Henderson Street

== Henderson Street. ==

Location and name:

Henderson Street is located in Leith, Edinburgh and forms a curving artery between Great Junction Street and the Shore. It lies within the boundaries of the Leith Conservation Area Henderson Street is named after Dr John Henderson M.D. (1819-1901). He was a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh and Provost of Leith from 1875-81. He worked to secure the implementation of the Leith Improvement Scheme (see below) which ultimately led to the street being built.

Construction and History:

Henderson Street was built as part of the Leith Improvement Scheme, a bill which became an act of parliament known as the Artisans and Labourers Dwellings Act, (Leith Improvement Scheme) in 1880. The construction of the street required that 18 pre-existing Closes be demolished in order to make way for the new buildings and layout. At that time, housing conditions in this part of Leith were very poor; housing was overcrowded; poverty and ill health were rife and infant mortality was particularly high. Consequently, it was hoped that the creation of Henderson Street would improve living conditions for the local residents. The street was set out to be 50 ft wide and made up of predominantly residential houses in the Scottish vernacular, Victorian Tenement, style;frequently including commercial/retail spaces at ground level. Henderson Street took many years to build and complete, with records (available from Edinburgh City Archives) showing petitions to build new dwelling houses spanning many years - from the latter 1880s and through into the 1890s.

Development:

Henderson Street first appears in the Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directories (9) in the year 1886/87. Only numbers 1 and 2 list residents, suggesting that the rest of the street was still under construction. Over the following ten years, more and more entries and house numbers appear. Though a listing in the PO directories was not automatic and did require payment of a charge, the listings available do give some indication of the kind of early residents and businesses on the street. These include from the period 1887 – 1901 – joiners, contractors,carters, midwives, lady's nurses, invalid attendants, seamen, master mariners, apprentice engineers, wire-weavers,spirit merchants, fuiterers, master bakers, elementary teachers and scholars. Businesses on the street included Drapers, Hosiers and Glovers, Dairies, an Inland Revenue Office and from 1891 – 1900, a William Hope and S Hope ran the Leith Herald Office publishing the Leith Herald newspaper from No 12 Henderson Street. Interestingly, No 12 is still home to a printers(Skyline Printers (i)) today. So, the street did provide dwellings for artisans and labourers. Accommodation would have been rented out to these occupants. The Census of 1891 and 1901 (10) show that many of the flats housed, by contemporary standards, large families (sometimes 6 to 8 people) occasionally with the addition of a live-in lodger or maid, all sharing a space that today might be marketed as a comfortably sized two bedroom flat. Today, the tenement flats of Henderson Street are in private ownership, owner occupied or privately rented out. The street might loosely be described as a mixture of old Leith families with long ties to the area; blow-ins, who moved in during the property boom of the late 1990s and early Noughties and migrant workers who rent in the area.

Victorian Architecture:

Henderson Street is home to some fine examples of Victorian urban architecture and there are several listed buildings on the street and in the immediate vicinity.

Turning onto Henderson Street from Great Junction Street, Number 2 Henderson Street (currently housing a Greggs Bakery(ii) has been B Listed since 1995.(11) Above the corner entrance, is a beautiful detailed carving of the head of the Sea God, Neptune. The building also has a stone carved plaque commemorating it as the first project of the Leith Improvement Scheme. It was built in 1885 and possibly designed by the architect Archibald Thomson(12).

James Simpson:

Scottish architect James Simpson (1832-94)(13) held the positions of Town Architect of Leith and, for a period, was architect to the Leith School Board around the time when Henderson Street was under development He worked on many notable buildings in Leith including Leith Town Hall on Queen Charlotte Street (now Leith Police Station (iii)) and also Leith Hospital at King Street and Mill Lane(now converted for residential use).

