The Marine Gardens

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The story of the Edinburgh Marine Gardens, Portobello, starts on the other side of the city, at Saughton.



The Scottish National Exhibition, in Saughton Park, was opened on 1st May 1908 by Prince Arthur of Connaught and ran for six months.

The site at Saughton had been donated by the Corporation. In return the Exhibition organisers would donate to the City the winter gardens, the bandstand and build a new bridge over the Water of Leith.

A small army of builders was kept busy during the winter of 1907/08 and the white stucco buildings were erected at incredible speed.

Nearly 3.5 million people visited the Exhibition. A special station was erected at the junction of the Corstorphine branch line and every day crowded trains arrived with visitors. It was reported that the ornamental towers in the park seemed like something from the Arabian Nights



Once inside the exhibition visitors could wander round the Palace of Industries and Machinery Hall looking at the most up to date advances in printing, mining, shipping, electricity, gas, steam and hydraulics.

Then came the Fine Art Gallery (lined throughout in asbestos panels) in which was housed a collection of the finest pictures ever assembled, aas well as historical artifacts such as a brooch worn by the Bruce and a letter written by Bonnie Prince Charlie.

In the Concert Hall a three manual organ delighted the music lovers and from a well in the middle of the floor rose a column of water, which rose to within a few yards of the top of the dome. Strong beams of coloured light were firected down onto the fountain, every change in colour being accompanied by an audible 'oh' of admiration.

In the amusement park there was a Figure of Eight railway, the House of Troubles, a Spiders Web Maze and the delights of the Moulin Rouge. The water chute was a favourite. For 2d, the passengers climbed to the top of a wooden tower and were seated in a boat with a sailor at the back. The operator sinalled release and off it went, gliding down a long wooden ramp to hit the pool at the bottom with a great splash. (On one occassion the boat bit the side and capsized. Fortunately the water was only three foot deep). On the down-side, the Venetian gondolas in the Water of Leith were a complete flop.

Among the more exotic exhibits was the Senegalese Native Village, inhabited by natives especially imported for the occasion.

Inevitably, as well as the millions of well behaved visitors, the exhibition attracted a rowdy element. On more than one occasion the police and over exuberant young men came to grips. The Terrace bar had to be closed and the customers ejected.

The Exhibition was closed on Saturday 31st October by Sir Robert Cranston, the Chairman of the Executive Committee.



All that remained was to decide what to do with the buildings.

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January and February saw the new Edinburgh Marine Gardens Limited place a series of advertisements in national newspapers. These called for tenders for the erection of the former Exhibition buildings on the new site at Seafield, together with drainage, roads and landscaping.

It was now expected that the new park, extending to 27 acres, would be opened towards the end of May, and would have a Concert Hall, Winter Garden, Skating Rink, Restaurants, Tea Room and Buffets etc. Ornamental gardens, Bandstand and Amusement Court.

Adverts were also placed for the appointment of a manager for the new complex. The appointment would be on annual basis and applicants should send their details to the Secretary at 13 George Street stating age, experience, qualifications and salary required, together with copies of testimonials, by February 5th.

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A meeting of the Edinburgh Dean of Guild Court was held on 8 April, Lord Dean of Guild Wilson presiding.

Warrant was given to the Edinburgh Marine Gardens Limited for the erection of a bandstand and to G.A. Lazalar for a figure eight railway at the Marine Gardens, Portobello, but the application of John Henry Iles for a scenic railway there was defered.

In connection with the last named application, the Dean said that the Court would like Seafield Road to be made sixty feet wide. Either that or they would have to set back the scenic railway some twenty feet. If the Marine Gardens were to be a success there would be tramways along that way and that being so the Court could have nothing less than a sixty foot road.

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On 13 April the Licensing Court considered the application from the Marine Gardens.

What was proposed was a large restaurant, measuring 121 by 30 feet and additional refreshment rooms on the site. It was significant that there was to be no bar. The idea was to conduct the restaurant in the style of a continental cafe and to have tables outside.

Although the Gardens were only intended to be open during the summer season, the skating rink would be available all year and so it was intended that the catering facilities (and hence the licence to run them) should also be available for the full year.

It was confirmed that between £25,000 and £30,000 had already been spent on the development of the Marine Gardens and that over £5,000 had been spent on booking the musical entertainment for the coming season alone.

After debating the issues in private, the Court granted the licence. Immediately after the hearing, the Directors issued tenders for the entire Refreshment Catering, the advertisement appearing in the following day’s newspapers.

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In the run up to the great day, the Scotsman gave its readers a full description and background to the new venture.

