Pushed to the Limits by new name

For years Edinburgh drinkers would be served for an extra half-hour there after last orders were called across the city at 10pm.

All they had to do was shuffle over the line into the Leith side of the pub where licensing laws were more liberal.

Now the celebrated watering hole, which closed down last year after it deteriorated badly in the 1990s, has reopened with a new image.

Gone are the boundary line and the "rundown" charm which led cult author Irvine Welsh to proclaim it one of his favourites. In its place there is "light and airy decor" and a new name - City Limits.

But losing the Boundary name which the pub has carried for more than 100 years has upset community leaders, real ale campaigners and pub historians who describe the name change as "mindless vandalism" .

The 16,000 revamp was the brainchild of the new owner, the Hartlepool-based Pubmaster group, which has said it has plans to put in a new brass strip marking the boundary line.

The firm drew its plans up in conjunction with new tenant Silvana Murray, who has lived opposite the premises for more than 20 years. The firm said drinkers deserved better than the rundown place it had become in recent years.

A spokeswoman for Pubmaster said The Boundary Bar had been "completely transformed" to give it a modern look, with home-cooking and tea and coffee being served for the first time.

She added: "The light and airy decor with laminate flooring and comfortable seating is aimed at attracting a cross-section of the population, while the name change signifies the change from a pub to a cafe bar style venue, whilst maintaining its historical context of being the boundary between Edinburgh and Leith."

But news of the pub’s make-over, particularly the loss of its famous name, has horrified traditionalists .

Giles Whitfield, chairman of the Edinburgh branch of the Campaign For Real Ale, said: "It really is short-sighted to lose such an important part of the area’s history. This pub was famous for being on the dividing line between Leith and Edinburgh and it’s tragic that something like this has happened after such a long time."

CAMRA’s pub conservation expert in the Capital, Ian Turnbull, added: "It’s mindless vandalism and is almost identical to what happened in Drummond Street last year when Stewart’s Bar was changed beyond all recognition .

"You can’t stand in the way of progress but some of the history in this city should be left well alone."

Cron McKay, president of Leith Civic Trust, said the change of name for the pub was "almost as bad" as the prospect of Leith’s name being dropped from the electoral map of Britain. I think it’s absolutely disgusting".

He added: "This was a lovely bar in its heyday and has some great stories surrounding it ."

Mrs Murray, 46, who approached Pubmaster herself after the takeover, said: "It’s a pub with a lot of history but it had become really rundown in recent years.

"I just felt the local community deserved better.

"The decision to change the name was a joint one between me and the company but I think it still has the same meaning. We very much wanted to keep the historical connection."

Spirit of change

THE Campaign For Real Ale’s Ian Turnbull may have described the Boundary Bar’s new name as "mindless vandalism", but it is not the first time the pub has undergone dramatic changes.

Before becoming the Boundary Bar, it was known as Boundary House, where James Munro, family wine and spirit merchant, kept Edinburgh’s drinkers topped up with a varied selection from its well-stocked cellars.

It is more familiar in its reincarnation as the Boundary Bar, and enjoyed fresh notoriety when Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh proclaimed it one of his favourite bars in the 1990s.

Pubmaster has now reopened its doors as City Limits.