A nostalgic tour of Northfield’s streets, people and milestones, from its 1920s birth to modern community highlights.
Set just two miles east of Edinburgh’s bustling centre and flanked by Portobello, the neighbourhood of Northfield has long been a quiet residential pocket. Its story begins in the early 1920s, when the city’s boundaries were controversially redrawn in 1920 to swallow the autonomous burgh of Leith, the seaside town of Portobello and parts of Midlothian.
Within this new envelope, planners embarked on a three-year programme, starting in 1921, to lay out a suburb that would later be celebrated for its generous spacing and unusually low building density.
The birth of a low-density suburb
Unlike most council housing schemes of the era, Northfield was not the brainchild of Edinburgh’s city architect. Instead, the commission was awarded to the distinguished local architect Reginald Fairlie who was assisted by the pragmatic firm Reid and Forbes. This private partnership produced a layout that feels spacious, a legacy many attribute to the fact that the land was effectively obtained at no cost.
The design emphasized detached houses set amid ample gardens, a stark contrast to the dense tenements typical of the capital. In the 1960s, a wave of modernist blocks rose at nearby Mountcastle, intended to replace temporary prefabricated structures, yet the original 1920s fabric remains largely intact today.
Landmarks and local legends
Northfield’s most celebrated native is world-champion boxer Ken Buchanan MBE. Born and raised in the suburb, Buchanan’s legacy was honoured with a statue erected outside the St James Quarter on Leith Street. He was able to witness the unveiling before his death in April 2023 at the age of 77, a moment captured by photographer Paul Reid. The area also inspired cultural output: in the 2010s, Edinburgh band The 10:04s released a song titled “Northfield,” echoing the community’s modest pride. Other memorable incidents include the fire that gutted the Barracuda fish-and-chip shop on Northfield Drive, an event documented by local photographer Jane Barlow.
Community milestones captured in photos
Beyond its famous son, Northfield’s archive is peppered with vivid snapshots of everyday life. In July 1963, the Northfield and Willowbrae Community Association’s Young Mothers Club presented a cheque to the Association for Handicapped Children, a gesture recorded by TSPL. Two decades later, in June 2001, the Liberton Northfield Nursery organised a sponsored toddle to raise funds for the UK charity Barnardo’s, again documented by TSPL. The suburb’s football spirit shone through in August 2016 when the Northfield Community Centre team signed a sponsorship deal with Watermans Accident Claims and Care; the signing ceremony featured club director Scott Bonar, Watermans’ Edinburgh office manager John Dillon, and team captain eight-year-old Adam O’Connor, as captured by Greg Macvean Photography. Even personal celebrations made the archive: a 1965 wedding at Liberton Northfield Parish Church, the Graham-Campbell union, offers a glimpse of post-war community life.
Northfield today: continuity and change
Most of the original houses still line the streets, their brick façades untouched since the early 1920s, providing a tangible link to the suburb’s origins. Modern amenities sit alongside historic structures, and the community continues to rally around local causes, as evidenced by recent charitable runs and sports sponsorships. The 26 curated photographs that accompany this article illustrate the evolution of a neighbourhood that, while modest in scale, has produced a world champion, inspired music, and fostered generations of civic engagement. Walking through Northfield now feels like flipping through a living album – each corner tells a story rooted in the city’s broader narrative of growth, identity, and resilience.