The Edinburgh Marine Gardens occupied some 27 acres of land along the Craigentinny sea front. They lay between the east end of the Leith and Portobello Road and the Firth of Forth and were within twelve minutes run by tramcar of the General Post Office.



The formation of the gardens was a direct outcome of the success of the Scottish National Exhibition. Impressed with the fact that thousands of people desired recreation and amusement out of doors during the summer months, a Marine Garden Company was formed with a capital of £25,000. Ex Bailie Maxwell was chairman and several well known Edinburgh business men were on the directorate. They secured a lease of ground at Craigentinny at a moderate rent, they purchased the Concert Hall and the Art Gallery and other parts of the exhibition after it was closed and they retained the services of the architects of the exhibition, messrs Walker and Ramsay, Glasgow, to advise them as to the laying out of the grounds and the erection of the necessary buildings for the entertainment of the public.

A main avenue led from the entrance gate along the south side of the ground, which towards the fence had been banked and planted with trees.

The plan included a spacious sea front terrace, half a mile in length, from which a beautiful view of the Forth could be obtained. On the west was Inchkeith, on the north over the waters were the Fife shores and hills and eastward was the fine sweep of the coastline from Joppa to Gullane point, with the Bass Rock and Berwick Law closing in the view. Then southward, the lion aspect of Arthur Seat was prominent.

Those who knew the exhibition would recognise in the Marine Gardens many familiar features. The rallying point, as at Saughton, was a large central square, 300 feet across, with band stand, with bright vermilion dome rising in the middle of it. The square had been sunk five feet as a protection against wind and on the slopes were seats for 1500 persons. (The provision of high class music was an important part in the Marine Gardens scheme. Something like £6,000 had been earmarked for the bringing of the best available bands to the place during the season).



The chief buildings were grouped on the east and forming one composition were, in order, a spacious skating rink, a large promenade hall formed out of the steel skeleton of the Exhibition Art Gallery and, facing the square or overlooking the sea, a series of tea and refreshment rooms with open verandas. The skating rink, 305 feet in length and 115 feet in breadth had a maple floor space of 264 feet by 74 feet. On one side of the long sides were raised galleries with seats for 500 spectators and on the other a promenade for 1000 more. In the centre of the west wall an archway gave communication to the Promenade Hall, which was of similar dimensions to the rink. On the top of the arch was a band platform, so that the band could entertain at the same time the people on the rink and those in the Promenade Hall.

On the west side of the square were tea-rooms and the licensed luncheon and dining rooms, also the grand Concert Hall. It wascapable of holding 2700 people. In the Concert Hall string orchestras would perform and a high class vocal and variety entertainment would be given. At various parts of the grounds ornamental kiosks for the sale of confectionary, fruit, tobacco and postcards had been erected.

Further west was the Amusement Court. On the side next the roadway rose the huge construction of the Scenic Railway, on that beside the sea was the figure eight railway, while between them was Mr. Frank C. Bostock’s Jungle and American animal arena. It included several grand lions, with and without manes, the latter said to come from Tibet, tigers, wolves, bears black and white, hyenas, sloths, tapirs, kangaroos, dingos, elephants, camels and other beasts. The zoo was constructed on a novel principle for while the animals were all under cover, the front of their cages being protected by overhead wooden awnings, the visitors were in the open air. This obviated a disagreeable feature often present in badly ventilated menageries. In the centre was a large arena enclosed with a high iron grille to which at certain times of the day and evening the animals in turn would be taken from their respective cages. They would get there by means of a corridor with many ingenious safety contrivances in it, constructed at the back of the dens.

Among the side shows were the Hall of Laughter, the Johnstown Flood, the Mountain Slide, the River Caves of the World and a Buffalo Ranche in which several of these rapidly decreasing animals could be seen.

Beyond the Amusement Court was about five acres of still unoccupied land within the fence which would be used for sport and recreation.



The grounds would be lit at night with high pressure gas burned in lamps similar to those at the Exhibition. For the halls etc. as well as for decorative purposes outside the buildings, electric light would be used.

The management of the Marine Gardens was entrusted to Mr. William Holland, a gentleman who had large experience of the working of similar places of entertainment at Blackpool, Morecambe and New Brighton. The company retained in its own hands the licence for the supply of spirituous liquors but the whole of the catering otherwise had been put into the hands of Paul Troussier & Co, restaurateurs, 10 North St Andrew Street.

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After the wet opening day, the weather turned bright and sunny for the rest of the first week.

The Gardens attracted big crowds and every indication was that the venture was being met with due appreciation.

