282 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Leith.
C H A P T E R X X X I I I .
LEITH-TIIE DOCKS.
New Docks proposed-Apathy of the Government-First Graving Dock, 1710-Two more Docks constructed-Shellycoat?s Rock-The
Contract-The Dock of &-The King?s Bastion-The Queen?s Dock-New Piers-The Victoria Dock-The Albert Dock-The
Edinburgh Dock-Its &tent-Ceremony of Opening-A Glance at the Trade of Leith,
IN theyear when the first stone pier was built (1710)
steps were taken towards building a regular dock
in Leith, when the Lord Provost, Magistrates,
and Town Council of Edinburgh, petitioned Queen
Anne, praying her to establish at Leith, ? the port
of her ancient and loyal city of Edinburgh, a wet
and dry dock, for the commencing of building,
fitting, and repairing her Majesty?s ships of war
and trading vessels, which would greatly conduce
to the interests of trade in general.?
Every Scottish project in those days, and for
long after, was doomed to be blighted by the loss
of the national legislature ; so this petition had not
the slightest effect,
Time went on, and another was presented, and
ultimately, under instructions issued by the Earl of
Pembroke, then Lord High Admiral, some naval
officers surveyed the Firth of Forth, and were pleased
to report that Leith was the most suitable port, and
two docks were eventually formed on the west side
of the old harbour, the first, a pving dock, being
constructed in 1720, in front of the Sand Port,
where now the Custom House stands.
The west quay, which now takes its name
from that edifice, was built in 1777, but the
accommodation still being inadequate for the requirements
of the growing trade of the port, the
magistrates of Edinburgh obtained, in I 788, an
Act of Parliament empowering them to borrow the
sum of &30,000 for the purpose of constructing a
basin, or wet dock, of seven English acres, above
the dam of the saw-mills at Leith, a lock at the
Sheriff Brae, and a communication between the
latter and the basin.
This plan, however-one by Mr. Robert Whitworth,
engineer-was abandoned, and the magistrates
applied again to Parliament, and in 1799
obtained an Act authorising them to borrow
~160,000 to execute a portion of John Rennie?s
magnificent and more extensive design, which embraced
the idea?bf a vast range of docks, stretching
from the north pier of Leith to Newhaven, with an
entrance at each of these places.
The site chosen for these new docks was parallel
with what was known as the Short Sand, or from the
Sand Port, at the back of the north pier westward,
to nearly the east flank of the old battery; and here,
for the last time, we may refer to one of the many
superstitions for which Leith was famous of old
and perhaps the most quaint of these was connected
with a large rock, which lay on the site of these
new docks, and not far from the citadel, which was
supposed to be the seat, or abode, of a demon
called Shellycodt, a kind of spirit of the waters,
who, in the ?Traditions and Antiquities of Leith:?
has been described as ?ra sort of monster fiend,
gigantic, but undefinable, who possessed powers
almost infinite ; who never undertook anything, no
matter how great, which he failed to accomplish ;
his swiftness was that of a spirit, and he delighted
in deeds of blood and devastation.?
Stiellycoat, so named from his skin or gamient
of shells, was long the bugbear of the urchins of
Leith, and even of their seniors; but in the new
dock operations his half-submerged rock was blown
up or otherwise removed, and Shellycoat, like the
Twelve o?clock Coach, the Green Lady, and the
Fairy Drummer, is now a thing of the past.
In March, 1800, appeared in the Edinburgh
papers the advertisement for contractors for the
works at Leith thus :-
?All persons willing to contract for quarrying
stones, at the quarry now opened near Rosythe
Castle, westward of North Queensferry, and putting
them on board a vessel, and also for the carriage
and delivery at Leith, for the purpose of constructing
a WET DOCK there, are desired, on or before the
first Monday in April next, to send to John Gray,
Town Clerk, proposals sealed, containing-First,
the price per ton for which they are willing to
quarry such stones and put them on board a vessel ;
and secondly, for the carriage and delivery of them
at Leith.
?There will be wanted for the Sea Wall about
two hundred and fifty thousand cubic feet of
ashlar, and in the Quay Walls about one hundred
and seventy thousand cubic feet, besides a quantity
of rubble stones. A specification of the dimensions
and shape of the stones, and the conditions of the
contract, will be shown by Charles Cunningham, at
the Dean of Guild?s office, St Giles?s Church.
? Edinburgh, March I zth, 1800.?
These details are not without interest now; but
it is remarkable that the materials should have been
brought from the coast of Fife, when the quarries at
Granton had been known for ages.
