Kiln group to host Porty history event

A FREE exhibition on the history of Portobello is being organised by a group working to preserve a historic local kiln.

The Portobello Heritage Trust evolved from a group of community representatives who had been working with council officials in a Kilns Working Group to oversee the repair and restoration of the collapsed kiln in Bridge Street, Portobello.

There was much local distress when the kiln collapsed in August 2006 during earlier repair work. Brian Sibbald, Edinburgh Council's property conservation manager, welcomed the opportunity to form a partnership with the group not only during the period of restoration but also to secure the future care and maintenance of the kilns.

Dr Margaret Munro, chairperson of the working group, said: "These kilns are a vital remnant of the industrial history of Portobello and Scotland and, as such, their future needs to be secured."

The free exhibition is being held on Wednesday, 14 April, from 7:30pm, in St John's Church Hall, Brighton Place.