Queensferry in times gone by.

This post contains a small selection of the many postcards from the past showing Queensferry. One or two of them look rather odd.

An attractive postcard showing the Hawes Inn to start off with. The horse-drawn coaches look as if they are about to return to Edinburgh. The photograph would have been taken around 1900 to 1905.

An image from the other end of the town. The building on the extreme right was the “wee school”, which was an offshoot of the main school on Burgess road. Girls would walk down from to the “wee school” for housewifery lessons. The remains of the building now house the library. Notice how everyone is staring at the camera. Priory cottage is in the centre of the picture behind the two men with the horse.

Back to the east end of town. The Sealscraig hotel can be seen in the centre with Galloway’s pier on the extreme right. The photograph appears to have been taken from McIvor’s brae and the corner of the “brickies” can be seen on the extreme left.

The Loan no longer looks like this, but it is still recognisable. Notice the school buildings on Burgess road and the condition of the playing field in Burgess park. It is thought that a local amateur football club “the Bellstane Birds” played their home games here and there is what appears to be a set of goalposts at the far end.

This is a view of the High Street. Notice the absence of cobbles. None of the images of Queensferry in times gone by show cobbles. Those that are on the High Street now (and make walking so difficult) are quite new.

A very pretty image. It seems to have been taken from the Catholic church overlooking the Loan. Galloway’s pier can be seen (partially obscured by the clock tower).

Another pretty picture. One of the highlights of a superb walk around Dundas Castle.

A really interesting view of Queensferry harbour taken at a time when Queensferry had fishing boats. Take a good look at the Forth Bridge in the background. It looks odd, almost as though it has been drawn onto the picture.

This picture of the harbour shows something similar.

All of these pictures are instantly recognisable and, at the same time, totally different. According to the 1901 census, the population of Queensferry was 970 and in 1951 it reached 2400. Today the population is around the 12,000 mark – and it is rising all the time.

Since 2012 developers have been given approval to build some 2200 new houses at various locations around Queensferry and Dalmeny. All of the residents of these houses will have something to contribute to life in Queensferry.