#portsburgh — Public Fediverse posts

The thread about Bread Street and whether its name has anything to do with bread or baking

This thread was originally written and published in October 2021.

In October 2021, a certain celebrity chef opened a high-end chain restaurant in Edinburgh called “Bread Street”. Confusingly, it’s on St. Andrew Square, and nowhere near Edinburgh’s Bread Street.

Bread Street, St. Andrew Square. Picture by Tom Hogg (@EdinJag) via Twitter

The real Bread Street is on the other side of the city centre, between the West Port and Fountainbridge. But why was it called Bread Street? Let’s see if we can find out more. But first let’s understand some of the history of the street and the area… The West Port was the old western gateway to the city of Edinburgh and lends its name to the current road here, the principal route into the city from the west and southwest before the middle of the 18th century. On either side of the road lay the small burgh of Wester Portsburgh – no prizes for guessing how it got its name! This settlement was an partially independent jurisdiction which grew up right outside the city walls.

Looking down the West Port towards Edinburgh’s Grassmarket in 1887 by Robert Diaz. The spire is probably that of the Chalmer’s Territorial Free Church on the corner of Lady Lawson Street. © Edinburgh City Libraries

Looking at a map of the early 19th century we can see the “Three Great Roads” into the city; from Falkirk, Stirling and Linlithgow in yellow, known as Orchardfield; from Lanark, Glasgow and Mid Calder in Green, Fountainbridge; and from Penicuik, Peebles and Biggar in Blue, Cowfeeder Row. In Orange is the high street of Portsburgh and in pink is the West Port itself, where the gate once stood.

John Ainslie’s Town Plan of 1804, Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

It is Orchardfield that would become Bread Street, but not until 1824, when it begins to be mentioned in newspapers. The old name is one of some antiquity, recorded as far back as a charter of King David I in 1120 where it is referred to as the King’s Garden. It’s a fairly simple etymology, when taken with the nearby King’s Barns, these were Royal orchards and market gardens for Edinburgh Castle, and barns for the storage of produce. A map of 1784 by Alexander Kincaid shows that the although there were a buildings lining these roads at the end of the 18th century, the areas was still largely pastoral in character, covered in orchards, fields and market gardens. Ainslie’s map of 1804, as seen above, again shows much of the land remains undeveloped. But by now the city is beginning to creep more visibly westwards along the roads..

“Edinburgh Castle from the South West”, early 19th century, Patrick Nasmyth. This view is taken from the area known as Orchardfield, which was a literal name for a portion of orchard land long linked to the Castle. This scene is now occupied by Bread Street. From Edinburgh University Art Collection, EU0974, © 2020 University of Edinburgh.

The town plans from 1804 to 1831 show a range of development proposals for this area. This latter map, by John Wood, shows that Bread Street has now acquired its name and a blocks of new tenements have been completed (in grey shading) along Lothian Road and the south side of Bread Street, and further blocks are planned (red shading). This plan would never be fully realised; the buildings along Lothian Road were completed, the space for “Brunswick Place” was left, but the public square never really materialised, and only the block between Grindlay Street, Bread Street and Lothian Road would be completed, and to a different and less formal layout.

John Wood’s Town Plan of 1831. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

By the time of the first detailed Ordnance Survey town plan, in 1849, Bread Street is formed more or less as it is to this day, although to its eastern end it is called Orchardfield Street – so we can suppose that whatever Bread Street is named for is centred around its western end. Note too that the individual blocks of Lothian Road still have their earlier names, the part here being Downie Place; the Road referred to the whole length, a common Edinburgh practice.

1849 Ordnance Survey Town Plan. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

But why Bread Street? Well, there is perhaps a clue in the name of the confluence of the “Three Great Roads” at Portsburgh, an area known traditionally as the Main Point; or to a different sort of person (invariably a tourist) as the pubic triangle (on account of the triangular portion of land, aptly called a gushet in Scots, and the sort of entertainment offered at the bars on the corers of the street here).

The Main Point, now the Burke & Hare strip bar.

You see, in the very olden days, Main was the name given to the best bread (that’s Main, not Plain breid!). This is from the French Paindemain, which in Scots became Maine.

