1685 - The Harbor of Leith

[This is part of  a series of articles on the year 1685.  You might want to read the Overview first.]

September 5, 1685

Old Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, sat on a volcanic plug.  The steep sides of that plug provided a natural barrier to attackers.  It also presented a natural barrier to the expansion of the city.  As the population grew, the city expanded upwards (higher buildings) and downwards (tunnels), not outwards.

The independent city of Canongate (now considered a part of Edinburgh) sprung up just outside the gates of Edinburgh.  The ocean harbor located just 2 miles away, also considered a separate but subservient city, was called Leith.  Today this area is just one uninterrupted metropolis.

Leith is located at the mouth of the Leith river (Water of Leith) where it empties in to the Firth of Forth, a large inlet from the North Sea.

Old Leith Harbor is the green marker (C) on the Leith River.  Marker D is the location of the Netherbow Gate.  E is the Canongate Tolbooth.  They lie on what is now called the Royal Mile between Edinburgh Castle and Palace of Holyrood.  See zoomable map here.

By 1685 Leith was a mature center of commerce, established in the 12th century.  A painting of the harbor was made in 1798.  Two hundred years later the views are significantly different, but were they that different one hundred years earlier in 1685?

Leith Harbor in 1798

The ship that is docked at the pier is a three masted ocean-going vessel.  It appears not too different from the barques that were used in the late 17th century shown below.

Late 17th century barque.

This 17th century ship is highlighted on the monument in Leith Harbor seen below.

Monument at Leith Harbor

Close-up of Monument at Leith Harbor.

In 1685 construction was progressing on a windmill whose foundation still stands today on the east side of the harbor.  The windmill was later converted to a signal tower for incoming ships.

Signal Tower at Leith Harbor (former windmill)

Harbor Monument with Signal Tower in background

Signal Tower

On September 5, 1685, the ship Henry and Francis left this port for the American colonies.  It was likely a ship much like the barques shown above.  Aboard was Robert Campbell, the grandfather of the subject of this blog.   Perhaps he gazed at the shrinking arms of the windmill in the harbor as the ship sailed out into the Firth of Forth.   Future blogs will contain more about Robert and the ship.

Looking across the old harbor at Leith.