In response to the City of Edinburgh Council Archive’s Re-Drawing Edinburgh project, Leith organisations have come together to mark 100 years since the Burgh of Leith was amalgamated with the City of Edinburgh.
The amalgamation was highly contentious and opposed by Leith Town Council who ran a lightning ‘plebiscite’ (a public referendum) with the Leith Observer newspaper returning a clear ‘No’ vote to the proposal. The people’s vote was not however enough to prevent the Act coming into force and Leith was duly amalgamated, generating strong feelings of resentment amongst Leithers which are detectable to this day!
Nice photo of the Shore and the Water of Leith in this Visit Scotland photo
The Boundaries Extension and Tramways Act 1920 was passed in August 1920 and the first meeting of all eight areas amalgamated into the enlarged Edinburgh Town Council took place on 5th November 1920. In 100 Days of Leith we will be commemorating these events and the centenary by exploring what makes Leith special in a digital exhibition.
The following are my own articles as part of this project.