Portobello & District Through Time

The communities that feature in this book lie to the east of Edinburgh and all have fallen prey over the years to its inevitable expansion. Portobello accepted merger with Edinburgh in 1896 when this proudly independent burgh was not only Scotland’s premier seaside resort but also boasted a strong local economy based on its thriving pottery, brick and glass manufacturing works. All of these underpinned a wide range of retail and commercial enterprises. Suburban sprawl spread to the west of Portobello in the 1930s when a mix of local authority and private housing was built over the fields of Restalrig, Lochend and Craigentinny. This book chronicles the early changes and also those caused by industrial collapse and urban development from the second half of the twentieth century. Inevitably, some of these changes have produced scars on the landscape but there are many positive images of regeneration.