On Henderson Street, Simpson was responsible for the design of what is now known as 'Academia' – recently converted to residential use - formerly St Mary's workshops and originally designed, by him, as Yardheads School. Although the front entrance is actually on nearby Giles Street, the rear of the building faces onto, and forms, a significant section of the Henderson Street layout. This school was purpose built in 1875 at a cost of £3,807. Around that time, it had four hundred children on the roll and nine teachers. One classroom could accommodate one hundred and twenty six children.(13a) The building has been C listed since 1995(14) At the Shore end of Henderson Street, (odd no's 73-91A) there is a noteworthy example of a sandstone residential and commercial building with intricate detail carvings and masonry work. It is currently home to The Raj,Indian restaurant.(iv) Built in 1891, it was also designed by James Simpson. Simpson's signature and the the date are still clearly visible on the stonework. This has been C Listed since 1977. (15) Just off Henderson Street, on Parliament Street, is another example of Simpson's work. The Model Lodging House on said street was built in 1893 with the aim of providing cheap,clean, overnight accommodation to transient workers in the area. It is still used to provide temporary accommodation to this day by Canmore Housing Association (v). A substantial building, a plaque above the door commemorates it's purpose and those involved in it's erection. The Model Lodging House has been C Listed since 1995.(16) No's 59-61 Henderson Street are also attributed to Simpson (13).

George Craig:

Simpson's successor, as architect to the Leith School Board, was his former apprentice George Craig(1852-1928)(17). In 1888, Craig, a Freemason, was to design the Trafalgar Masonic Hall(18) on St Anthony Lane, just off Henderson Street. According to a report, in the Scotsman newspaper, on the Ceremony which took place at the laying of the Foundation Stone, a time capsule was buried in the building.(19) Still operating as a Masonic Lodge, this sandstone building has been C Listed since 1995(20) and has many masonic symbols and decorative motifs carved into the stonework on the front elevation. Additional Masonic Symbols on Henderson St: Masonic symbols are also visible on Number 1 Henderson Street, around the decorative sculptural Head of Neptune and reputedly, there are many more symbols on this building which are currently covered over by shop hoardings. There are also masonic symbols visible on the stonework of No 14 on the front fascia at third floor level. The quantity of masonic motifs seems to reflect the elevated status of both stone masonry, as a craft and freemasonry, as an important guild in the area in the late 1800s. Lost Victorian Buildings: In 1885, Architects James M Thomson and Robert Thornton Shiells won a competition to come up with a design for the Kirkgate United Presbyterian Church(21)(also known as St Anthony's Church). This church was located at the Great Junction St End of Henderson St. on St Anthony Street.(22) It opened in 1886 on the site where South Leith Parish Church now have their church halls(vi). This large, ornate, Italianate structure was to last less than a hundred years and was demolished in 1975 amid some protest and despite an attempt to get it listed to prevent it's destruction.(23)

Earlier Architecture in the area:

Yardheads Distillery:

Just off Henderson Street, is the street known as Yardheads. On it is a large group of warehouses, converted into flats in 2000 (24), but formerly known as Crabbies Warehouse. Prior to the conversion, the warehouses formed the distillery which made the well known Scottish drink: Crabbies Green Ginger Wine(25). Crabbies Ginger Wine (and ginger beer) (26) are still made in Scotland today but manufacturing has been relocated from Leith since the distilling and bottling ceased at Yardheads in 1990's (27). Crabbies Wine was first created and distilled in Leith in 1801(25&26). It is recorded that John Crabbie & Co. moved to the Yardheads premises in the 1850s where they would continue to produce their Green Ginger Wine for more than a Century. The warehouses at Yardheads had various extensions and additions over time. Parts of the existing buildings date to 1825 and had formed part of an earlier Yardheads Brewery which made Porter(28). All of the Crabbies Warehouse complex has been B listed since 1990. (28&29)

St Anthony Street, St Anthony Place and St Anthony Lane:

