Seeds of an idea sown for fort memorial

Published on Monday 23 March 2009 09:21

ARCHAEOLOGISTS are drawing up designs to create a commemorative garden at the site of a fort used in the 1560 Siege of Leith.

Preliminary plans include mapping out the artillery fort on the ground and also introducing information panels in Pilrig Park under which the remains lie.

The project will officially mark the 450th anniversary of the one-year battle, which saw the Scots and English combine to remove French troops from the Capital.

City council curator of archaeology, John Lawson, said: "We just want people to know it is there – but we definitely won't be re-building the entire fort, that's for sure."

The fort – Somerset's Battery – was unearthed in Pilrig Park in December 2006 by a team of specialist archaeologists.

Of local, national and international historical significance, the find was considered remarkable by experts who also unearthed remains of a blacksmith's forge, another building and pieces of pottery.

They are now keen to continue investigating the remains of the fort as well as its connecting trenches, before creating a permanent commemorative garden.

It is hoped that community-based excavation work may also take place, linked with an education programme for schools – but the whole project will depend on finding the necessary finances.

The venture is a joint project between the council, the Royal Botanic Garden and Glasgow University and preliminary talks only took place last Wednesday.

A variety of funding bodies are expected to be asked for financial support, including the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Mr Lawson said: "We are really hoping to be able to do something and we are looking at all the options. It could perhaps be a simple marking of the fort on the ground with interpretation panels for the public to read."

The structure – essentially mounds of earth – is estimated to have been the size of two football pitches when it was used as a base for English and Scottish soldiers to push the French out of the city.

The French had arrived in 1549 to drive out an English garrison on Inchkeith, but their ten-year presence soon annoyed the people of Edinburgh and they asked the English to offer their support.

The Siege of Leith led to the Treaty of Edinburgh – under which the French agreed to go home – and therefore the eventual fall of the Catholic Church in Scotland and the end of a long-standing alliance between France and Scotland.

Members of Leith Neighbourhood Partnership have now agreed that funding options for the project be drawn up and presented as soon as possible for consideration.

Leith councillor Gordon Munro said: "This is a very exciting project. Leith has a very varied history and it's great that we are going to find out more about it through this."