![The Foot of Leith Walk](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/The_Foot_of_Leith_Walk.jpg)
Constitution Street is a
thoroughfare
A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way as a transit route through regularly trafficked areas, whether by road on dry land or, by
extension, via watercraft or aircraft. On land, a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a multi-lane highwa ...
in
Leith
Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.
The earliest ...
,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. It runs north from the junction of
Leith Walk
Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the centre of the city to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the street to th ...
,
Great Junction Street and Duke Street to the Albert Dock in
Leith Docks.
History
The street takes its name from Constitution Hill, which stood on the site of the current
Assembly Rooms
In Great Britain and Ireland, especially in the 18th century Britain, 18th and 19th centuries, assembly rooms were gathering places for members of the higher social classes open to members of both sexes. At that time most entertaining was done ...
. The 1777 map of Leith calls it Constutition Road but it only goes from the eastern entrance to South Leith Churchyard to Bernard Street.
The street at its current length was only completed in 1800, at that time being built as a bypass from
Bernard Street to
Leith Walk
Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the centre of the city to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the street to th ...
, avoiding the crowded and twisting medieval streets of old Leith. The street at that time was
causewayed, rising around two metres above natural ground level. Buildings which predate this now have their original fine ground floor rooms buried at basement level.
The bulk of the buildings lining the street remain substantially unchanged for over a century, but the previously industrial north end is now largely redeveloped as housing.
Notable events
On 9 January 1823 the last two men executed for
piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
in Scotland were hanged at the north end of the street (near what is now Tower Street). The two men were Peter Heaman from
Carlscrona in
Sweden and Francois Gautiez from
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. They were found guilty in the summer of 1822 of capturing the brig "Jane", en route from
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
to
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, killing its master and stealing 38,000
Spanish dollar
The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight ( es, Real de a ocho, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content ...
s. One account says their bodies were afterwards awarded to
Dr Alexander Monro for
dissection. A second account says they were buried where executed. Two bodies were discovered during an archaeological dig at the north end of the street in approximately the correct area in the summer of 2000, possibly validating the latter claim.
Appearance in films
*
The Conquest of the South Pole (1989) starring
Ewen Bremner
Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish character actor. His roles have included Julien in ''Julien Donkey-Boy'' and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in '' Trainspotting'' and its 2017 sequel '' T2 Trainspotting''.
Early life
Bremner was born i ...
and
John Michie
John Michie (born 25 October 1956) is a Scottish television and film actor, known for his roles as DI Robbie Ross in the STV detective drama series '' Taggart'', as Karl Munro in ''Coronation Street'' from 2011–2013 and his role as CEO Guy ...
*
Trainspotting (1996) starring
Ewen Bremner
Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish character actor. His roles have included Julien in ''Julien Donkey-Boy'' and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in '' Trainspotting'' and its 2017 sequel '' T2 Trainspotting''.
Early life
Bremner was born i ...
and
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...
*
Sunshine on Leith (2013) starring
Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan (; born 2 November 1959) is a Scottish actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his role in Ken Loach's ''My Name Is Joe'' (1998), for which he won Best Actor Award at 1998 Cannes Film Festival, 2000's '' The Claim'' and all th ...
Notable buildings
In the clearances of the 1950s, although mainly centred on the Kirkgate to the west, Constitution Street lost some buildings of importance, notably
Lord Balmerino
The title of Lord Balmerino (or Balmerinoch) was a title in the Peerage of Scotland; it was created in 1606 and forfeited in 1746 on the attainder and execution of the 6th Lord Balmerino in the Tower of London.
The title of Lord Coupar or Cupar w ...
's House dating from around 1670.
East of Bernard Street, the most notable building is the classical Assembly Rooms, the former Leith Exchange building.
Leith Police Station, formerly
Leith Town Hall, built in 1827 to a design by
R & R Dickson
Richard and Robert Dickson (usually simply referred to as R & R Dickson) were brothers, acting as architects in Scotland in the early and mid-19th century. Whilst most of their work is typified by remote country houses they are best known for th ...
.
Church of St.James was designed by
George Gilbert Scott, built in 1862. The stone spire was truncated in 1977.
The churchyard at the south end links to
South Leith Parish Church
South Leith Parish Church, originally the Kirk of Our Lady, St Mary, is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. It is the principal church and congregation in Leith, in Edinburgh. Its kirkyard is the burial place for John Home (author of ''Do ...
but is cared for by
City of Edinburgh Council. The churchyard was only used for burial from the mid 17th century, earlier interments being inside the church, beneath the parishioners usual seating position (or threaded in the rafters if you had a balcony position). In 2009, an excavation linked to the construction of
Edinburgh Trams
Edinburgh Trams is a tramway in Edinburgh, Scotland, operated by Edinburgh Trams Ltd. It is a line between St Andrew Square in the New Town and Edinburgh Airport, with 15 stops.
Construction began in June 2008, and after encountering dela ...
unearthed several bodies just outside the churchyard wall.
References
{{Streets and Squares in Edinburgh, state=collapsed
Streets in Edinburgh
Leith