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Timber Bush is an area of Leith, the port town of Edinburgh, Scotland, north of Bernard Street. "Bush" derives from the French "Bourse" and the name means timber market; this formerly being an open area where timber was offloaded from ships before sale.

History

James VI granted a charter to Bernard Lindsay, after whom the nearby Bernard Street is named, allowing him to build a piazza looking on to the harbour, with stone arches and pillars "to be the ordinary Burse and walking place for merchants, natural & stranger." Later the whole ground was used as a timber market.^[1]

The export of whisky from, and the import of wine into Leith, gave it a large trade in coopering. In his Bride of Lammermoor, Sir Walter Scott speaks of "Peter Puncheon that was cooper to the queen's stores at the Timmer Burse (that is, Timber Bush) at Leith." The majority of bonded warehouses and stores on Timber Bush were burned down on a single night in 1982. The four remaining warehouses on the south side were not all bonds. Reading from left to right they held in turn; leather goods; peanuts and raisins; claret (only latterly being used for whisky); and lastly slates. These stand on the vaulted basement of an earlier huge warehouse (demolished 1830) which may have been the Queen's Stores referred to by Scott.^[2] All of the warehouses are now converted to other uses.

The central pair of warehouses appear as a single designed frontage, but other than the frontage are of completely different forms (quickly seen from the other side or in an aerial view). The odd 300mm gap between the westmost unit and the next building is explained by the need to maintain daylight to the inner building (bonds could not have open flames for lighting so before electricity had to be fully daylit). The windows line up between the two buildings and residents from one can reach into the other if the windows are open.

Present day

Timber Bush is now an enclave behind the busy traffic of Bernard Street, and home to modern flats, marketing firms and small media companies.

External links

References

^ "The Derivation of Edinburgh's Street Names". Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
^ student research project by S Dickson + A Robertson 1984

55°58′38″N 3°10′08″W / 55.97722°N 3.16889°W / 55.97722; -3.16889

[1] "The Derivation of Edinburgh's Street Names". Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012.

[2] student research project by S Dickson + A Robertson 1984

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Expert-subject|Scotland|date=February 2009}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
-{{Unreferenced|date=November 2008}}
+{{Use British English|date=September 2017}}
+{{More citations needed|date=November 2008}}
+[[File:Leith Harbour as extended by Robert Mylne, the King's Master Mason, in 1685.jpg|thumb|Leith Harbour extension c.1685 by [[Robert Mylne (1633–1710)|Robert Mylne]]. Note the apertures in the harbour wall which allowed logs to be floated into Timber Bush.]]
-'''Timber Bush''' is an area of [[Leith]], the port town of [[Edinburgh]], [[Scotland]], north of Bernard Street. The name derives from the French "Timbre Bourse", meaning a timber market; this formerly being an open area where timber was offloaded from ships before sale.
+'''Timber Bush''' is an area of [[Leith]], the port town of [[Edinburgh]], [[Scotland]], north of [[Bernard Street, Edinburgh|Bernard Street]]. "Bush" derives from the French "Bourse" and the name means timber market; this formerly being an open area where timber was offloaded from ships before sale.
 ==History==
+James VI granted a charter to Bernard Lindsay, after whom the nearby Bernard Street is named, allowing him to build a piazza looking on to the harbour, with stone arches and pillars "to be the ordinary Burse and walking place for merchants, natural & stranger." Later the whole ground was used as a timber market.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.edinburgh.org.uk/STREETS/welcome.html | title = The Derivation of Edinburgh's Street Names | accessdate = 2012-10-25 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120621022952/http://www.edinburgh.org.uk/STREETS/welcome.html | archivedate = 21 June 2012 | df = dmy-all }}</ref>
+The export of [[whisky]] from, and the import of [[wine]] into Leith, gave it a large trade in [[coopering]]. In his ''[[Bride of Lammermoor]]'', [[Sir Walter Scott]] speaks of "Peter Puncheon that was cooper to the queen's stores at the Timmer Burse (that is, Timber Bush) at Leith." The majority of bonded warehouses and stores on Timber Bush were burned down on a single night in 1982. The four remaining warehouses on the south side were not all bonds. Reading from left to right they held in turn; leather goods; peanuts and raisins; claret (only latterly being used for whisky); and lastly slates. These stand on the vaulted basement of an earlier huge warehouse (demolished 1830) which may have been the Queen's Stores referred to by Scott.<ref>student research project by S Dickson + A Robertson 1984</ref> All of the warehouses are now converted to other uses.
-By order of the Edinburgh [[Burgh]] Council, no Timber Bushes were allowed on any part of [[Princes Street]] in the [[New Town, Edinburgh|New Town]], or the pleasure grounds there. {{Clarify/ date=March 2010}}
+[[File:A converted warehouse in Timber Bush, Leith.jpg|thumb|A converted warehouse in Timber Bush, 2011]]
-Part of the sea wall built by [[Robert Mylne (1633-1710)|Robert Mylne]] in 1685, to protect the stores of wood within Timber Bush from being washed away by the sea, still forms the lower part of the walls of the shacks adjacent to Tower Street. The remains of [[embrasure]]s are still visible, which were used for [[cannon]], and through which the timber cargoes floated from the ships were hauled, for storage within the Timber Bush.
+The central pair of warehouses appear as a single designed frontage, but other than the frontage are of completely different forms (quickly seen from the other side or in an aerial view). The odd 300mm gap between the westmost unit and the next building is explained by the need to maintain daylight to the inner building (bonds could not have open flames for lighting so before electricity had to be fully daylit). The windows line up between the two buildings and residents from one can reach into the other if the windows are open.
-The export of [[whisky]] from, and the import of [[wine]] into Leith, gave it a large trade in [[coopering]]. In his ''[[Bride of Lammermoor]]'', [[Sir Walter Scott]] speaks of "Peter Puncheon that was cooper to the queen's stores at the Timmer Burse (that is, Timber Bush) at Leith." The Bond Warehouses where the wine and whisky were stored form the main part of the southern wall and eastern sides of Timber Bush, and externally are remarkably untouched by later redevelopment.
 ==Present day==
-Timber Bush is now an enclave behind the busy traffic of Bernard Street, and home to up-market flats, marketing firms and small media companies, such as bigmouthmedia and Taste Design, Pro Poor (organisers of the [[Homeless World Cup]]), sustainable tourism consultants Dunira Strategy and the flight search engine company [[Skyscanner]].  Also the business networking organisation The Power Lunch Club.
+Timber Bush is now an enclave behind the busy traffic of Bernard Street, and home to modern flats, marketing firms and small media companies.
 ==External links==
 * [http://www.electricscotland.com/history/leith/32.htm Electricscotland.com - Industry in Leith]
-* [http://www.edinburgh.org.uk/STREETS/part1/t.htm Note on origin of name at www.edinburgh.org.uk]
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060225005259/http://www.edinburgh.org.uk/STREETS/part1/t.htm Note on origin of name at www.edinburgh.org.uk]
 ==References==
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 {{coord|55|58|38|N|3|10|08|W|region:GB_dim:1000|display=title}}
-[[Category:History of Edinburgh]]
+[[Category:History of Leith]]
 [[Category:Areas of Edinburgh]]
 [[Category:Leith]]