The West Port is a street in Edinburgh's

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, located just south of

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

. It runs from Main Point (the junction of Bread Street, Lauriston Street, East Fountainbridge and High Riggs) down to the south west corner of the

Grassmarket The Grassmarket is a historic market place, street and event space in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In relation to the rest of the city it lies in a hollow, well below surrounding ground levels. Location The Grassmarket is located direct ...

. It is named for the westernmost gate in the city walls, (the word for "gate" was "port" in old scots) named the ''West Port,'' which was the only westwards exit from the city when the city walls stood, allowing passage through the

Flodden Wall There have been several town walls around Edinburgh, Scotland, since the 12th century. Some form of wall probably existed from the foundation of the royal burgh in around 1125, though the first building is recorded in the mid-15th century, whe ...

. The "Port" (gate) itself was demolished in 1786.

The history of the street

Historic names for the street and area

Wester Portsburgh, as the area around the West Port was formerly known, was the main street through the western part of the

burgh A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burg ...

Portsburgh Portsburgh was a burgh of barony outside the city walls of Edinburgh, Scotland from 1649 to 1856, taking its name from the West Port (gate) of Edinburgh. It extended from Lochrin Lochrin is a small area in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland ...

- a

burgh of barony A burgh of barony was a type of Scottish town ( burgh). Burghs of barony were distinct from royal burghs, as the title was granted to a landowner who, as a tenant-in-chief, held his estates directly from the crown. (In some cases, they might also ...

from 1649 to 1856. The name ''West Port'' originally referred only to the gate itself, but was used for the entire length of the street leading away from the gate in maps from around 1837 onwards. ''Wester Portsburgh'' still appeared as the name of the street on maps as late as 1831. ''Portsburgh'' can also be seen as the name for the same street in a map from 1836. However, this does not serve to distinguish it from the eastern part of Portsburgh (Easter Portsburgh), which was still part of the same burgh at that date, the two parts of Portsburgh having their own administrative systems and

baillie A bailie or baillie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where bailies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate (see bailiff). Baillies appointed the high constables ...

Historic events and famous residents

* King Charles I entered Edinburgh by the West Port in the year of his Scottish Coronation, 1633. * ''"In 1650, when an English invasion was expected, many houses in Potterrow, as well as the West Port, were demolished by order of the magistrates, that the guns of the castle, and those on the city wall might have free action to play upon the enemy"''. * According to the poem by

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...

, "

Bonnie Dundee Bonnie Dundee is the title of a poem and a song written by Walter Scott in 1825 in honour of John Graham, 7th Laird of Claverhouse, who was created 1st Viscount Dundee in November 1688, then in 1689 led a Jacobite rising in which he died, beco ...

" left Edinburgh by the West Port, though historical accounts state that he left by the

Netherbow Port There have been several town walls around Edinburgh, Scotland, since the 12th century. Some form of wall probably existed from the foundation of the royal burgh in around 1125, though the first building is recorded in the mid-15th century, when ...

. * The

Porteous Riots The Porteous Riots surrounded the activities of Captain John Porteous (c. 1695 – 1736), Captain of the City Guard of Edinburgh, Scotland, who was lynched by a mob for his part in the killing of innocent civilians while ordering the men ...

started with a mob at Portsburgh. *

James Hogg James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a friend of many ...

says in ''

Confessions of a Justified Sinner ''The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner: Written by Himself: With a detail of curious traditionary facts and other evidence by the editor'' is a novel by the Scottish author James Hogg, published anonymously in 1824. The ...

'' that he had lodgings in Portsburgh. * The

West Port murders The Burke and Hare murders were a series of sixteen killings committed over a period of about ten months in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. They were undertaken by William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses to Robert Knox for dissection ...

were so named as many of the victims were tempted back to Hare's lodgings in Tanner's Close, off the West Port, to be murdered. The site is now occupied by Argyle House. * The '' "West Port Experiment"'' was a model for parochial engagement, conceived by

Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest nine ...

, with a church/school built on the south side of the street to facilitate this.

Recent history and the modern-day street

Former Salvation Army Hostel in the West Port, Edinburgh

* Portsburgh Church is on a buildings at risk register. * The

Vennel A vennel is a passageway between the gables of two buildings which can in effect be a minor street in Scotland and the north east of England, particularly in the old centre of Durham. Etymology In Scotland, the term originated in royal burgh ...

off the junction of West Port and the Grassmarket was used in the film 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' (1969) when Brodie takes her girls on a walk through the Old Town, ending up in Greyfriars Kirkyard.

Notable buildings still in existence

Buildings built before the 21st Century

The

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

Women's Hostel at the corner of the Grassmarket, The Vennel and the West Port was built in 1910 and is C Listed.

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

, purchased and used the Hostel, in addition to the next-door Portsburgh Church, entered via the Vennel. Planning permission was granted in October 2007 for the two buildings to be changed to serviced apartments. The name of Portsburgh Square on the north side of West Port is a reminder of the area's former name.

21st Century developments

Dominating the north side of the West Port at its junction with Lady Lawson Street is Argyle House, built in 1968 to designs by Michael Laird and Partners. Long used as local and national government offices, it now houses CodeBase, the largest tech incubator in Scotland,

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

offices, along with various other businesses. Evolution House, the newest building of the

stands on the south east corner of West Port and Lady Lawson Street. Westport 102 was constructed on the West Port side of the block between Lady Lawson Street and Lauriston Street on the site of the old

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

headquarters, which famously collapsed during demolition in 2007, leading to several roads being closed in the area for an extended period of time.BBC NEWS , Scotland , Edinburgh and East , Roads closed by building collapse
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References

{{Transport in Edinburgh Streets in Edinburgh Old Town, Edinburgh