41 Albany Street
1904 – 1925 Boarding House
This was managed by three sisters in their thirties, Violet, Isabella and Flora Elphinstone. They were born in Carlisle.
In 1897, the sisters then moved their boarding house from Number 39 to Number 13, and then around 1903, to here. Flora died in 1924.
1926 – 1929 British Legion/Earl Haig FundThe house became the office of the British Legion’s National Executive in Scotland. At this time consideration was being given to amalgamation with the English organisation, but this never happened and the charity remained a separate Scottish entity.The Royal British Legion was formed in 1921, bringing together four National Organisations of ex-Service men established after the First World War. The main purpose of the Legion was to care for those who had suffered as a result of service in the Armed Forces in the war, whether through their own service or being a husband, father or son of a Service man. The Legion supported a range of hardship, including the effect of a war wound on a man's ability to earn a living and support his family, and a war widow's struggle to give her children an education. Of the six million men who had served in the war, 725,000 had died and of those who survived, one and three-quarter million had suffered some kind of disability; half of these permanently disabled. In addition, there were a large number of wives and children, widows and orphans, and parents who had lost sons in the war, on whom they had often been financially dependent.
The situation so moved Lance Bombadier Tom Lister, a Lancastrian, that he decided that if the Government was either unable or unwilling to do anything to improve the lives of ex-Service men, he would do something about it himself. This eventually led to the formation of The Royal British Legion. By the time of the Legion's formation in 1921, the tradition of an annual Two Minute Silence in memory of the dead had been established. The first ever Earl Haig Poppy Appeal was held that year with the first Poppy Day on 11 November 1921.
The Legion moved to Drummond Place.
1933 – 1944 Boarding HouseThis Boarding House was run by Mrs A J McGinley, until 1944 when Mr and Mrs Walker took over. (notice from 1945)
1945 - ? Edward Walter
Edward Walter was a civil servant but nothing further traced.
1950? Ben Davies, Junior
In 1950 Ben Davies, Junior, wrote a series of letters to The Scotsman on the subject of pasturised milk. (extract from one letter)
(around) 1955 – at least 1980 Guest House
Frances Winkler then took over the lodgings.
1975 – today The Albany Hotel
The hotel was established by Patrick Maridor, a Swiss, and his Scottish wife, Pauline. Later they expanded the hotel by taking over numbers 39, 41, 43, 45 and 47. Patrick previously had worked as a general sales manager for Dunlop and Pauline in banking, before they decided to open a hotel. It began as a bed and breakfast hotel, although a bar and restaurant were added later. In its early years it was a winner in the Scottish Tourist Board’s Awards; coming out top in the ‘Hotels up to 10 Rooms’ category.
It was sold at some point and revamped in 1997, and for a number of years the basement housed Haldanes restaurant, run by George Kelso. The hotel is now owned by the Ballantrae Group, owned by the Sharma family.
