Lamb's House is a historic A-listed building in

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

, a northern district of the City of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland, which has served as both a place of residence and warehouse. The present house is an example of early-17th-century architecture typical of harbour towns around the North Sea. The site was originally owned by Edinburgh merchant and shipowner Andrew Lamb. The Lamb family were reputed to have entertained

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

, somewhere nearby on her return from France in 1561. A contemporary record claims the young queen "remainit in Andro Lamb's hous be the space of an hour" while messages were sent to Edinburgh informing nobles of her return. In January 1581 he was the owner of the ''Mary Grace'', which was sailing to Flanders with Montbirneau, a servant of Esmé Stewart. In November 1583, his passengers were an embassy to France led by

Lord Seton Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are e ...

with his son Alexander Seton and the architect

William Schaw William Schaw (c. 1550–1602) was Masters of Work to the Crown of Scotland, Master of Works to James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark for building castles and palaces, and is claimed to have been an important figure in the development of Free ...

. Lamb's House is situated at the corner of Burgess Street and Water Street. Lamb's House was a

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

property, used as a day centre for older people until it was sold to conservation architect Nicholas Groves-Raines and Kristin Hannesdottir in 2010. The house has been sensitively restored to a dwelling set over four storeys, with commercial offices in a traditional style extension to the West and a neo-Georgian pavilion in the garden, which operates as a holiday let. The building also houses the Consulate of Iceland in Edinburgh, with Kristin Hannesdottir serving as Honorary Consul.

References

{{coord, 55.97523, -3.16964, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures in Leith Historic buildings and structures in the United Kingdom