It is … ordanit that na baxter baik na mayne breid to sell fra hine furthwart, saiffing allenarly at Witsounday1

Edinburgh Burgh Records, 1443

1. English – It is ordained that no baker bakes any main bread to sell from henceforth, except only at Whitsunda) ↩︎

Was this an area where bread was once baked? It’s a nice idea – although we have no specific record that this is the case. It would not have been where the city of Edinburgh baked its bread, given it was outside the city walls and therefore the restrictions of its trades incorporations. The area name is recorded in a post-office directory of 1775, and by the end of the 18th century a baker was established here and apparently too a “bread society”. It may be all to convenient however, as I think by this time the word main for the best bread had fallen out of favour for the best part of a century and had been replaced by the concepts of plain and fancy bread to distinguish between cheaper and more expensive loafs.

Whether or not the bread theory holds any weight, it should be noted that the Main Point was the name of the building, not a reference to it being at the point of the two gushets (Gushet. n. Scots. “A triangular piece of land, esp. one lying between two adjacent properties“) formed by Bread Street, East Fountainbridge and Cowfeeder Row. This spot was long the location of a toll house known as the Tupenny Custom. This toll has nothing to do with the local placename of Tollcross. It also has nothing to do with even a cross or a cross roads. It’s an 18th century corruption of the much older name Tollcors, a Brythonic toponym meaning a boggy hollow. It’s written as Tolcors in the 15th century and Towcroce and Tolcroce in the 16th.

The Main Point in 1972, a photograph by S. G. Jackman. © Edinburgh City Libraries

Anyway even if it is fanciful that Bread Street and the Main Point are named after baking, it’s somewhat appropriate, as much of the block on the south side of Bread Street would from the late 19th century onwards, and well into the 20th, be acquired by and rebuilt for the St. Cuthbert’s Cooperative Society as a showpiece department store.

1944 Ordnance Survey Town Plan, showing the extent of St. Cuthberts at Bread Street. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

Fountainbridge is the spiritual home of the St. Cuthbert’s, named for the parish to the west of the city in which it was founded. Its original store was here, and later its administrative offices, its main bakery, its dairy, its transport department and its workshops. The litmus test of a real Edinburgher of a certain generation is to mention St. Cuthberts; if their eyes glaze over and they drift off into pleasant reminiscences for at least a few hours about getting taken there for school shoes and can still tell you their Divvy number, then you know they are the real deal. (Leithers went to Leith Provident Co-op of course.)

Banner of the St. Cuthbert’s Branches of the Scottish Co-operatives Women’s Guild. © Edinburgh City LibrariesSt. Cuthbert’s Department Store on Bread Street in 2008, now converted into bars, a hotel and a conference centre. On the right is a modern block, rebuilt from a late 1930s addition to the store which was its furniture showrooms, featuring the first glass curtain wall in Scotland. © Edinburgh City Libraries

I’m afraid I can’t find many decent photos of Bread Street and St. Cuthberts that have appropriate permission to share, but there are loads on Scran, here (top tip, use your library card option in logon and see them all in high res) or some on Canmore, here. And the seemingly endless collection on Flickr of Mike Ashworth has this lovely promotional cover with a coloured illustration of the store (before the 1930s additions)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/36844288@N00/3552162236/in/photolist-mipbgh-mio4Hi-mio6Jx-mio6ZH-aFev4c-2kWTNSz-kWJ9Se-6pTL5u-moR6zG-FJhwEU

Note to readers: unfortunately in April 2026, a third-party plug-in more than exceeded its authority and broke many of the image links on this site. No images were lost but I will have to restore them page-by-page, which may take some time. In the meantime please bear with me while I go about rectifying this issue.

If you have found this site useful, informative or amusing then you can help contribute towards its running costs by supporting me on ko-fi. This includes my commitment to keeping it 100% advert and AI free for all time coming, and in helping to find further unusual stories to bring you by acquiring books and paying for research.
Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends and like-minded people, sites like this thrive on being shared.

Explore Threadinburgh by map:

Travelers' Map is loading...
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.

These threads © 2017-2026, Andy Arthur.

NO AI TRAINING: Any use of the contents of this website to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.

#Lochend #Logan #Restalrig #StMargaret

Shifting boundaries: the thread about six centuries of Edinburgh’s expansion at the neighbours’ expense

It’s late O’ Clock, so what better time for a brief, 600 year whirlwind tour of the boundaries of Edinburgh. By this I mean the civil boundaries (by various definitions), not church parish or electoral ones (although they may overlap and be one and the same at times).In the 15th century, the extent of Edinburgh is a small place, whose civil reach is defined by the King’s Walls. Immediately to its east is the 12th century Burgh of the Canongate (owned by Holyrood Abbey), and to its north the Burghs of Barony of Broughton and the Barony of Restalrig.

