Copies of The Scotsman coming off the presses at North Bridge in September 1966.Copies of The Scotsman coming off the presses at North Bridge in September 1966.
Copies of The Scotsman coming off the presses at North Bridge in September 1966.

Edinburgh heritage: These 25 pictures of The Scotsman and Evening News offices in the 1950s and 1960s show how the newspaper industry has changed

Half a century ago The Scotsman and Edinburgh Evening News were written, printed and distributed from a single building on the Capital’s North Bridge – which has now become the luxurious Scotsman Hotel.

The Scotsman’s history dates back to 1817 when it was first established as radical political paper, before becoming a daily broadsheet in 1855 – priced 1d with a circulation of 6,000 copies.

The paper was originally based in an office on the Royal Mile – at 257 High Street – before moving to purpose built premises on nearby Cockburn Street in 1860.

Backing onto the original office, it was designed by architects Peddie & Kinnear and the initials of the company’s founder John Ritchie can still be seen on the building.

Continuing success and growth led to another move in 1904, to huge offices facing onto North Bridge, with an attached printworks directly connected to Waverley Station for easy distribution.

The Edinburgh Evening News, first published in 1873, was also produced in the same office.

North Bridge continued to be home to the newspapers for 90 years, until a move to modern offices on Holyrood Road in 1999 – next to the subsequent site of the new Scottish Parliament building.

In 2014 the newspapers relocated again to Orchard Brae House, on Queensferry Road, before a final move this year to new headquarters on George Street in the city centre.

These 25 pictures show what life was like in the Scotsman offices on North Bridge in the 1950s and 1960s.

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