Lodging Houses

By the 1850s, around a quarter of the houses in the street were lodgings. The first house to become a lodging house was Number 39 in the early 1830s. Its first Lodging Keeper was Mrs Tulloch, who later moved her establishment to Abercromby Place. The next two Lodging Keepers were Robert Dougall and William McCutcheon. Both had other jobs, so probably their wives looked after the lodgers and tenants. From 1884 – 1897, the house was termed apartments, and was managed by Elizabeth Elphinstone, a widow, and her sister, Flora. In 1897, Number 39 ceased to be lodgings when the sisters moved their apartments to Number 13. In 1904, they again moved, transferring their apartments to Number 41 where they took in lodgers until 1925. (In 1975 the house became part of The Albany Hotel, again welcoming 'lodgers' to the street ).

I have used the term lodger and lodgings throughout. However, it is clear that some individuals 'lodged' for long periods - in some cases more than ten years - and others for brief periods. Thus accommodation ranged from a suite of rooms, perhaps even a floor of the house, to single rooms. While Number 39 had lodgers for short periods, at the same time Francis Gebbie, an advocate, lived there from 1857 until 1871, when he left Edinburgh to take up the position of Sheriff Substitute of Dumbartonshire.

Adverts from 1861, show the range of accommodation on offer in the street: ‘a handsomely furnished parlour and two bedrooms’; ‘a large bedroom at 7s a week’; ‘two boarders at £50 to £80 per annum’ ; and ‘one or two gentlemen to board with family’ at £50 per annum’. Whether staying long or short term, the lodgers usually would have benefited from the services of a house servant or two without the expense of employing one directly, although some lodgers brought or hired their own. A number of those who took lodgings in the street lived elsewhere in Scotland and needed a base in the city for their work. One such was J. Badenach Nicholson, an advocate. He lodged at Number 31, but his main home was Glenbervie House, an impressive 17th century castle-style mansion near Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire. There he owned two estates totalling 1,160 acres.

The 1861 census return for Number 45 gives a flavour of the range of lodgers (ages in brackets). The lodgings were managed by John (36) and Sarah (34) Warner , both born in England, and there were two house servants, Maragret Melville (30), and Helen Rof (17). There were three sisters named Walker lodging; all described as 'fundholders'. A fundholder’s main income was from the interest and dividends received from investments, and as this was usually the individual’s only income, negative shifts in the stock market could have a ruinous effect. It may well that the Walker sisters were daughters of a military father as Fanny (30) had been born in India, Amelia (26) in France and Caroline (24) in England. Another fundholder lodger was a widow, Margaret Russell (49) and her niece, Jane Wood (23) who had been born in Tasmania. They had their own servant, Mary Dick (20). Major Edward Teddy (31) of the Royal Artillery was lodging with his wife, also Fanny (28) and their infant son (2). It is quite likely the couple were lodging here while Fanny gave birth again as they had a nurse, Elizabeth Spokes (30) lodging with them. Many who lodged in the street were pregnant women awaiting the birth of their baby and, of these, a number were the wives of soldiers or sailors stationed abroad, and having the baby in Scotland would have lessened the risk. Some were accompanied by their husband who would have been given special leave to temporarily return to Scotland from India or elsewhere. Many hired nurses, usually just for a month or so before and after the birth. Later in 1861, the unmarried John Gray Henderson, a farmer and landowner in Abbotrule also lodged here, as it is recorded he died in the house.