Edinburgh and surrounding boundaries in the 15th century

After the national calamity at The Battle of Flodden, the town walls are “hurriedly” rebuilt (it takes about 45 years to complete!) due to the imminent threat of English retribution. This “Flodden Wall” encircles the southern suburbs of the city that had grown outside the wall and expands the boundaries significantly in that direction.

Edinburgh and surrounding boundaries in the 16th century

As defensive structures, these medieval style walls were not suitable for the realities of 16th century warfare and both English and Scottish armies strolled into the city without too much effort in the 1540s, 50s and 70s. Nevertheless, the walls were useful in defining and regulating the city, particularly as a protective trade barrier, something the city guarded zealously and jealously. In 1618 the walls were reinforced and expanded again by the mason John Taillefer – the Telfer Walls – and in 1636 the superiority of the Burgh of Canongate was purchased by Edinburgh, although it would remain quasi-independent for the next 200 or so years.

Edinburgh and surrounding boundaries in the first half of the 17th century

In 1649, the city got a new neighbour on its western fringe as the little village of Portsburgh outside the West Port (a port being a gateway in Scots placenames) was raised to a Burgh of Barony. Note, at some point, Portsburgh was extended to include an island to its east outside of the city walls, known as Easter Portsburgh. I am not sure when this occurred but you will find its boundaries in the 1817 image further down.

Edinburgh and surrounding boundaries in the middle 17th century

n.b. a Burgh of Barony was a type of burgh in Scotland, distinct from a Royal Burgh like Edinburgh granted to a feudal landowner. They gave the landowner certain rights and privileges regarding holding markets and/or dispense local justice. They may also have had their own incorporations of trades.

In 1685, the Town Council defined 16 districts in the city, each to be “watched” by a company of the Trained Bands. Effectively these were law enforcement areas, the Trained Bands being a sort of militia force for protecting the city. This extended the civil reach north. In 1673, Restalrig was changed from a barony to a burgh of barony, Restalrig and Calton or Easter and Wester Restalrig under the Master of Balmerino.

Edinburgh and surrounding boundaries in the latter part of the 17th century

The City reiterated these districts in 1736 and in 1785 an Act of Parliament by King George III formalised these boundaries area as defining “The Ancient Royalty of the City”. The 17th century story of the decline of the Barony of Restalrig is a different story, but in 1725 the superiority of the ancient Calton district was bought from it, the west portion by Edinburgh and the east by the Heriot’s Hospital (a far bigger landowner than the City). Calton became a “bailiery” and thus retained some of the trappings of being a burgh of barony, such as some of its own trade incorporations (including cordiners, or shoemakers) and its own burial ground.

Edinburgh and surrounding boundaries in the early 18th century

In 1767 the city finally squeezes itself beyond its ancient boundaries with the 1767 Police Boundaries Act that defines both the 1st New Town and attached exclaves. At this time Policing was a civic notion concerned with public sanitation, lighting etc., not law enforcement.

These boundaries can be seen to be a complete mess, and resulted in parts of Calton being in the South Leith parish for worship, parts of Edinburgh in Broughton, etc. Nevertheless, things proceeded in a haphazard manner, with individual Acts of Parliament in 1785, 1786, 1809 and 1814 slowly attached bits on to the city, the most contiguous being the incorporation of the Second New Town and later the Moray Feu at the start of the 19th century. The northern exclave shown below was for the Edinburgh Academy.

Edinburgh and surrounding boundaries in the early 19th century

As noted previously, when I first created these maps I had not found the boundary for Easter Porstburgh, but it is recorded on Kirkwood’s 1817 town plan. I have shown it below and its relationship to the original boundary of the Canongate.

Central Edinburgh and boundaries in the early 19th century

In 1825, the Bailiery of Calton was formally incorporated into the city and ceased to exist. In 1832 there was a huge change, with the Edinburgh Police Act (for “watching, lighting, cleansing and paving”) tidying up and greatly expanding both the civic boundary and the municipal responsibilities.

Edinburgh’s expansion into a contiguous burgh in 1832

Much of the new boundary aligned with the new parliamentary boundary defined in the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832 – the Scottish Reform Act. But not totally, as the section north east of Broughton was actually in Leith for electoral purposes (map from NLS).

1832 Great Reform Act map of Edinburgh and Leith showing the respective boundaries. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

In 1833 another new neighbour appears, with Portobello being raised to a burgh by Act of Parliament. Note that Broughton, Portsburgh and Canongate still exist for certain civic functions at this time, although Edinburgh had the Police powers over them. In 1854, the Edinburgh Police Amendment Act extends the boundary of the city to include all of the extent of the Queen’s Park, including Duddingston Loch.