Today, the short streets known as St Anthony Place, Street and Lane serve mainly as an entrance and exit from Henderson Street to the, wholly modern, Kirkgate Shopping Centre car park. The names, however, date back many hundreds of years and reveal much about the ancient landscape of the area - way back before the construction of Henderson Street and even before the existence of the eighteen closes that were demolished to make way for Henderson Street. On the site of these streets and in the surrounding area, was a monastery dedicated to St Anthony - known as St Anthony's Preceptory or Monastery.(30) There is disagreement about the date of foundation of the Monastery and also over who it was founded by. Some sources use 1430 as a guide date for it's inception.(31) Other sources claim it came into existence in the form of a hospital for the poor much earlier – possibly as early as 1327.(32)

There does seem to be general agreement from most sources that this Monastery was a large site; with Monastic Dwelling Houses located roughly around the site of what is now The Trafalgar Masonic Lodge(18); South Leith Parish Church Halls(vi) and some Henderson Street Tenements. A burial ground was located to the South of these structures and this extended to Great Junction Street. This has been substantiated by the discovery of a burial site in this location during the laying of gas pipes in St Anthony Street.(33 & 34) Reputedly, the site of the monastery extended down to Henderson Gardens and all along the the street still known as Yardheads. It is thought that the street name, 'Yardheads' may derive from the old Germannic stem, in which the word Yard conveys a garden or orchard. This would suggest the monastery had large gardens and orchards extending to this point.(33) It is said the Monastery suffered great damage during the Siege of Leith in 1560 and post the Scottish Reformation,it was allowed to languish; other buildings being gradually erected in it's place and removing all physical traces of it's existence.(31) The Seal of the Preceptory of St Anthony (34&35) (used to authenticate official paperwork of the hospital/monastery and dating from the mid 1500s) is held at the National Museum of Scotland(36).

The Vaults and The Porters Stone:

Turning the corner on Henderson Street, passing Henderson Gardens and heading down towards the Shore, on the right hand side is the high stone boundary wall of The Vaults. The A listed Vaults have existed for centuries, though the building has had many transformations(37). Consistently, the buildings have been connected to the wine(Bordeaux/Claret) and spirit trade – important businesses for many centuries in the port of Leith. Today, the Vaults is home to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society(vii) with The Vintners Rooms(viii), a renowned restaurant, below. It is thought that the construction of Henderson Street, in the late nineteenth century, caused the pre-existing yards of the Vaults to be reduced in size, as it was necessary for the new street to cut through their existing land. The current boundary wall dates from the late 19th Century and maps of the area before and after Henderson Street was built also substantiate this.(37) On Henderson Street, about halfway along the length of this wall, a stone tablet, known as 'The Porters Stone' is inlaid into the stone work. This is, as it states on the plaque beneath, a copy of the original Porters Stone. The original carving dates from 1678 and gives a pictorial representation of how wine was unloaded and transported through Leith at that time - showing the Porters of Leith at work.(37 pge11&12). Originally, the Porters Stone was located at Tolbooth Wynd, which lies at the Shore end of Henderson Street. All traces of the old Tolbooth Wynd have since been demolished and replaced by modern flats (though the name remains). The old Tolbooth Wynd led to Leith's Kirkgate and formed a major thoroughfare to and from the Shore until Hendrson Street was built.(38)The Porters were a trade guild - one of the many, important and sometimes very powerful, trade guilds of Leith's past.(39) The replica stone, visible on Henderson Street today, was carved by Cumbrian sculptor (and former Merchant Navy Seaman) Shawn Williamson in 1990.(40&41) The original was considered too fragile to be reinstated and is now on display in the Museum of Edinburgh.(42)

Green Space:

Henderson Gardens Park:

Henderson Street has a small park known as Henderson Gardens Park. It is now operated by City Of Edinburgh Council Parks Department.(43) It was refurbished in 1983 as part of the Leith Project and has a plaque at the Yardheads entrance commemorating this. It contains a small children's play area, the rest being mainly laid to grass with some seating. It is bordered by shrubs and trees.

