Basic Site Details Name: | Leith Poorhouse | Town, district or village: | Leith | City or county: | Edinburgh | Country: | Scotland | Parish: | | Status: | | Grid ref: | | Notes: | The original design was selected in an open competition in which eight entries were received. Open architectural competitions were not always all they seemed although a polite fiction was generally maintained. This was not the case in this instance. Under the headline “The Story of the New Leith Poorhouse Plans,” details of proceedings following the submission of designs were reported at length in the Scotsman, later reproduced in the British Architect. The committee it seems ignored the assessor’s report and chose to consider only those entries based on the corridor rather than the more up-to-date pavilion system. By this stage the names of some competitors were already known to members of the Parish Council. It may not have been a total surprise, therefore, when the corridor scheme prepared by the local architect J M Johnston, placed 7th on the assessor’s list, was adopted. Estimates of cost varied widely, the official measurer retained by the council estimated the design adopted at £72,381 in stone and £70, 984 in brick
Cost: £60,000 (according to J M Johnston's LRIBA papers) or £230,000 (according to G A Sutherland's LRIBA papers).
A plan prepared by Mr J M Johnston, architect, Leith for the erection of a new poorhouse have been adopted by a committee according to which the estimated cost of the building in stone is fully £60,000 and in brick £46,200. The approval of the Council and the Local Government Board has yet to be given to the proposal. [ British Architect 10 July 1903 Page ?]
At the last meeting of the Leith Parish Council it was decided by 11 votes to 6 to adopt the plans by Mr J M Johnston. [British Architect 10 July 1903 Page ?]
LEITH The parish council at their meeting on Monday considered the recommendation of the building committee that plan 6 of the proposed new poorhouse, No. 2 scheme (brick), subject to such modification as might be determined, be adopted. Approval of the minute having been moved, Mr. Johnson submitted an amendment that before deciding on any plan, an expert be asked to advise the council. No two architects were offering the same thing, and therefore he thought it would be foolish on the part of the council to decide without taking expert evidence. The architect's estimate of the building in stone according to one plan was £94,939, and the measurer's £92,939. Plan No. 6 was estimated by the architect to cost £44,000, the measurer said £68,7S4. On a division the recommendation was approved by eleven voles to six after considerable discussion. The name of the author of the selected design did not transpire.[Building News 17 July 1903 p67]
Mr J M Johnson of Leith N B whose design for the poorhouse building at Seafield was recently accepted by the Leith Parish Council has now been appointed architect for the work. [British Architect 25 September 1903 Page 222]
The hospital closed in 2007 and in August of that year the buildings were gutted by fire. Demolition was proposed September 2008 | Alternative NamesThe following alternative names are associated with this building/design: | | Name | Current name? | Notes | | Eastern General Hospital | Yes | | | Leith Poor Law Hospital | | | | Leith Poor Law Institution | Yes | | | Seafield Poorhouse | | Name prior to 1931-3 conversion to hospital |
Building Type ClassificationThe building is classified under the following categories: | | Classification | Original classification? | Notes | | Hospital | | | | Poor house | Yes | |
Street AddressesThe following street addresses are associated with this building: | | Address | Main entrance? | Notes | | Seafield Street | Yes | |
EventsThe following date-based events are associated with this building: | | From | To | Event type | Notes | | May 1903 | | Competition results announced | Competition held | | 1904 | 1910 | Construction | | | 2 August 1909 | | Opened | | | 1931 | 1932 | | Conversion to Eastern General Hospital (tenders sought 1931) | | 1951 | | Alterations and additions | Additions and alterations and modernisation of main kitchen block | | 1960s | | Alterations and additions | Post-war alterations and discreet new buildings | | 1984 | | Survey | Fire precaution survey |
PeopleDesign and Construction
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this building: | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Gifford, John, McWilliam, Colin and Walker, David M | 1984 | Edinburgh (The Buildings of Scotland) | | Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd | p463 | | Richardson, Harriet | N.D. | Scottish Hospitals Survey | | Unpublished typescript (copy in DMW Archive) | Listed as Eastern General Hospital |
Periodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this building: | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Architect and Building News | 10 October 1930 | | | p509 | | Architect and Building News | 1931 | Jan-Jun | | p235 | | British Architect | 22 May 1903 | | | p366 - competition results | | British Architect | 10 July 1903 | | | p23 - The Story of the New Leith Poorhouse Plans from the Scotsman | | British Architect | 10 July 1903 | | | | | British Architect | 24 July 1903 | | | | | British Architect | 28 August 1903 | | | p152 - estimated costs, official measurer | | British Architect | 28 August 1903 | | | p152 and illustration The design of Scott and Campbell, placed first by Sandilands, illustrated | | British Architect | 25 September 1903 | | | p222 - Johnson's appointment as architect confirmed | | Builder | 26 July 1931 | CXLI | | p1161 | | Building News | 17 July 1903 | | | p67 | | Dundee Courier | 6 June 1906 | | | | | Dundee Courier | 3 August 1909 | | | | | Edinburgh Evening News | 27 September 2008 | | | Proposed demolition | | RIBA Journal | 13 October 1934 | v41 | London: Royal Institute of British Architects | p1069 - obituary of Joseph Marr Johnston | | Scotsman | 14 May 1903 | | | p6 | | Scotsman | 3 July 1903 | | | p8 - The Story of the New Leith Poorhouse Plans |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this building: | | Source | Archive name | Source catalogue no. | Notes | | Courtesy of Peter B Caird | Information sent to DSA | | Sent March 2011 | | DMW Archive | Research notes for 'Scottish Thirties' by Charles McKean | | | | Historic Environment Scotland | Listed Buildings Register | 44949 | | | Historic Environment Scotland | Listed Buildings Register | 44950 | Matron's house. Delisted July 2014. | | Historic Environment Scotland | Listed Buildings Register | 44951 | Chapel | | National Monuments Record of Scotland/NMRS, RCAHMS | J & F Johnston Collection | | JFJ 1900/3/1-3 | | RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum | RIBA Nomination Papers | | Joseph Marr Johnston: L v18 no1372; Ebenezer James MacRae: F no3192 (box 18); George Angus Sutherland: L v13 no856; Robert Forbes Hutchison F no4882 (Combined Box 42) |
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