THE HISTORY OF LEITH
BRIEF INTRODUCTION

 

The Siege of Leith
The Lords of the Congregation sent a demand to Leith in October 1559, for the Town of Leith to surrender within twelve hours or war would start in earnest. This was ignored...Find out what happened in the blood soaked weeks that followed....

Sir Andrew Wood
The Nelson of Scotland...find out about some of his greatest sea battles and his connections with the  port of Leith

Mary Queen of Scots
So who was Mary, Queen of Scots who after the death of Francis II on the 5th December 1560 set sail for Scotland? A country she hadn. t seen for almost thirteen years and which had changed so much in that time. 

Templars in Leith
Find out about the connection between Leith and the religous military order of the Knights Templar

Leith and the Holy Grail
Surely a port on the west coast of Scotland couldn't have a link with the Cup of Christ...or could it?

Templars & Tau Cross
The Tau is a figure constructed of five lines and is considered an important emblem or badge in Royal Arch Masonry and was the symbol of the Knight Templars of St Anthony of Leith. Find out why....

Templar Treasure
In October 13th 1307 while the Templars were being arrested, the Templar fleet stationed at La Rochelle quietly slipped away. According to tradition and a lot of evidence it carried the records of the Order, and the treasure of the Templar Preceptory of Paris, taking them to the West and East coast of Scotland. Some of these ships must have come to Leith as Berwick was in English hands

Jealousy of Edinburgh
It is an odd fact that when visitors come to Leith they are in a different place from Edinburgh. Somehow, even today, there is a community feeling that just doesn. t exist anywhere else in the city. The reasons for this are many and I will explain this in various articles on this site. 

Civil War
Going down Henderson St from Great Junction St and going towards the Shore you will see on the left hand side opposite the . Vaults. , Parliament Street and it was from here a brutal Civil War was controlled

Morton & Witchcraft
After the brutal and bloody cival war between Leith and Edinburgh...revenge was wanted...whose blood would appease the Nobles?

South Leith Parish Church
Find out the past of this historic church in Leith from its roots with St Triduana through its role in the life, faith and blood of the port of Leith

Great Plague
The Black Death swept across Europe killing millions in its path and desimating entire communities...how did the town of Leith cope through the dark times it was faced with?