The Marine Gardens was an entertainment complex located in the

Portobello Portobello, Porto Bello, Porto Belo, Portabello, or Portabella may refer to: Places Brazil * Porto Belo Ireland * Portobello, Dublin * Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin formerly ''Portobello Barracks'' New Zealand * Portobello, New Zealand, on Ot ...

area of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland. Opened in 1909 as a

pleasure garden A pleasure garden is a park or garden that is open to the public for recreation and entertainment. Pleasure gardens differ from other public gardens by serving as venues for entertainment, variously featuring such attractions as concert halls, ...

and

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

on the shores of the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...

, most of its original attractions apart from the

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

were removed following military use of the site during the First World War. The complex also included a stadium which was used during the interwar period for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

and

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

. It was the home venue of

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...

teams Leith Athletic (1928–1936) and Edinburgh City (1928–31 and 1934–35). The Marine Gardens closed down permanently in 1939 after again being taken over by the military, with the area being redeveloped after the Second World War.

Origins

Part of the vast Craigentinny Meadows located on the shore of the Firth of Forth was the area chosen to construct Marine Gardens. The meadows had for years previously been used as an outlet for Edinburgh’s sewerage where the land was rotated and irrigated to produce meadow grass that could be used for cattle grazing. This easterly part of the meadows in Portobello would be a permanent host for the new Marine Gardens which acquired and relocated the buildings and exhibition from the successful 1908 Scottish National Exhibition held in

Saughton Park Saughton Park is a public park in Edinburgh, Scotland. It includes formal gardens, specimen trees, exotic plant greenhouses, a cafe, a bandstand, playing fields, an athletics track, a skateboard park and a creative play area. The skatepark was ...

in Edinburgh.

Opening

Opened in 1909, its attractions initially included a ballroom, circus and zoo, cinema and theatre, scenic railway, ornamental gardens and maze and a football ground.

Closure and new stadium

The Marine Gardens was closed down and taken over for military use during the First World War. The troops did not leave until 1919 and the Marine Gardens Company was wound up in 1921 resulting in the removal of the attractions with the exception of the ballroom. A twelve-acre section of the Gardens and the ballroom were purchased by Fred G Yooll in 1921. Yooll promoted events at the ballroom and in 1927 applied for permission to erect a sports pavilion and football pitch which was granted. From May 1928 the stadium staged

and was used by the football clubs Leith Athletic (1928 to 1936) and Edinburgh City (1928 to 1931 and 1934 to 1935). Boxing bouts took place in the ballroom (including

Primo Carnera Primo may refer to: People *DJ Premier (born 1966), hip-hop producer, sometimes goes by nickname Primo * Primo Carnera (1906–1967), Italian boxer, World Heavyweight champion 1933–1934 *Primo Cassarino (born 1956), enforcer for the Gambino cr ...

) in addition to baseball matches and midget cars.

Greyhound racing

In 1931 a greyhound syndicate made enquiries to start greyhound racing at Marine Gardens which then attracted the

Greyhound Racing Association The Greyhound Racing Association was a UK-based private company founded in 1925 and existed until 2019. It was involved in the management of sports venues, notably greyhound racing stadia. The GRA was responsible for introducing Greyhound racing ...

(GRA). The GRA owned nearby

Powderhall Stadium Powderhall Stadium formerly the Powderhall Grounds was a greyhound racing track in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was located on Beaverhall Road, in the Powderhall ( Broughton) area of northern Edinburgh, beside the Water of Leith. The track closed i ...

and secured a lease on New Year’s Day 1931 and gained planning permission for a new grandstand in May 1932. The track opened to greyhounds on the Saturday afternoon of 2 July 1932. Teething troubles caused the first meeting to be abandoned due to hare mechanical failure, the first race witnessed by 6,000 spectators was voided and after only one completed 525 yards race it broke down again. A second meeting finally took place on 16 July with the first evening meeting on 21 July. Racing is believed to have continued until 1936.

Speedway

Speedway started in May 1928 but had ended during 1931 following the GRA signing of the lease. Fred Yooll died in January 1936 and the well-known speedway promoter Jimmy Fraser took over with speedway returning in 1938.

Permanent closure

The area was again required for military purposes during the Second World War, leading to the final closure of the complex. After the war most of the Marine Gardens was demolished becoming industrial factories, the speedway track became a test track for a car company. Since 1962, the location of the Marine Gardens has been occupied by a bus depot.

References

{{Scottish greyhound tracks Ballrooms Buildings and structures in Edinburgh Leith Athletic F.C. Pleasure gardens Scottish Football League venues Sports venues in Edinburgh Tourist attractions in Edinburgh Football venues in Scotland Defunct football venues in Scotland Defunct speedway venues in Scotland Demolished buildings and structures in Scotland Culture in Edinburgh Portobello, Edinburgh Event venues established in 1909 Edinburgh City F.C. (1928) Greyhound racing in Scotland Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom Defunct amusement parks in the United Kingdom