Street Furniture:

Police Box:

Henderson Street is also home to one of Edinburgh's famous Police Boxes(44) designed in the 1930s by, the then City Architect, E.J. MacCrae.(45) It is now disused and ill maintained.

Street Lighting:

A number of original Victorian Cast Iron Street lamps are still in use on Henderson Street today. Though it is evident, from old photographs of the area, that these lamps were once part of a larger urban lighting scheme and were extremely prevalent throughout Leith, there are remarkably few left standing today. These street lights are uniquely specific to this area - apparent from the 'Persevere' Insignia which adorns the base section of each lamp. Also on the base section of the lamps is the image of a woman and child at sea in a ship with the Latin Inscription : 'Sigillum Opidi De Leith'. This translates as: 'Seal of the Town of Leith' (The insignia is also visible on several Victorian civic buildings in Leith). Decorative feature motifs on the lamp heads include: a thistle,a flower, a shamrock and possibly,a leek– perhaps representing nations of the United Kingdom(as it was at the time of construction) These Cast Iron lamps were made by: Mc Dowall,Steven & Co., London and Glasgow, who were based at the Milton Works in Glasgow circa 1862-1909.(46)There are several more of the same street lamps, further along from Henderson Street, on the Shore. The lamps on the Shore - painted to show off their design work, provide the most easily visible examples of the detail work on these lamps.

Trivia:

T.V:

Several location shots for Channel 4's 2007 TV drama, 'Wedding Belles' (47)were shot on Henderson Street. The screenplay for Wedding Belles was scripted by Leith born writer, Irvine Welsh.

Film:

Henderson Street once had it's own cinema. It was located in the building where The Raj, Indian restaurant(iv) is located today. It was called the 'Empire Picture Palace' and closed down in the 1930s.(48) For several years, The Raj also used part of their premises to show films though they no longer do so. However, just along the street Sofi's Swedish Bar(xiii), now hosts regular film nights in their back room.

Businesses:

Today, Henderson Street continues to maintain it's mixture of residential and commercial properties and currently is home to a wide mix of restaurants including: The Michelin Starred: 'Plumed Horse' restaurant(ix). The recently opened: 'Cafe Fish',restaurant(x). The well established: 'Raj', Indian restaurant(iv) and the Hitlisted: 'Golden Bridge', Chinese restaurant.(xi) As previously mentioned, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Restaurant (vii) and The Vintners Rooms (viii) are also located just off Henderson Street.

Henderson Street also has a selection of old Leith pubs including: Wilkies, The Trafalgar Bar, Andersons (xii) and as a more recent new addition: Sofi's Swedish Bar.(xiii)

There is also an Art Gallery: 'Ritchie Collins Gallery'(xiv) and a sports clinic(xv) There street is also served by two convenience stores(Hendersons Newsagent and Henderson Local Store) and an ironing business.

External Links:

(i)Skyline Printers: http://www.skylineprintingcoedinburgh.co.uk/ (ii) Greggs Bakery: http://www.greggs.co.uk/shop-finder/?s=EH6&x=0&y=0 (iii)Leith Police Station http://www.lbp.police.uk/ (iv)The Raj http://www.rajontheshore.com/ (v) Dunedin Canmore Housing Association http://www.canmore-housing.org.uk/ (vi) South Leith Parish Church Halls http://www.thehallsvenue.co.uk/index.html (vii) Scotch Malt Whisky Society http://www.smws.co.uk/venues/The-Vaults-Leith (viii) The Vintners Rooms http://www.vintnersrooms.com/history.html (ix) Plumed Horse http://www.plumedhorse.co.uk/ (x)Cafe Fish: http://www.cafefish.net/ (xi)Golden Bridge http://www.list.co.uk/place/103315-golden-bridge/ (xii) Andersons,Wilkies&Trafalgar Bars:

