The pigeons return

This was originally a dovecot attached to Lochend castle and is depicted in a contemporary map of the 1560 siege of Leith.

It was converted into kiln for disinfection of the wealthy people of Edinburgh and Leith's clothes during the plague of 1645, by the addition of a raised masonry collar above the original building.

In 1852 a large entrance was cut into the south side of the building and it was used as a boat-house by the Royal Humane Society.

More recently, the pigeons have returned, although in smaller numbers than the estimated original population of over 1,000 birds.