Edinburgh’s expansion into to include all of the Holyrood Park in 1854

In 1856 the Edinburgh Municipality Extension Act swallows up the remaining civic functions of – and thereby abolishes – the old Burghs of Broughton, Canongate and Portsburgh. In return Edinburgh loses a northern slice as Leith realises its 300-odd year campaign for burgh recognition.

Edinburgh’s subsuming of the remaining old burghs in 1856 and the establishment of the Burgh of Leith to its north

At 7.8 square kilometres, the new Burgh of Leith is 60% smaller than Edinburgh by size, but is seen by the City as a huge threat to its prosperity. They hadn’t spent the last 400 or so years in more or less direct control of the port and its two parishes for no good reason. Edinburgh now goes on a growing spree. The 1882 Municipal and Police Extension Act widens the city to the south and west.

Edinburgh’s expansion south and west, 1882

The 1885 Edinburgh Extension and Sewerage Act gives it Blackford Hill.

Edinburgh’s expansion to include Blackford Hill, 1885

The 1889 Local Government Scotland Act brings in new powers that allow expansion under certain circumstances without recourse to an Act of Parliament each time. In 1890 this gives the city Braid Hill and an extra chunk of Inverleith when this was acquired from the Rocheid family.

Edinburgh’s expansion to include the Braid Hills and some of Inverleith, 1890

Note that the Braid Hill acquisition included the pathway up from the Hermitage of Braid, so this was a contiguous part of the city and not an exclave in the County of Midlothian.

OS 1892 25 inch survey showing the boundary respecting the path from Hermitage of Braid to Braid Hills. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

Hearts were broken in the People’s Republic of Portobello and Joppa in 1896 when Edinburgh acquired that particular Burgh. The London and Portobello Road axis between the two was also part of the deal as a connecting corridor and so again this was not an isolated municipal island. The western boundary also pushed further out again at this time.

The incorporation of Portobello into Edinburgh in 1896, including the London and Portobello Road corridor.

In 1901, the lands of Craigentinny, once part of the Barony of Restalrig, between South Leith and the London Road were incorporated. This area at the time was largely unpopulated farmland and “irrigated meadows” (intensively-cultivated pasture land fertilised by raw sewage). Granton too, previously part of the Parish of Cramond in Midlothian County, joined the City Burgh in 1901.

Expansion of Edinburgh in 1901, adding Granton and Craigentinny

A year later in 1902 the remains of the old Parish of Duddingston were also acquired between the London Road in the north and the Niddrie / Brunstane Burns in the south.

Expansion of Edinburgh in 1902, with Duddingston added

In the twentieth century, a huge changed occurred with the Edinburgh Boundaries Extension and Tramways Act 1920. This saw the city get revenge on the Leith Independence movement as it reacquired the entire burgh against widespread popular opposition. This is something which Leith has still not forgiven, over a century later. But this expansion didnt stop at just Leith, the same act gave the city the Barony of Corstorphine and the civil parishes of Cramond, Liberton and Gilmerton from Midlothian. This boundary still defines a lot of what we think of as Edinburgh (and some bits we don’t, like Straiton and Old Pentland). Things would stay more or less as they were for the next 54 years, until the 1974 local government reforms established a two-tier system of local government, with a greatly expanded Lothian Region, with Edinburgh, Mid-, West and East Lothian being District Councils within that. But that’s outwith the scope of this thread and a story for another day.

The great 20th century expansion of Edinburgh which added Leith, Corstorphine, Cramond, Gilmerton and Liberton parishes.

The City coat of arms of Edinburgh was registered with the Lord Lyon King of Arms in 1732 and has the castle and its rock as the central heraldic symbol, for obvious reasons. The crest is an anchor and cable, symbolising the Lord Provost also being the Admiral of the Forth. The supporters on either side are to the dexter (the shield’s right) a maiden “richly attired with her hair hanging down over her shoulders” – the Castle and its Rock was once known as the Maiden Castle and to the sinister (shield’s left) a doe, a deer, a female deer. This animal represents the life of solitude of St Giles in the forest, the city’s patron saint. Much earlier versions of the Common Seal of the City included a representation of St. Giles himself on the reverse but this depiction of a saint was removed after the Scottish Reformation. The use of the castle as a heraldic symbol of the city dates back to medieval times.

