Hidden history

Do you know who used to live in your house? Now you can find out.

Discover the history of your house with the resources at Edinburgh City Libraries and Capital Collections,our online image library which gives access to some of the 100,000 images in our collection.

This photograph is of Portobello High Street at the junction with Bath Street.

In 1909, when the photograph was taken, the building on the right at No 164 was used as a baker’s shop, as it is today.

The valuation roll of 1914 records James Rowland Forsyth of Bath Street as the owner and tenant as John Forsyth and Sons.

The Portobello and District Directory of 1908-09 holds a full page advert for Forsyth, Baker and Confectioner giving more details of the business established in 1848 and also operating from No 294 High Street in Portobello. In the window is an advert for Bermaline Bread, a type of malt bread made by the Montgomery and Company bakers based near Haddington and promoted for its supposed health-giving properties.

The building of the Argyle Hotel on the opposite corner has since been replaced by a four-storey tenement block.

The Edinburgh Room within Central Library has a wealth of material to help you discover the hidden history of your home.

Using large-scale OS maps in conjunction with other resources, such as Post Office directories, can help to identify specific properties, significant dates and previous uses of the building.

The Edinburgh Room also holds census returns for the years 1841-1901, and valuation rolls from 1914-1989 which record the people who owned and rented the domestic properties of Edinburgh.

Central Library has a subscription to Scran, an online resource providing educational access to digital materials, and to The Scotsman online archive.

See if you can find an early picture of your home at www.capitalcollections.org.uk and with a bit of time, a little luck and the resources of the Edinburgh Room at your fingertips, it may be possible to unlock the secret history of your house. 

Need to know

Look out for the upcoming “History of the House” events taking place at Central Library in November. Details of how to get involved will be available nearer the time at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/libraries