A low grass-covered mound. That’s Lady Fife’s Brae. Right here before you. It doesn’t look like much does it? Just a gentle rise in the Leith Links. But this seemingly unremarkable hill holds a secret. A story whispered through the centuries.
Lady Fife’s Brae is more than just grass. It’s a relic of a brutal siege. A siege of Leith in 1560. A conflict between the English and Scottish Protestants. They fought against the Catholic French forces. These forces supported the Queen Regent Marie de Guise-Lorraine. Lady Fife’s Brae was once Pelham’s Battery. Five cannons thundered from its slopes. They aimed at the heart of Leith.
The tradition linking Lady Fife’s Brae to this siege is surprisingly recent. It didn’t appear until 1827. Before that people didn’t think of it as a battery. It was just a mound. A low hillock among many. But thanks to the Ordnance Survey of 1852. This mound and another were saved. They were spared from the levelling of Leith Links in the 1880s. Many other similar hillocks disappeared. These two mounds are scheduled monuments today. They stand as silent witnesses.
Imagine the scene. The air thick with smoke. The roar of cannons. Soldiers scrambling for cover. The ground trembling beneath the force of explosions. The Countess of Fife lived nearby in Hermitage House. That’s how the mound received its name. This battery is just one small part of a larger story. A story of religious conflict and political upheaval.
Lady Fife’s Brae may appear insignificant. It’s a small mound of earth and grass. But it speaks volumes. It speaks of battles fought. Of lives lost. Of a city’s struggle for survival. It’s a testament to history’s enduring power. A power that shapes even the smallest hill. And it’s a reminder of the battles that shaped Edinburgh and Scotland itself. So next time you stroll through Leith Links. Take a moment to reflect on Lady Fife’s Brae. Remember the thunder of its cannons. Remember the stories it holds.