The coat of arms of the City of Edinburgh. CC-BY-SA 4.0 Sheilla1988

The Latin civic motto of “Nisi Dominus Frustra” is an abbreviation of Psalm 127. Roughly speaking it translates to English as “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” Appropriate for a God-fearing and staunchly Presbyterian 1640s Edinburgh.

The Canongate Burgh Coat of Arms features the white stag and cross that give rise to the popular story of the Holyrood placename – recall that Canongate once belonged to the Holyrood Abbey. The motto “Sic Itur Ad Astra” translates to “Thus one goes to the stars“

Burgh arms of the Canongate, CC-by-SA 3.0 Kim Traynor

The Coat of Arms of the Burgh of Leith was altered from the old seals of the Burgh of Barony, which dated back to 1630. And represents the Virgin Mary (for whom South Leith’s Kirk was dedicated) and baby Jesus in a ship beneath a cloud.

Burgh Arms of Leith, as seen on a cast iron lamp standard. CC-by-SA 3.0, Kim Traynor, via Wikimedia

The version on the seal shows them beneath an ornate canopy. The date of 1563 is sometimes shown on the seal, this being when Mary Queen of Scots gave written permission for Leith to raise its own Tolbooth, one of the civic institutions required for the old Scottish burgh.

Burgh Seal of Leith, CC-by-SA 3.0 Kim Traynor. This version, on the Mercat Cross on the High Street, has a wreath of corn surrounding it, symbolic of the Port’s importance to the grain trade

The motto “Persevere” is well kenned but has relatively modern (Victorian) origins and was not formally adopted until the arms were matriculated in 1889. Its exact origin is obscure but at this time it already had an association with Leith – and formally was probably first used with the formation of the 1st Midlothian Rifle Volunteers in Leith in 1859, who adopted the old Burgh Seal and the motto “Persevere” on their badges. It had also been in use by other local institutions such as the Perseverance Lodge of the Independent United Order of Scottish Mechanics – one of the various fraternal societies that flourished in Victorian Scotland – and the Junction Street Young Men’s Society. It should be noted however that when the Grand Lodge of Free Gardners in Scotland (yet another fraternal society) established a lodge in Leith in 1864, they picked the motto “Persevere” on the basis that it was the motto of the Town. So it’s very much a case of chicken and eggs where the origins truly lie. The older Latin sometimes seen – “Siccilum Oppidi De Leith” – means nothing more than “Seal of the Town of Leith“.

The Portobello arms were granted in 1886. “the ships represent the port (Porto) and the cannons, war (Bello)” The castle refers not to Edinburgh but apparently to that of Puerto Bello and the battle thereof, from where the name of the Burgh is derived. The Latin motto “Ope et Consilio” translates as “With help and counsel” and refers apparently to “the skillful manner in which Admiral Vernon and his colleagues cap­tured [Puerto Bello].”

Burgh Arms of Portobello CC-BY-SA 2.0 Marsupium Photography

As far as I’m aware Portsburgh never had a coat of arms, but its seal survives in the collections of the National Museum of Scotland. Appropriately it shows a town under a clifftop castle, a city wall and two gates (ports). And a heap of doves. This has been used in lieu of the arms in the stained glass of the Edinburgh City Chambers, the symbols around the edges represent the independent incorporated trades of the Portsburgh.

Burgh arms of Portsburgh, CC-by-SA 2.0 Kim Traynor

I am unaware of arms for Broughton or Restalrig, I assume that instead the Baron used their own to seal municipal documents. For much of their time for Broughton this would have been the Bellendens (no sniggering at the back, it’s the old form of Ballantyne) and for Restalrig this was the de Lestalrics and then the Logans. Likewise for the Calton, Edinburgh had the superiority after it was detached from South Leith so it likely used the Edinburgh seal for official documents, the incorporated trades using their own.

Note to readers: unfortunately in April 2026, a third-party plug-in more than exceeded its authority and broke many of the image links on this site. No images were lost but I will have to restore them page-by-page, which may take some time. In the meantime please bear with me while I go about rectifying this issue.

If you have found this site useful, informative or amusing then you can help contribute towards its running costs by supporting me on ko-fi. This includes my commitment to keeping it 100% advert and AI free for all time coming, and in helping to find further unusual stories to bring you by acquiring books and paying for research.
Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends and like-minded people, sites like this thrive on being shared.

Explore Threadinburgh by map:

Travelers' Map is loading...
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.

These threads © 2017-2026, Andy Arthur.

NO AI TRAINING: Any use of the contents of this website to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.

#Lochend #Logan #Restalrig #StMargaret