Edinburgh's Inverleith: These 23 pictures from the 1950s and 1960s show what life was like in one of the Capital's most beautiful neighbourhoods

By David Hepburn

Writer-at-large

Published 30th Dec 2021, 15:24 GMT

It’s home to some of Edinburgh’s most loved green spaces and prestigious residential streets – and there was plenty going on in Inverleith half a century ago.

Inverleith gets its name from the Scottish Gaelic phrase ‘Inbhir Lìte’, meaning ‘Mouth of Leith’, and was originally an estate owned by the Rocheid family.

Through marriage it passed into the hands of Alexander Rocheid of Inverleith in the 18th century, whose descendents built Inverleith House in 1774.

At the start of the 19th century Inverleith Mains, as it was then known, was leased by City of Edinburgh Comptroller George Lauder – the great-grandfather of Sir Harry Lauder.

In 1823 George Lauder agreed to part of his land being used for the new Edinburgh Botanic Gardens, which opened a year later.

Inverleith Park was added to the area’s plentiful green spaces in 1889, when the city acquired South Inverleith Mains Farm from the Rocheid family.

Residential properties scattered around the parks – and the various independent school sports pitches – are mainly detached Victorian and Edwardian villas that often command well into six figures in today's property markets.

Here are 23 pictures to take you back to Inverleith in the 1950s and 1960s.

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