High St Edinburgh

[annie1]

Hi all,

I have found my gt grandmother living at 9 High St Edinburgh, in the 1901 census, this was in the St Giles Parish, I cant find it in google maps, I think it was probably a flat, as she was on her own and taking in boarders, the next buiding on the census was ashley buildings, and I cant find any reference to this either, I am now not sure if I am looking in the right area.

Would I be able to find out if she bought this property, and if so where do I look, she moved from Aberdeen, and must have lived there about 10 years, before moving back.

Thanks
Ann

[LesleyB]

Hi Ann
Well the High Street is most certainly still there, but whether no9 is as it was in 1901, or exactly which end of the High Street, I don't know.
There is a post about Ashley Buildings here:
http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.b ... .1/mb.ashx
...so a look at the maps on the NLS site may help.

This should give us some clues as to location:
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/towns/t ... ry337.html

Jeffrey Street, commencing in a line with St Mary Street northward, was begun early in 1872, and so far finished about 1876. The formation of this street occasioned the removal of many old and filthy tenements at the head of the old Leith Wynd; it follows for a short distance the line of that wynd, and then bends round behind what is known as Ashley Buildings, and runs westward to the S basement of North Bridge, opening up in its way the lower ends of several old courts and dense closes.

Ashley Buildings are on this map:
http://www.nls.uk/maps/townplans/edinbu ... _1_se.html
Sheet 36, not far in from the top left corner
Best wishes
Lesley

[annie1]

Hi Lesley,

Thank you for these links, I will have a good look at the maps and hopefully get a better idea as to where exactly No9 was.
I have been reading up on the High St today and can't believe how many closes there were!! Very interesting reading.

Thanks Again
Ann

[AndrewP]

Hi Ann,

9 High Street now seems to be the same place as it was at the time of the 1894 Ordnance Survey map. It is on the north side of the street a few doors west of Jeffrey Street. See the following view on Google maps. It is the tenement over Barnet's shoe shop. In tourist terms it is a few doors down the hill from John Knox's House.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ie= ... 54.01,,0,5

The picture carved in the stonework of the building shows the Netherbow Port that used to stand there. That was the historic gateway out of Edinburgh into Canongate.

On the back of the Godfrey Edition (a modern reprint) of the 1894 OS map there is a section taken from a street directory. It doesn't say so, but I take it the street directory is of the same age as the map. It lists an occupant of 9 High Street as Brodie Mellis. I don't know if Brodie Mellis owned the property, or if he was the only occupant of the property who subscribed to the street directory.

All the best,

AndrewP

[annie1]

Hi Andrew,

Thank you for this, I am delighted to see the place she lived in still stands! A first for me, I usually find a new block of flats or nothing there at all.

I think I will have to read up on some Edinburgh history now, especially Netherbow Port.
Many Thanks
Ann