Lamb's House is a historic A-listed building in Leith, a northern district of the City of Edinburgh, Scotland, which has served as both a place of residence and warehouse.[1] The present house is an example of early-17th-century architecture typical of harbour towns around the North Sea.
The site was originally owned by Edinburgh merchant and shipowner Andrew Lamb. The Lamb family were reputed to have entertained Mary, Queen of Scots, somewhere nearby on her return from France in 1561. A contemporary record claims the young queen "remainit in Andro Lamb's hous be the space of an hour" while messages were sent to Edinburgh informing nobles of her return.[2] In January 1581 he was the owner of the Mary Grace, which was sailing to Flanders with Montbirneau, a servant of Esmé Stewart.[3] In November 1583 his passengers were an embassy to France led by Lord Seton with his son Alexander Seton and the architect William Schaw.[4]
Lamb's House is situated at the corner of Burgess Street and Water Street.
Lamb's House was a National Trust for Scotland property, used as a day centre for older people until it was sold to conservation architect Nicholas Groves-Raines and Kristin Hannesdottir in 2010.[5] The house has been sensitively restored to a dwelling set over four storeys, with commercial offices in a traditional style extension to the West and a neo-Georgian pavilion in the garden, which operates as a holiday let.[6] The building also houses the Consulate of Iceland in Edinburgh, with Kristin Hannesdottir serving as Honorary Consul.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Leith" (PDF). Visitscotland.com. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ "Troubled National Trust sells off Leith Landmark". Scotsman.com. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ William Boyd, Calendar of State Papers Scotland: 1574-1581, vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1907), p. 581.
- ^ William Boyd, Calendar of State Papers Scotland: 1581-1583, vol. 6 (Edinburgh, 1910), p. 649.
- ^ https://canmore.org.uk/site/51956/edinburgh-leith-19-water-street-lambs-house Canmore, National Record of the Historic Environment, retrieved 27 August 2023
- ^ Charlotte Fairbairn, House and Garden, 2022 https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/lambs-house-leith-restoration
- ^ "Embassy's Jurisdiction". Government of Iceland. Retrieved 8 September 2023.