Henrietta Johnston, my great-grandmother, was born on 13 February 1847 at 2 Nottingham Place. The street was in the Greenside area of the city, below Calton Hill, and is now part of Greenside Row, which runs from Leith Street around the back of the Omni Centre.
Greenside began as a working-class neighbourhood and small business district in the early 1800s. But by the middle of the century, it had become overcrowded and run-down. As more people moved to Edinburgh to escape poverty in the countryside, places like Greenside filled up quickly. The narrow streets were dark and cramped, and poor sanitation made it easy for disease to spread. Many tenements lacked basic amenities such as gas, running water, and toilets. The entire area was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the St James Centre and later the St James Quarter. Nearby, on Calton Hill, there are the remains of the “Carmelite Friary of Greenside” and the site of a 16th-century leper hospital. This is a fascinating account of the White Friars monastery and hospital.
Henrietta stayed in the area with her family and moved to 9 Greenside Place before marrying Johnathan Angus Barclay on 6 November 1868 at her home. According to the 1871 census, the family was living at 2 Drummond Street: Henrietta, her husband Johnathan, and their three-month-old son, John. They also had three lodgers living with them. Not long after John was born, the family moved back to Henrietta’s parents’ home in Greenside, where their daughter Clementina was born. It’s possible that Drummond Street was just too crowded for them.
By early 1877, the family had moved back across town to the Southside, specifically to 30 Buccleuch Street, where daughters Jan and Jessie were born. However, by 1881 they were living with Henrietta’s father, now a widower, at 20 New Baker’s Land in the Canonmills area of the city, close to the Water of Leith.
Henrietta’s husband, Johnathan, died in 1889. After that, she lived at 39 Barony Street with her son, Agnus, and her daughter, Henrietta, who was my grandmother. By 1921, she was living independently at 12 Nelson Street. A few years later, she moved to 10 Salisbury Street to live with her daughter Henrietta, her son-in-law William, and their children William and Jessie, who was my mum.
Henrietta Barclay died on 28 October 1930, at the age of 83, at 10 Salisbury Street.
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