121 Rose Street, Edinburgh

[sonofthom]

I am trying to find information about this building in Victorian times. I know that 34 people lived there in 1861 but I don't know whether this was crowded (as I suspect) or relatively spacious. It probably depends on how many storeys there were and for an earlier Rose Street building (there is now a relatively new building on this site) this may only have been two storeys. Does anyone know the answer or can they point me to where I can find photos of this building as was.

[JJen]

In the Edinburgh Evening News 04 September 1897 there is an advert for lodgings for two young men at 121 Rose Street, Edinburgh.

Therefore it would appear at that time the building was used as lodgings.

JJ

[Rosinish]

Sorry I'm not of much help but...

Valuation Rolls (SP)

1855 there were 6 named Tenant/Occupiers & 6 named Proprietors some of who's families may have been Tenants?

1865 there were 9 Tenant/Occupiers & 5 Proprietors ditto?

They may have been what were classed as a Room & Kitchen ie. would have been heavily overcrowded for families?

Annie

[MonicaL]

The 1861 census actually shows 109 entries at that address, mostly family households with some showing boarders or lodgers living with them. Certainly a multi occupancy building.

Monica

[sonofthom]

Thanks all. Monica, I have rechecked the three pages on Scotland's People that cover this address and I can still see only 34 people listed so I am not sure how you calculate it as 109. Am I missing something?

[Akwaba2018]

The whole of Rose Street was originally two storeys and at one valuation there were 9 houses with a similar number of tenant/occupiers at 121.   You can find a couple of photographs of the original type of building at geograph.org.uk under Rose Street Edinburgh.

[hanes teulu]

I had a look at PO Directories, Edinburgh

https://www.nls.uk/family-history/directories/post-office/

Only Ann Dow and David Honeyman listed in the 60/61 directory

[MonicaL]

Thanks all. Monica, I have rechecked the three pages on Scotland's People that cover this address and I can still see only 34 people listed so I am not sure how you calculate it as 109. Am I missing something?

Ancestry and Findmypast let you search the Scottish census by address. Unfortunately, SP doesn't. You can only search on SP with County/City and District.

For 1861, the address shows as '121 Rose St', St Andrews (reg district) and Edinburgh St George (civil parish).

Doing this search on a/try is what showed for me a total of 109 entries.

Monica 

[sonofthom]

Monica, Thanks again. I am genuinely taken aback by your response. I had always assumed that if I found an address in the census on SP, usually by searching for a specific name, that the result plus if appropriate, the pages on either side would give me the full list of inhabitants of that address. I am still unclear as to why this is not the case but it is now obvious that anyone living in 121 Rose Street in 1861 was living in somewhat crowded accommodation and I would suggest in rather straitened circumstances. This is what I have been trying to establish.

Unfortunately I don't have subscriptions to the two sites you mention but I am delighted that you have disabused me of a long standing wrong assumption on my part. Every day really is a learning day! Thanks, Alex.