex Arthur: Former World Boxing Organisation and World Boxing Association super featherweight champion, he was born in the Dumbiedykes and raised in Drummond Street.
Joseph Black: Physicist and chemist who discovered carbon dioxide, taught at the university, initially lived in the Southside on College Wynd and died at his home on 12 Nicolson Street.
Thomas Blacklock, the blind poet and patron of Robert Burns, lived and entertained many including Dr Samuel Johnson in Pear Tree House. . He is buried in Buccleuch Parish Church graveyard.
David Bowie: resided briefly in a basement flat at 17 Drummond Street with Lindsay Kemp, dancer Jack Birkett and David's wife Angie after moving from a room in 66 St Mary's Street.
Thomas Braidwood: established the first school for deaf children in Britain in 1760 in Dumbiedykes Road.
Very Rev Charles John Brown: Minister and Moderator of the General Assembly for the Free Church of Scotland, lived at 15 Buccleuch Place.
Ronnie Browne: Folk musician and songwriter who was a founding member of The Corries, he was raised at 3 Moncrieff Terrace and in Buccleuch Street. Ronnie attended Preston Street School and made his first public singing appearance as a boy scout in a fundraising show at Nicolson Street Church.
Robert Burns: During the 17 months Burns lived in Edinburgh, he visited Thomas Blacklock at his home in West Nicolson Street and lodged with William Nicol in Buccleuch Pend. .
Ron Butlin: is a Scottish poet and novelist who was Edinburgh Makar (Poet Laureate) and Regi Claire is a novelist, short story writer and poet who is married to Butlin. They have made their home in the Southside.
Eugene Marie Chantrelle: taught French at Newington Academy and he had a relationship with one of his pupils, Elizabeth Cullen Dyer whom he then married at age 17. They had a child together and after taking out an insurance policy on her life, he then murdered her. The trial coverage, his previous meeting with Chantrelle and the perceived respectability of the perpetrator is believed to have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Rev Patrick Clason: was a Scottish minister at Buccleuch Parish Church who served as Moderator of the General Assembly to the Free Church of Scotland, living near to his church at 23 Buccleuch Place. He died at his home in George Square in 1867.
Alison Cockburn: was a poet who collected a circle of eminent friends in 18th-century enlightenment Edinburgh including Walter Scott, Robert Burns and David Hume. Amongst other Edinburgh residences, she lived in Crichton Street off George Square. She is buried in the kirkyard of Buccleuch Parish Church.
Arthur Conan Doyle: The writer and physician was born in Edinburgh, he attended Newington Academy for schooling and lived in George Square as a medical student.
Helen Duncan: Acting as a spiritual medium, in 1944, she was one of the last people convicted under the Witchcraft Act 1735, which made falsely claiming to procure spirits a crime. She was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment and upon release, lived in Rankeillor Street and continued to act as a spiritualist until her death in 1956.
Very Rev William Henry Goold: - Born in and lived later at 28 Buccleuch Place, he was a minister of both the Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Free Church of Scotland and was Moderator of General Assembly of the Free Church in 1877.
Joseph Hislop: From the 1920s onwards, he was a lyric tenor who appeared in opera and oratorio and gave concerts around the world. He was born at 16 Bowmont Place in 1884, lived in Sweden for 30 years until 1948 and returned to Scotland, dying in Fife in 1977.
Richard Huie: Was a surgeon who served as president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. As a teenager, he lived in Crosscauseway and attended the High School in High School Yards. He lived later at 16 Nicolson Street, close to Surgeons Hall. His final home was at 8 George Square and he is buried in East Preston Street Burial Ground.
Allister Hutton: Elite long-distance runner who competed for Edinburgh Southern Harriers and Scotland in the 1980s and 1990s. He was Scottish National Cross-country champion in 1978 and 1982, and competed in three consecutive Commonwealth Games. He won the London Marathon in 1990. He lived at 32 East Preston Street.
James Hutton: played a key role in establishing geology as a modern science and was one of the most influential participants in the Scottish Enlightenment. He was educated at the High School, attended the University of Edinburgh and later built his family home in St John's Hill.
James Jamieson: was a dental surgeon, author and Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Born at 52 Rankeillor Street, he later had two residences in George Square when he lectured for 20 years on dental disorders at the University of Edinburgh.
Rev. John Jamieson: minister of Nicolson Street Church, was the compiler of the first Scottish dictionary, published in 1808.
Francis Jeffrey: a judge who was born at 7 Charles Street, attended the Royal High School and studied at Glasgow, Oxford and law at Edinburgh university. At his home in Buccleuch Place, he was one of the parties, later being appointed Editor, who launched the Edinburgh Review in 1802 which became one of the most influential British magazines of the 19th century. He became an advocate and was chosen dean of the Faculty of Advocates, later becoming Lord Advocate. Jeffrey Street, in Edinburgh, is named after him.
Robert Knox: best known for his involvement in the Burke and Hare murders, was an anatomist and ethnologist. He was born in North Richmond Street, educated at the High School and Edinburgh University and was made a partner at an anatomy school in Surgeon's Square. He was living at 4 Newington Place when the chronic shortage of legitimate subjects for dissection, led to bodies being delivered to his dissecting rooms, having been murdered by Burke and Hare. Although not prosecuted, he left for London and is buried in Surrey.
Chic Murray: comedian and actor who made his home at 3 Montague Street with his wife Madie, herself an established theatre performer. "arguably the most influential Scottish comedian of the 20th century before Billy Connolly", he appeared on television, radio and films as well as theatre.
John Paterson: Scottish architect responsible for many grand buildings including 19c castles and assisting Robert Adam in 1789 with his work on Edinburgh University Old College. Just before his death in 1832 was living at 24 Buccleuch Place.
Walter Scott: A best-selling writer and poet, who was born in 1771 in College Wynd (Guthrie Street). He is associated with many locations in Edinburgh including residences in the Southside; High School Yards (site of the Royal High School) and 25 George Square (family residence) where he lived as a student from 1778 until his marriage in 1797.
Margaret Sinclair: was born at 3 West Arthur Place in 1900. She was baptised and later confirmed in St Patrick's Church which now contains the National Shrine of the Venerable Margaret Sinclair. Her father was a dustman and by 1911 the family were living in Geddes Entry (High Street). She was educated at St Anne's School in the Cowgate. By 1923 she joined the Order of Poor Clares at Notting Hill in London where she was given the name of Mary Francis of the Five Wounds. She died of tuberculosis in 1925 and is known as the "Edinburgh Wonder Worker". She was declared 'venerable' by Pope Paul VI in 1978 and her remains were initially interred in Mount Vernon Cemetery but are now in St Patrick's church as part of the National Shrine.
Andrew Usher: (1826 â 1898) was a prominent Scottish brewer and part of the Usher dynasty. He is considered the 'father of Scottish whisky'. With his brother Sir John Usher, he founded Andrew Usher & Co, Whisky Distilling and Blending. He lived at Pear Tree House in West Nicolson Street which later became the company headquarters.