For a short time, the reception at our St Nicholas Court sheltered housing development is displaying a curious item discovered in 2024 in North Leith Parish Church.
The label reads: “A bottle found in the foundations of the old Free Church North Leith upon it being taken down June 1876.”
The ‘Old Free Church North Leith’ was built in 1844 by defecting members and elders of the Madeira Street congregation. It was only a few hundred yards away, at the corner of Coburg Street and North Junction Street. According to the label, the bottle was put into the foundations and was found when demolished in 1876.
From there, presumably, it was taken to the Free Church’s newer and larger building at 74 Ferry Road that had been built in 1871. There was no record where it was kept, but all the indications are that it was never cleaned, and it was kept in darkness.
The congregation closed in 1981, and the building was demolished. The congregation merged with North Leith and Bonnington church on Madeira Street, and again, presumably, the bottle was taken with the congregation.
The church on Madeira Street was emptied in 2024, when this bottle was discovered again at the back of a cupboard. The congregation has merged with South Leith Church in the Kirkgate and the bottle after a time will be displayed in its new home. Is it possible that it was made in one of Leiths glass furnaces in Salamander Street? And if so, it has never left Leith!
In almost two centuries the bottle has travelled only a few hundred yards. You can read more about its story on The Leither Magazine’s website.
For now, we have the bottle proudly displayed in our reception for a short time, back to the grounds of the church where it was kept in 1871.