Drama recalls the siege of Leith

THE grisly collection of bones found at the pit of an ancient well were a clue to desperate times that called for desperate measures.

In it, near the foot of Easter Road, were the skeletal remains of dozens of horses' heads.

The discovery, made in the 19th century, was testimony to a remarkable yet largely forgotten period in Scots history: when Leith was held under siege and those trapped within were forced to do anything they could to simply stay alive.

If that meant eating precious horses and even rats rather than starve, then they did.

The Siege of Leith ended 450 years ago this month, a remarkable event that triggered the end of the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France and aided the collapse of the Catholic Church in Scotland.

Perhaps more significant, it became the catalyst for a union with the Auld Enemy, England, a link that endures today.

It was a key moment that had an immeasurable impact on Scotland. But, as some local historians point out, this 450th anniversary and the story behind it has been largely forgotten.

John Arthur, who has spent years researching the history of the area, says: "The course of history was changed by what happened there, yet ask people about it and most have never heard of it.

"It's not taught in schools, so many people don't even know it happened. Yet if you don't know about it, you don't know how we got to where we are now."

He's hoping that might soon change. Along with fellow local historian Jim Tweedie of Leith Local History Society, he's been helping Citadel Arts Group to produce a new play based on events of 450 years ago.

It opened last night, the highlight of a series of events in Leith Festival week aimed at engaging a new generation with the fascinating, complex and powerful events of 1560.

In the Siege of Leith around 3,000 French troops, their families and hundreds of native Leithers were trapped behind towering earthen boundary walls.

It came about, he explains, as French troops brought to Edinburgh to help protect Mary of Guise – mother to Mary Queen of Scots – came under pressure from the growing distrust of the Edinburgh population.

"Mary of Guise was James V of Scotland's widow and when she first arrived in Scotland in 1548, the people were basically on her side. But then things went on a downward spiral and she realised that if things went wrong, she might never get out of Scotland. So she set about fortifying Leith."

Around 3,000 French troops descended on the port, and expanded other parts of Edinburgh, notably Little France.

Protestant Scots were restless. They resented the influence the French were having in powerful circles and a group calling themselves the Lords of the Congregation aligned themselves with John Knox and other reformers. Soon they had raised a 12,000-strong army. Both sides geared up for battle, but the French had more resources.

The Lords made the unprecedented move of appealing to the Protestant Queen Elizabeth for English aid.

"That was a very significant point," says Liz Hare, director of Citadel Arts Group, whose play focuses on the dramas unfolding within the boundary walls.

"It's the beginning of the Union – here were Protestant English fighting among Scots Protestants – while just 30 years earlier the English were burning Leith and Edinburgh.

"To have them fighting together against Catholic soldiers who had been invited in by Mary of Guise was definitely the end of the Auld Alliance and tentative beginnings of the Act of Union."

The defences included eight projecting bastions which held everyone – including locals – inside. In response, the English troops built forts and garrisons from which to bombard those hiding behind the walls.

"Within the fortified area, there was immeasurable suffering and desperation," says John. "Soon those within the walls ran out of food. The people had no alternative, they started to eat their horses, rats, anything.

"At the start of the 19th century a well was found at the foot of what is now Easter Road. It was full of horses' heads – they would eat the horses garnished with weeds that were growing on the walls."

And those walls had other, much more disturbing decoration. "All the Scots who died within the boundary would be hung from the walls of Leith as a kind of warning to those on the other side," he adds. "It was called Guise's necklace."

In retaliation, fierce reformer John Knox branded the Leith women who stayed within the walls "whores". But, as Liz Hare points out, those locals who stayed there had little choice in the matter: "These would be people who were traders or had businesses built up alongside the port which was the most important port in the country.

"They didn't want to leave but at the same time they had to live with cannonballs flying around their ears."

Battle between the French and the Scots-English joint forces on the other side raged in earnest for a year – sometimes spilling over Leith Links and Restalrig – ending only in June 1560 with the death of the Queen Regent at Edinburgh Castle. The Treaty of Edinburgh was forged, under which the French agreed to destroy their fortifications and go home.

It brought to an end 12 years of French presence in the area and drove a dagger through the heart of the Auld Alliance.

It also heralded the beginning of a new era for Scotland and paved the way for the prospect of a union with her Auld Enemy.

It was, stresses John Arthur, a significant moment that deserves to be remembered: "This was the first time the Scots and English fought together. It was from there that the concept of the United Kingdom was formed.

"It changed the history of this country. We shouldn't forget about it."

The Citadel Arts Group production The Siege of Leith Show is on tonight at 7pm and tomorrow at 2:30pm at South Leith Parish Church Halls. For details go to www.leithfestival.com.

THE SIEGE'S UNDERGROUND EVIDENCE

IT'S 450 years since it ended, yet evidence of the Siege of Leith is still being uncovered.

In 2006, the remains of an English fort were discovered in Pilrig Park and declared among the most significant archaeological finds in recent years.

The finds provide important details about warfare at the time, says John Lawson, city archaeologist for Edinburgh City Council.

"The fort underneath Pilrig Park was a major discovery.

"Later work at Leith Links uncovered a field boundary, which helped confirm early maps of the area at the time.

"And we have found cannonballs in the Burgess Street area which is incredible evidence considering the siege lasted just around a year.

"If you think about it, you would expect most of the cannonballs at the time to have been cleared up – so that was a very unusual find, which brings history to life."