Bernard Street, Edinburgh


Bernard Street is a thoroughfare in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland. It runs west north westerly from the junction of Constitution Street and Baltic Street to meet the Water of Leith at The Shore. It forms the northern boundary of what was known in the 19th century as 'Old Leith'.

Overview

The street is named after innkeeper Bernard Lindsay who was granted the barony of the area by King James VI. In 1780, the first public sewer in Scotland was built in Bernard Street, flowing into the Water of Leith. The iron seal of the sewer is still visible by the bridge at the end of Bernard Street.
At the east end of the street is a statue of Robert Burns by David Watson Stevenson erected in 1898. Other buildings include the premises of Leith Merchants Club and the former home of the Leith Banking Company. Today, the buildings of Bernard Street have been converted to use as pubs, cafes and the offices of media, marketing and publishing companies.
From the mid-18th century, a stagecoach service ran from Bernard Street to the city's Old Town. Bernard Street was also formerly the terminus of one of Edinburgh's tram lines and was to have had a tram stop as part of the new Edinburgh Trams development. The curtailing of the tram scheme means this will no longer be the case.
Bernard Street tram stop was to be one of several Edinburgh Trams phase 1a tram stops beyond St Andrew Square. It was cancelled due to cost overruns in June 2011.