EXPLORE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE COLLECTIONS
Our Town Stories tells the story of Edinburgh’s past from 1100 to the present day. Uncover the city’s history through items from the heritage collections of Edinburgh Libraries, Archives, Archaeology Services and Museums and Galleries.
With so much history to discover, we’ve highlighted some of our treasured, unique or fascinating items below as a starting point.
Or jump straight in and explore our interactive map and timeline to find objects, images and people connected to the city’s past!
Edgar’s plan of the city and castle
Zoom into a plan of how Edinburgh’s Old Town looked in 1742.
Castles of Edinburgh
How many of Edinburgh’s castles do you know? Our virtual tour takes you around the city to many forgotten former castles of Edinburgh.
Pirlie pigs from excavations at Tron Kirk
A pirlie pig is a medieval version of today’s piggy bank. These money boxes date from the 15th to 17th centuries.
Parks and gardens
1909 –
St Saviour’s Child Garden, Canongate
1885 –
Summer houses at Westpans
1630 –
Granton Castle Walled Garden
1960 –
Inverleith Park
1967 –
Old Town from East Princes Street Gardens
1900 –
Royal Botanic Garden
Arthur’s Seat: a mountain in our midst
1938 –
Preparing air raid shelters / trenches in Harrison Park / West Bryson Road
1550 –
Lochend Dovecot, Lochend Park
1796 –
View from Queen’s Park with Clockmill House
1825 –
Edinburgh Castle from Bruntsfield Links
1907 –
One of the last golf matches played at Leith Links
1920 –
The Cricket Pavilion, West Meadows
1911 –
Edinburgh Marine Gardens, Portobello
SEE MORE +
SEE MORE +
