About Us
First established in 1968, the Trust’s mission was to provide a body to stimulate public interest in, and care for, the beauty, history and character of Leith, encouraging preservation and the thoughtful development of historic features for public benefit. In the following decades we campaigned to save The King’s Wark and Pilrig House, undertook an Open Spaces review to understand and offer constructive suggestions for recreational spaces, spearheaded ‘Clean Up Leith’ projects which have been continued by other bodies since, and was one of a group of organisations who supported the hugely successful Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race which saw tens of thousands of people flock to Leith for this landmark event in 1995. a body to stimulate public interest in, and care for, the beauty, history and character of Leith, encouraging preservation and the thoughtful development of historic features for public benefit.
The Trust was an early supporter of the campaign for a museum for Leith, and alongwith many others, actively championed the purchase of Custom House as a venuefor this.
About Leith
With a history stretching back to the Stone Age, Leith's strategically important location at the southern shore of the firth of Forth has long attracted people to live and work here. The first known written reference to Leith is King David I's 1128 charter granting a harbour at the mouth of the Water of Leith to the abbots of the newly founded Holyrood Abbey. By the late 15th century Leith became Scotland's premier port, and with Edinburgh now regarded as the nation's capital, industries sprang up and business boomed. Leith has long had a rich cultural life, from sport to the arts: the creation of the world's first rules of golf being produced for a tournament on Leith Links in 1744, the hugely popular horse races which saw thousands flock to Leith Sands in the hope of winning a golden teapot, the sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi was born and bred here, whilst The Proclaimers celebrated their home in the anthemic 'Sunshine on Leith'.
Leith Museum and Leith Custom House
2007 saw the MP for Leith at the time, Mark Lazarowicz, establish a campaign for a dedicated museum to celebrate the history of Leith. There had been calls for such an institution for at least 60 years prior to this, but this time, people did not just want nodding heads, they wanted action. 2015 saw Leith Custom House purchased by the City of Edinburgh Council with Common Good Funding with the explicit purpose that it should, once restored, be home to a space to explore the heritage of Leith. This handsome Greek Revival Building dating to 1812 was then placed in the care of the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust to ensure that it continued to be used whilst plans were developed for its restoration. It is currently anticipated that Leith Museum will open in 2032.
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Our Partners
Scottish Historic Buildings Trust is a key partner of Leith Museum Trust. It is the national historic buildings preservation charity for Scotland, working across the country for the last five decades restoring buildings ranging from stately homes to shops, theatres to churches and more. Crucially, SHBT does not seek to simply bring buildings back to their former glory, but to also ensure that they have a viable future. It became the custodian of Leith Custom House in 2015, and in addition to developing plans for its restoration and the creation of a museum for Leith, it manages a roster of tenants who utilise Custom House and Custom Lane for studios, offices and commercial spaces.
