Uncover Edinburgh’s lost past on Doors Open Days

Public invited to see ‘the Edinburgh that never was’

Historic Environment Scotland is throwing open the doors of the National Record of Scotland this weekend to reveal the hidden gems of Edinburgh’s past. Leith’s Trinity House Maritime Museum will also open its doors as part of the Scottish Civic Trust’s popular Doors Open Days programme, assembled by the Cockburn Association.

Edinburgh residents are invited to John Sinclair House on Saturday to explore the national records of architecture, design, archaeology and industry. There they will have the chance to see Edinburgh as it has never been seen before with behind the scenes tours, talks and exhibitions.

Highlights include a never before seen exhibition of Edinburgh’s historic cemeteries taken by American art curator Robert Reinhardt, and an exclusive preview of HES’s new Paul Shillabeer collection, which captures Edinburgh in the 1950s and 1960s.

Exclusive talks include ‘Unbuilt Edinburgh’, an opportunity to see how an alternative Edinburgh may have looked. The talk will focus on unbuilt projects for central Edinburgh, starting with designs by Robert Adam in the 1780s’s and travelling through to the present day.

Neil Gregory, Architecture and Industry Operational Manager at Historic Environment Scotland, said: “We’ve been curating the Scottish National Record of the Historic Environment for over a century, and it comprises over 5 million photographs, drawings and manuscripts. Doors Open Day is a great opportunity for members of the public to come and explore what we’ve got to offer. This year, we’re excited to be giving people a trip down memory lane to see photographs of how Edinburgh used to look, architectural models that have never before been on public display, as well as talks exploring plans for buildings that never made it from the drawing board to our streets.”

HES are also inviting members of the public to get hands on with history by using and adding to the National Record. Demonstrations of the Scotland’s Places and Scran websites will show visitors resources that they can use when conducting their own historical research, and the team from Scotland’s Urban Past will be on hand with information on how to become an Urban Detective.

Meanwhile in Leith, Trinity House Maritime Museum will also be opening its doors to the public. In its bicentenary year, visitors are invited to gain insight into the stories and voyages of Leith’s seafaring past with self-led tours, object handling sessions, quizzes and a free stained glass craft activity.

To mark the Year of Architecture, Innovation and Design, Trinity House will also have a temporary exhibition for visitors to enjoy, exploring 200 years of Leith’s nautical heritage. There will also be opportunities to meet painting conservators and find out more about the work they do to care for HES’s significant collection of paintings.

John Sinclair House is open on Saturday 24^th September, 9.30am – 4.30pm.

Trinity House Maritime Museum is open on Saturday 24 & Sunday 25^th September, 10am – 4pm.

For the full programme of buildings opening across Scotland, visit the Doors Open Days website http://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/

And here’s one that’s very close to home …

Ends

Edinburgh Doors Open weekend: come on in!

Edinburgh Doors Open Day takes place this weekend (26 & 27 September) and this year is following the theme of ‘Edinburgh’s Food & Drink’.

Doors Open Day is a celebration of Edinburgh’s architecture, culture and heritage and has been organised by The Cockburn Association (Edinburgh’s Civic Trust) since 1991.

Over 100 venues to will throw open their doors over the weekend, with something to suit the taste of just about everyone: there are the regular favourites, new venues and interesting spaces and activities to celebrate the 25th year of the popular event.

North Edinburgh Arts is among the local venues getting involved this year:

North Edinburgh Arts is delighted to be taking part in Doors Open Day 2015. We are ideally situated between the Royal Botanic Gardens (number 32) and the National Museums Collection Centre (number 31) so why not make a morning tour of the North Edinburgh venues and pop in for a cake and freshly ground coffee in our community café.

Guided tours of our award-winning garden will be starting at 11am and 1pm this Saturday (26 September). Our ship-themed sandpits will keep the kids amused for hours too, with buckets and spades available to use (refundable deposit is required). We are number 30 on the map.

To find out what’s on offer across Edinburgh this weekend, see brochure (below)

Edinburgh Doors Open Day 2015 Brochure

Edinburgh Doors Open Day – Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 September

The Cockburn Association (Edinburgh’s Civic Trust) organises Edinburgh Doors Open Day. Now in its 21st year, the event has become one of the capital’s most popular free days out. This is your chance to explore some of Edinburgh’s most architecturally, culturally and socially significant buildings. Most venues feature behind the scenes tours, activities, exhibitions and/or talks which bring the history of the building, garden, cemetery or monument and its everyday use to life. Many sites organise additional free activities for children and families.

No less than 121 locations across the city will be opening their doors to the public, and you don’t have to travel too far to see some of them.

In Inverleith, you can visit the Royal Botanic Garden, Herbarium and Library on Saturday between 10am – 4pm, or what about the Danish Cultural Institute, an elegant Georgian town house in Doune Terrace (Saturday and Sunday, 10am – 5pm)? Another Georgian town house opening it’s doors to inquisitive visitors is the Edinburgh Photographic Society in Great King Street (Sunday 11am – 4pm). Then there’s Dean Cemetery (Sunday 1 – 4.30pm), Edinburgh Society of Musicians on Belford Road (Saturday 10am – 4pm) and Stewart’s Melville College on Queensferry Road (Saturday 2 – 5pm).

North of Ferry Road there are many more places to visit – the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop at Hawthornvale (Saturday 10am – 4.30pm), Alien Rock on Pier Place Newhaven (Saturday and Sunday 10am – 7pm) and old Newhaven Station on Craighall Road (Saturday and Sunday 10am – 4pm).

Moving west into Trinity, Granton and Muirhouse we’ve got St Columba’s Hospice Education Centre on Boswall Road (Sunday 10am – 5pm), Wardie Primary School on Granton Road (Saturday 10am – 1pm), the National Museums Collection Centre on Granton Road (Saturday 10.30am – 4pm) and Muirhouse St. Andrew’s Parish Church in Pennywell Gardens (Saturday 10am – 4pm).

This is just a local selection, of course – citywide there are many, many more to visit and remember, they’re all FREE!

For more information pick up an Edinburgh Doors Open Day 2012 brochure from your local library or you can download it by visiting www.cockburnassociation.org.uk