This website contains information on the residents of Albany Street in the 20th century. Given the ending of street directories (and latterly entries had to be paid for so many individuals were not included) information is patchy. Click on House List to see what has been tracked for that property's residents.

By 1955, forty one of the houses in Albany Street were offices, clubs or other non-residential premises and eight were boarding houses or private hotels. Only five houses were solely occupied as residential. In the 1960s, concern about the poor condition of many New Town houses and alarm at the potential loss of parts of the city’s Georgian townscape to redevelopment led to a conservation movement. The Edinburgh Architectural Association organised a volunteer army of over 120 architects, surveyors and students to survey and assess the scale of the repairs needed in 11,000 properties, and as a result, in 1970, the Edinburgh New Town Conservation Committee (ENTCC) was formed to offer grants to help home owners with the cost of repairs. Cumberland Street, Fettes Row, Scotland Street and St Stephen's Street, in particular, formed what was termed a ‘tattered fringe’ to the New Town, and might otherwise have been lost. Through this conservation work, the New Town became again attractive as a place to live and in 1995, both Edinburgh’s Old and New Towns were awarded World Heritage Site status. Albany Street continues to be a mix of residential and business but with prices for New Town properties increasing significantly, and town houses less viable as modern offices, the shift back to residential use continues.

For the full history of the development of the street and its residents in the 19th century see

https://sites.google.com/site/albanystreetedinburgh/home.

As this is a public site and not created for commercial gain, I hope that if I have inadvertently used material or images that breach a copyright, the copyright holder will be understanding. However, if any copyright holder has a concern, please contact me via email and I will resolve the issue. Email: albanystreetedinburgh@gmail.com

(photo c. 1960 showing Albany Street with St Mary's Church at east end after the removal of the top of its steeple)

I would be pleased to receive any further information on 20th century residents or corrections.

Barclay Price

Email : albanystreetedinburgh@gmail.com

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