There is still a North Clyde Street Lane that intersects with Edinburgh's Elder Street, even though no longer any Clyde street as such. This led me to the NLS map for 1852/3 which makes it clear that it was at that corner at the entrance to the bus statio.
Clyde Street in Edinburgh no longer exists, it was swept away when this part of town was cleared although a bit of Elder Street still does. The leech depot now underneath the bus station.
Yup.
Now there's an eerie thought: that there is STILL a residuum of leeches ready to be called out in an emergency, just waiting under the bus station.......
It was 1881. But I'm wondering if it could actually be Edinburgh? There is an adjoining Elder Street and North Clyde Street Lane just off St Andrews Square according to Google Maps.
I wonder when there stopped being enough in England for them to need to start importing them. Or were there always superior foreign leeches for the discerning?
There are quite a few references in the 19th century to leech shortages in Britain and imports from India, as well as Sweden. People were using them at an alarming rate!
Fascinating thanks! We had leeches at a reenactment earlier this year and I watched someone else get leeched. Volunteered myself but for some reason the little blighters wouldn’t stick, they wriggled around a bit and fell on the floor.
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https://digital.nls.uk/directories/browse/archive/83409068?mode=transcription
Now there's an eerie thought: that there is STILL a residuum of leeches ready to be called out in an emergency, just waiting under the bus station.......
McNinjas!
Could you add alt text to your images, please? There's an option to get a reminder to do it in settings > accessibility.