Timber Bush

Last updated

Leith Harbour extension c.1685 by Robert Mylne. Note the apertures in the harbour wall which allowed logs to be floated into Timber Bush. Leith Harbour as extended by Robert Mylne, the King's Master Mason, in 1685.jpg
Leith Harbour extension c.1685 by 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. "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.

Contents

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.

A converted warehouse in Timber Bush, 2011 A converted warehouse in Timber Bush, Leith.jpg
A converted warehouse in Timber Bush, 2011

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.

Urban legends have described stinky hippies inhabiting the attics of residencies on the street.

Related Research Articles

Leith Port district of Edinburgh, Scotland

Leith is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. It was recently ranked as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.

Princes Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km from Lothian Road in the west, to Leith Street in the east. The street has few buildings on the south side and looks over Princes Street Gardens allowing panoramic views of the Old Town, Edinburgh Castle, as well as the valley between. Most of the street is limited to trams, buses and taxis with only the east end open to all traffic.

Stockbridge, Edinburgh Suburb in Scotland

Stockbridge is a suburb of Edinburgh, located north of the city centre, bounded by the New Town and by Comely Bank. The name is Scots stock brig from Anglic stocc brycg, meaning a timber bridge. Originally a small outlying village, it was incorporated into the City of Edinburgh in the 19th century. The current "Stock Bridge", built in 1801, is a stone structure spanning the Water of Leith. The painter Henry Raeburn (1756–1823) owned two adjoining estates, Deanhaugh and St Bernard's, which he developed with the assistance of the architect James Milne. Milne was also responsible for the fine St Bernard's Church (1823) in Saxe Coburg Street. Ann Street, designed by Raeburn and named after his wife, is a rare early example of a New Town street with private front gardens.

Leith Academy is a state school in Leith, Edinburgh. It currently educates around 900 pupils and around 2,800 part-time adult learners. Mike Irving has been head teacher since August 2017.

King Street, Bristol

King Street is a 17th-century street in the historic city centre of Bristol, England.

Silvermills, once an ancient village, has been part of Edinburgh since 1809.

Great Junction Street

Great Junction Street is a street in Leith, on the northern outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland. It runs southeast to northwest following approximately the southwestmost line of the old town walls around Leith.

Victoria Quay, Edinburgh

Victoria Quay (VQ) is a Scottish Government building situated in Leith, Edinburgh, relatively close to the HRY Brittania museum ship, it was conceived by Robert Matthew Johnson Marshall, and there are some prominent nods to naval architecture in the design. Its construction began in 1993, and it was officially opened by The Queen on Monday 1 July 1996. Civil servants began moving offices there in phases from autumn 1995.

Constitution Street Thoroughfare in Leith, Edinburgh

Constitution Street is a thoroughfare in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland. It runs north from the junction of Leith Walk, Great Junction Street and Duke Street to Leith docks.

Henderson Street

Henderson Street is a street in Leith, a district of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. It forms a curving artery between Great Junction Street and an area known as the Shore, where the Water of Leith runs into the Port of Leith/Leith Docks. Henderson Street lies within the boundaries of the Leith Conservation Area and includes several listed buildings.

1906 Dundee fire

In July 1906, the city of Dundee was the site of a large fire caused by the ignition of a bonded warehouse. The fire, which burned for 12 hours, has been described as the most destructive fire in the history of Dundee. The fire was described by an eyewitness as sending "rivers of burning whisky" through the city.

North British Distillery

The North British Distillery is a grain whisky distillery located in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Established by a group of independent distillers in 1885, it is now a joint venture company between Diageo and Edrington Group. It is Edinburgh’s last working distillery, widely known as the "NB".

Luckenbooths

The Luckenbooths were a range of tenements which formerly stood immediately to the north of St. Giles' Kirk in the High Street of Edinburgh from the reign of King James II in the 15th century to the early years of the 19th century. They were demolished in 1802, apart from the east end of the block which was removed in 1817.

John Chisholm (soldier)

John Chisholm, 16th-century Scottish soldier and chief officer, Comptroller and Prefect of the Scottish artillery for Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI of Scotland, and keeper of the King's Wark in Leith. Chisholm was a supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots after her exile in England.

GS Curtis Stores

GS Curtis Stores is a heritage-listed warehouse at Bolsover Street, Rockhampton City, Rockhampton, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by John William Wilson and built from 1882 to 1883 by P Waters & Sons. It is also known as AMV Warehouse. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

Queen Street, Edinburgh

Queen Street is the northernmost east-west street in Edinburgh's First New Town. It begins in the east, at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. It links York Place with the Moray Estate.

Bellevue is a district of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It lies to the south east of Canonmills, west of Leith Walk and south of Leith, incorporating the easternmost extent of Edinburgh's New Town UNESCO heritage site. The area was formerly open fields which became the second and penultimate location of the Royal Botanic Garden in 1763 .

Old Town Hall, Leith

The Old Town Hall is a municipal building in Queen Charlotte Street, Leith, Scotland. The old town hall, which was the meeting place of Leith Burgh Council, is now used as a police station. It is a Category A listed building.

James Simpson (Scottish architect)

James Simpson (1830–1894) was a 19th century Scottish architect. He is particularly associated with Leith. He served as the Burgh Assessor and Town Architect of Leith and created and oversaw the Leith Improvement Plan of 1888.

The Shore in Leith is a historic and picturesque street in the centre of Old Leith the harbour area of Edinburgh. It edges the final section of the Water of Leith before it flows through Leith Docks into the sea.

References

  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

Coordinates: 55°58′38″N3°10′08″W / 55.97722°N 3.16889°W / 55.97722; -3.16889