| St Leonard's | |
|---|---|
 Dalkeith Road at St Leonard's, looking north | |
  St Leonard's Location within the City of Edinburgh council area  St Leonard's Location within Scotland | |
| Population | 5,385 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | EDINBURGH |
| Postcode district | EH8 |
| Postcode district | EH9 |
| Dialling code | 0131 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
St Leonard's is a neighbourhood of south-central Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. Once notable as a centre of industry, it is now primarily residential.
The area takes its name from the mediaeval hospital of St Leonard, which stood on St Leonard's Hill on the edge of Holyrood Park. The hospital had fallen out of use by the mid-17th century but, by the middle of the following century, a small village had developed on the east side of the road between Edinburgh and Dalkeith. One prominent house built in this time, Hermits and Termits, survives. In 1831, the Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway opened its northern terminus at St Leonard's. Later in the 19th century, businesses including Thomas Nelson & Sons publishers and J. & G. Stewart distillers established manufacturing operations in St Leonard's. Industry declined throughout the 20th century with the station and Nelson's Parkside Works closing in 1968. In this period, abortive plans to demolish much of the area in favour of a ring road led to "planning blight" and the destruction of many older properties. Since the 1970s, however, St Leonard's has been redeveloped as a residential neighbourhood.
St Leonard's is the site of the University of Edinburgh's Pollock Halls of Residence, including the Confucius Institute of Scotland. The Royal Commonwealth Pool – used in the 1970, 1986 and 2014 Commonwealth Games – is located here, as is St Leonard's Police Station. Until 2020, Scottish Widows was headquartered in St Leonard's.