Editing Leith (section)

===1700s===
[[File:Royal Artillery at Leith Fort, 1846.jpg|thumb|left|Royal Artillery at Leith Fort, 1846]]
During the [[American War of Independence]] the Scot, [[John Paul Jones]], who, with [[John Barry (naval officer)|John Barry]], is credited as founder of the [[US Navy]], set sail on 14 August 1779 as commodore of a squadron of seven ships with the intention of destroying British commerce in the North Sea. He intended to capture the port of Leith and hold it for ransom, but his plan was thwarted when a gale on 16 September kept him at the mouth of the Firth of Forth. The scare he caused led to the hasty erection of Leith Fort, with a battery of nine guns, designed by [[James Craig (architect)|James Craig]], the architect of Edinburgh's New Town, and built in 1780. A Georgian terrace to the north-east served as officers' quarters, and was known as "London Row" because, being brick-built, it looked more like a London terrace than any in Edinburgh. The fort was in active use until 1955, latterly serving for [[National Service]] training. Most of the barracks were demolished to build a Council housing scheme centred on Fort House and enclosed by the old fort walls. The council development was an award-winning scheme in its day (1955), but the building was demolished in January 2013 and the site has been redeveloped with new low-density housing, again award-winning. A pair of the old fort's gatehouses survive at the southern entrance to the scheme.

From the twelfth century South Leith was part of the parish of [[Restalrig]] and had no church of its own. After the [[Scottish Reformation]] the principal parish [[kirk]] for Leith was South Leith Parish Church, originally constructed in 1483. In June 1811 a census gave the population of South Leith as 15,938; North Leith 4,875. With a procession and ceremony, the foundation stone of the new church for the parish of North Leith was laid on 11 April 1814.{{sfn|Gilbert|1901|pp=54, 58}}

[[File:George IV landing at Leith.JPG|thumb|King George IV landing at Leith]]
[[File:Leith Police Station, Constitution Street (former Town Hall), Edinburgh.jpg|thumb|[[Old Town Hall, Leith]], now a police station]]

Leith was the port of entry for the [[visit of King George IV to Scotland]], and ''The Old Ship Hotel and King's Landing'' was then given its new name, to mark the king's arrival by ship's boat at Leith ''Shore'' for this event, and this monarch was welcomed by the [[High Constabulary of the Port of Leith]]. A painting of the occasion hung in [[Old Town Hall, Leith|Leith Town Hall]], now Leith Police station.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wood|first=Andrew Dick|title=The High Constabulary of the Port of Leith; a short history.|date=1972|publisher=Macdonald Printers (Edinburgh) Ltd.|isbn=978-0-9502550-0-2|location=Loanhead|language=en|oclc=629063}}</ref>