It’s said that certain smells can elicit waves of nostalgia, taking you back to a specific time and place in the past.
That’s especially true in Edinburgh, the city famously referred to as Auld Reekie, where generations of us grew up sucking in all manner of industrial odours back in the day.
During much of the 20th century the capital’s commercial interests revolved around banks, books, biscuits and beer, and it was the manufacture of the latter three things that lent certain districts of Edinburgh their own unique aroma.
READ MORE: Historic Edinburgh brewery announces sad closure due to 'financial difficulties'
For decades, entire streets in working class areas such as Fountainbridge, Gorgie and Leith were defined by the pungent smell of brewing, distilling and biscuit making that filled the air. Deindustrialisation in recent decades, however, has taken a can of Febreze to the capital’s most notorious odours, with scores of factories around Edinburgh having bit the dust.
The loss of familiar scents has been hard to accept for many locals who quite liked the fact that they evoked fond childhood memories. Others, meanwhile, are over the moon that they no longer need to clutch their nostrils every time they open their front door.
We take a look back at eight once familiar Edinburgh odours that have been lost to progress.
Fountain brewery
It’s well-known that Edinburgh was once a brewing powerhouse, with dozens of breweries in operation once upon a time. Few, however, were as famous as the Fountain Brewery.
The huge beer-making facility dominated Fountainbridge for decades and kept thousands in work - it also smelled to high heavens.
The unmistakable hoppy smell of brewing hung over Fountainbridge like a cloak until the brewery’s closure in 2004.
Murchie’s dairy
The good people of Tollcross were no strangers to the stench of sour milk back in the day thanks to Murchie’s Edinburgh creamery at Lochrin Place. The dairy churned out countless bottles of the white stuff until putting a lid on operations in the early 1980s.
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Cox’s glue works
This really is as awful as it sounds. While modern glues are produced synthetically, Cox’s glue and gelatine works at Gorgie Mills used natural sources. The stench of boiled animal bones, skins and gums assaulted the nostrils of Gorgie Road and Westfield residents for generations.
Grove Street stables
Before Scotmid came along, Edinburgh locals shopped at the St Cuthbert Co-operative Society. As well as running numerous shops and grocery stores, the city institution conducted daily milk deliveries and had a large stables at Grove Street. The city centre stables was home to dozens of horses, and the smell, as many former residents will attest, was overpowering during the summer months.
Meadowbank speedway
The high-octane thrill of the speedway at Meadowbank was hugely popular with locals in the 1950s and '60s, but the distinctive whiff of motorbike exhaust along with the Edinburgh Monarchs speedway team would disappear from the area following the demolition of the old stadium. The Edinburgh Monarchs subsequently relocated to Powderhall and are now based at Armadale, West Lothian.
Leith biscuit factory
The buttery smell of biscuits being made at the Crawfords factory in Anderson Place was a familiar smell for Leithers back in the day. While it no longer produces digestives, custard creams, ginger nuts and shortbread, the old factory is still with us and operates as an events space, the aptly-named Biscuit Factory.
The Caley kitchens
For many years people waiting at the bus stop on Lothian Road would be treated to the smells of whatever happened to be on the hobs at the time at the Caledonian Hotel. Extractor fans used to waft cooking smells from the Caley's kitchens right into our hooters. Head along here today though and the smell is all but gone, which is rather odd since the Caley's kitchens are very much still with us.
Duncan's chocolate factory
Up until the 1990s, residents of Powderhall and Canonmills were familiar with the sickly sweet aroma of Duncan's chocolate factory at Beaverhall Road. According to some long-term residents, however, this wasn't nearly as pleasant a smell as it might first sound, with many put off chocolate for life!
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