Opening in 1867, Miller’s London Road foundry was a major employer in the Meadowbank district and the heavy din of iron working rang out for well over a century.
A thriving hub of industry at a time when Edinburgh more than earned its ‘Auld Reekie’ sobriquet, the iron foundry’s furnaces burned 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In the 19th century, the Moray Park maltings, Holyrood and Abbeyhill breweries and the railway were located near the foundry. The area’s population exploded, with many of the workers inhabiting the Abbeyhill Colonies.
