An resident in Edinburgh has uncovered vintage video footage of Niddrie and Craigmillar filmed in 1998 – giving a fascinating look into the area’s not-so-distant past.
Billy McKirdy took the video as a visual record of the streets at the time while studying an HNC in Public Arts Project Management. As reported by Edinburgh Live, he wanted to preserve the area before much of the neighbourhood’s existing housing stock was demolished.
The clip is filmed outside a car window that weaves up and down residential streets. Along Niddrie Mains Road, the video captures iconic local haunts such as The White House and the Castle Tavern – which was known for the peculiar sight of a three-legged German Shepherd which prowled its rooftop and barked at passers-by.
Locals will notice the Kwik Save which was located in the area before the convenience store chain went out of business in 2007. Craigmillar Castle is also captured, although the centuries-old structure looks much the same as it does today.
The streets are noticeably quieter with fewer cars and pedestrians alike and the video’s grainy quality lends the film a nostalgic air that will be striking to any lifelong Niddrie and Craigmillar resident. Billy commented on the bygone version of Niddrie and Craigmillar from 26 years ago.
He said: “The mix of public and private housing has been the most notable change in the area, from a community that was overwhelmingly social housing that situation has changed completely, the result is that many people brought up in the area are now unable to secure a move back into the community, I do think the change in the mixture of housing has been a positive thing.
“The vast majority of the council housing has disappeared, the street layouts and indeed the street names have changed too. The familiar faces of the people who used to live here that are no longer around.”
He also spoke to how the film’s emotional tug for those who remember the area in time gone by, saying: “It makes me feel very nostalgic, things are different now and in many ways better but conversely I can say the same about the past as well.”
Billy is now part of an archive team at Craigmillar Now that is creating a digital archive of the community’s past.
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