John Paul Jones View.

In the midst of a new housing estate, these buildings are all that remain of the Leith Fort, designed by the architect James Craig.

They tell of the time that the Port of Leith fell under the guns of John Paul Jones aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard during the American Revolutionary War in the Summer of 1779, with the Fort constructed as a result of the panic caused by the American warship in the run-up to the action against the Royal Navy at the Battle of Flamborough Head on September 23rd of that year. He aimed to capture the port of Leith and hold it for ransom, but by chance a gale on September 16th prevented him from reaching the port, and he was stalled at the mouth of the Firth of Forth.

Now all that remain are the Guard House and the Entrance Gate and the street names to remind us of when the tides of history rolled into the neighbourhood.