Henderson Street

Henderson Street is a street in Leith, a district of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. It forms a curving artery between Great Junction Street and an area known as the Shore, where the Water of Leith river runs into the Port of Leith/Leith Docks. Henderson Street lies within the boundaries of the Leith Conservation Area and includes several listed buildings.The street is named after John Henderson, M.D. (1819–1901), a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Provost of Leith from 1875-81. Dr. Henderson worked to secure the implementation of the Leith Improvement Scheme (see below) which ultimately led to the street being built.Construction and historyHenderson Street was built as part of the Leith Improvement Scheme, a Bill which became an Act of Parliament known as the Artisans and Labourers Dwellings Act, (Leith Improvement Scheme) in 1880. The construction of the street required that 18 pre-existing closes be demolished in order to make way for the new buildings and layout. At that time, housing conditions in this part of Leith were very poor. Housing was overcrowded, poverty and ill health were rife and infant mortality was particularly high. Consequently, it was hoped that the creation of Henderson Street would improve living conditions for the local residents.The street was set out to be 50 ft wide and made up predominantly of residential houses (these to be in the Scottish vernacular, Victorian Tenement style) and frequently including commercial/retail spaces at ground level.