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/results.shtml?l=EH6 

(xiii)Sofis Bar http://www.bodabar.com/mt-static/sofi.html (xiv) Gallery http://www.ritchiecollinsgallery.co.uk/ (xv) SportsClinic http://sports-clinic.co.uk/

Refs:

1)http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl 2)http://download.edinburgh.gov.uk/caca/Leith_CACA.pdf

     3) http://www.edinburgh.org.uk/STREETS/welcome.html 

4)http://www.library.rcsed.ac.uk/docs/GD100_39_John_Henderson.pdf 4)http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/acts/artizans-and-labourers-dwellings-scotland-act 5)http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/towns/townhistory292.html 6)http://www.oldandnewedinburgh.co.uk/volume6/page53.html 7)http://www.nts.org.uk/Property/59/Details/ 8) http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/council/council_business/cec_edinburgh_city_archiv 9)Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directories can be viewed in The Edinburgh Room, Central Library, http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/leisure/libraries/your_nearest_library/central%20library/CEC_edinburgh_room_ 10)Census Records also available at the Edinburgh Room,Central Library -use above web link 11)http://hsewsf.sedsh.gov.uk/hslive/hsstart?P_HBNUM=27496 12)http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=203750 13)http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=200282

     13a)http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/towns/townhistory292.html 

14)http://hsewsf.sedsh.gov.uk/hslive/hsstart?P_HBNUM=27439 15)http://hsewsf.sedsh.gov.uk/hslive/hsstart?P_HBNUM=27525 16)http://hsewsf.sedsh.gov.uk/hslive/hsstart?P_HBNUM=27837 17)http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=200278 18)http://www.grandlodgescotland.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=372&Itemid=29 19)http://archive.scotsman.com/ (dated 19th March 1888) 20) http://hsewsf.sedsh.gov.uk/hslive/hsstart?P_HBNUM=27880 21)http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/building_full.php?id=207021 22)http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-036-599&scache=1ligmwfbf7&searchdb=scran 23)xxx 24)http://www.cairncove.com/crabbies.html 25)http://www.crabbiesgingerwine.co.uk/ 26)http://www.crabbiesgingerbeer.co.uk/about_crabbies.php 27)http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/0_my_p_edwk/0_my_photographs_edinburgh_at_work_-_crabbies_green_ginger.htm 28)http://hsewsf.sedsh.gov.uk/hslive/hsstart?P_HBNUM=27501 29)http://hsewsf.sedsh.gov.uk/hslive/hsstart?P_HBNUM=27507 30)http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/51984/details/edinburgh+leith+st+anthony+s+preceptory/ 31)From John Russell's 'The Story of Leith': http://www.electricscotland.com/history/leith/10.htm 32)http://www.leithhistory.co.uk/2007/08/02/the-origins-of-south-leith-parish-church/ 33)http://johnarthur.tripod.com/leithhistory/tau.htm 34)http://www.oldandnewedinburgh.co.uk/volume6/page35.html 35)http://www.oldandnewedinburgh.co.uk/volume6/page35/pictures/528/zoom 36)http://nms.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-100-002-640-C&scache=36nat2j7lh&searchdb=scran 37)http://www.thesociety.fr/images/files/Simpson&BrownConservationStatement.pdf 38)http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/towns/townhistory292.html 39)http://www.electricscotland.com/history/leith/11.htm 40)http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/stone-celebrates-stingmen-of-leith-1.576615 41)http://web.mac.com/hardrockcamaro/Shawn_Williamson/Welcome.html 42)http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/Leisure/Museums_and_galleries/Services/CEC_museum_of_edinburgh 43)http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/Leisure/Parks_and_recreation/Gardens/CEC_park_site_listings 44)http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/building_full.php?id=216401 45)http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=200699 46) http://www.scottishironwork.org/catdetail.asp?ironid=27345 47)http://www.channel4.com/programmes/wedding-belles 48)http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/features/Old-Leith-cinema.6083464.jp