43 Albany Street
1901 – 1932 William and Jennie Morris
William Charles Morris was a solicitor. In 1904 and 1908 he and Jennie had sons.
In 1910, he acted as President of the Scottish Industrial Art Association. The Association had been formed in 1891 by ‘exhibitors in the artisans and the women’s industries’ sections of the international exhibitions’ held in Edinburgh in 1886 and Glasgow in 1888. The Association’s purpose was to organise open classes to expand the range and raise quality of design work, and to hold annual exhibitions. Honorary members of the SIAA included Patrick Geddes, Phoebe Traquair and J H Ford, proprietor of the commercial Holyrood Glass Works. The Association held lectures and exhibitions, the Thirteenth Annual Exhibition in 1907 included inventions, art, needlework, wood-carving and marquetry. Some exhibitors had ‘ventured into the less easy path of painting, and show a number of oil and watercolour pictures.’
In 1927, Morris was elected Vice-Chairman of the North Edinburgh Unionist Association.
In 1933 the house was advertised for sale as suitable for a boarding house or offices. It continued to be advertised through to 1937. (1933 advert ) This advert indicates that it continued to offer rooms to let. Probably managed by Mrs Miller till 1939.
1939 – at least 1980 Boarding House (later termed a 'Service House')
The house continued as a Boarding House, run, first by Mrs Jean Miller, and later by David and Jane Adams. David Adams also was a civil servant. In 1946, the house again was to let and advertised as a ‘Boarding-house with furniture, as a going concern. Dining room, 8 bedrooms, 1 bed-sitting room, I bathroom, kitchen, 2 pantries, store, etc. Offers over £2,500.’
In 1946, a boarder, L. Crosnier, advertised French holidays. (advert)
A boarder from 1950 until the mid 1960s was Jozef Zdzislaw Ulicki, a Pole who worked as an Assistant Dispenser at an Edinburgh chemist.
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.