The good weather brought into prominence one of the chief assets of the promoters, the pleasant situation of the grounds and their proximity to the sea. ccording to the Scotsman correspondent, the deep marine blue of the sea made an admirable background for the white buildings with their red domes, while the turf and flowers added variety to the colour effect.

Music from various quarters provided an atmosphere of gaiety. There was the band in the large skating rink, which was thronged with skaters and spectators. On the Bandstand there was the band of the Royal Marines, who played attractive programmes of music in the afternoon and the evening, and in the Concert Hall, Herr Meny’s Viennese Band and concert artistes provided entertaining selections.

The mechanical features of the Gardens were well patronised. Amongst other attractions, the scenic railway was most popular. The railway had more than the ordinary claim to the term scenic for, in addition to the artificial scenery provided, it afforded from its topmost height a sweeping and exhilarating view of the coast and surrounding country.

Continuous entertainment was afforded from opening at noon until the closing hour of 10 p.m.

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Quite quickly the Marine Gardens became the place to go.

For example, on 23 June the delegates of the Imperial Press Conference had a busy day in Edinburgh.

In the morning they were entertained to breakfast in Edinburgh University Union. After driving round the city, in the course of which they visited a number of places of interest, they were the guests of the Corporation at luncheon in the Caledonian Station Hotel.

In the afternoon, after inspecting the offices of the Scotsman, they drove to Mortonhall, several miles from the centre of the city where they were entertained at a garden party by Mr. and Mrs. John R. Findlay. From Mortonhall they drove to the Marine Gardens, where they dined as the guests of the Directors of the Gardens at which Lord Dunedin was one of the speakers.

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Dissension broke out in the Gardens on 9 July 1909.

The trustees of the late Alex. Ferguson, confectioner, ask that the Edinburgh Marine Gardens Limited, Seafield Road, Portobello, should be stopped from erecting a building in the Gardens in such as position and of such a height as to obstruct or interfere with the business carried on by them in a kiosk at the south east corner of the band square.



In the run up to the opening of the Gardens in May 1909 Alex Ferguson purchased from the developers the exclusive right to sell sweetmeats within the Marine Gardens for three years. The terms were £500 down and £80 for the construction of each of the two kiosks. However, the Proprietors of the Gardens began to erect a tea room immediately to the west of the kiosk at the corner of the band square.

They denied that they were in breach of contract or that the building would interfere with the business carried on at the kiosk. They explained that the building was practically completed and that all that required to be done in order to make it entirely complete was to put in the windows, cover the roof with felt and paint the building.

Lord Skerrington refused an interim interdict. If, his Lordship said, the facts were as stated by the respondents he did not see what good interim interdict would do to either party. If it were to be operative at all would simply result in the owners of the Gardens being compelled to maintain an incompleted building. That might result in great pecuniary loss and would result in no advantage at all to the Alex Ferguson trustees because the appearance and business suitability of the kiosk would be just as much prejudiced by an incompleted building as it would be by a completed building.

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An unpleasant sensation was created in the interior of Mr. Bostock’s ‘Jungle’ at the Marine Gardens Portobello on 12 July, when the spectators around the arena became aware of a serious accident which had occurred behind the stage. On account of the occurrence the afternoon performance had to be abandoned.

It appears that about four o’clock a young lady animal trainer, Mademoiselle Alice, was about to enter the arena to perform with four panthers, when two of the animals refused to proceed beyond the passage to the stage. The young woman attempted to coax the animals forward, but her efforts proving fruitless, she cracked her whip. Almost immediately both panthers sprang at her and felled her to the ground.

She was struck heavily on the breast and her neck was clawed severely. Fortunately some of the male trainers were in the vicinity at the time and but for their prompt interference the young woman would undoubtedly have been torn to death.

The animals clawed viciously at the helpless woman, and for several minutes, despite the efforts of those who came to the rescue, kept her on the ground tearing at her clothes. A number of blank cartridges were fired from revolvers and the ferocious animals were eventually driven back to their cages, leaving the young performer bleeding profusely from several serious wounds. An examination showed a deep gash on the top of her head, a nasty wound on the left breast and two parallel injuries on the thigh.

The young woman was found to be unconscious and with all haste she was removed to a room near at hand where, pending the arrival of a medical man, her injuries were carefully attended to.

In carrying the performer to the adjoining room, the bearers had to pass in front of the audience, who meanwhile were awaiting the opening of the arena doors and the commencement of the performance. The appearance of the unconscious trainer, covered with blood, was the first intimation to the audience that anything untoward had occurred. They were deeply affected by the scene and quietly left their seats.

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