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The pub’s story
At 25 Forrest Road in Old Town, Sandy Bell's occupies the ground-floor public house within HES's Category C listing for 7-25 odd-numbered Forrest Road. HES describes the range as R Thornton Shiells's 1872 work, while an earlier building to the north was incorporated and altered in 1891; because the record does not number that component, neither date is assigned specifically to No. 25. The venue describes an earlier shop phase and says the bar was the Forrest Hill Buffet by the 1920s. It attributes sessions to 1942; Time Out separately reports folk music in the 1940s. A 1988 ethnographic thesis says the Forrest Hill Bar was a musicians' gathering place by 1961 and was already familiar as Sandy Bell's. The sources place it in the 1960s revival, while Edinburgh Folk Club records its early-1970s links and Broadsheet. The venue attributes formal adoption of Sandy Bell's to the early 1990s. HES listed the range at Category C on 29 March 2001 and specifically records the bar interior; CAMRA separately rates it two-star. Nightly, participatory and unpredictable sessions continue.
Literary connections
Each note states whether the link comes from a writer’s own words, a fictional setting, a commemorative name or a venue tradition.
Hamish Henderson
1950s-1990s
University of Edinburgh material documents Henderson in Sandy Bell’s and describes the pub as his ‘second office’. The connection reflects a working folk-revival meeting place, rather than a claim that every session was led by him.
- Hamish Henderson at 100 University of Edinburgh archive material including Henderson at Sandy Bell’s.
- A memorial plaque for Hamish Henderson University of Edinburgh account describing Sandy Bell’s as his ‘second office’.
The Scottish folk revival
20th century-present
Sandy Bell’s is a long-running place for participatory folk sessions, closely associated with Henderson’s collecting and advocacy work. That makes it a living cultural setting, not a museum reconstruction or a guarantee of a particular performer on a given night.
- Hamish Henderson archive record University archive context for Henderson’s School of Scottish Studies work.
- Music Sessions Current venue account of the participatory session tradition.
Hamish Henderson commemorative bust
Current interior
A Hamish Henderson bust is reported among the pub’s commemorative material. It is a useful detail to ask staff about, but its precise position and availability to view can change.
- Discover Edinburgh’s 101 Objects, one pub at a time Trade-source report identifying a Henderson bust at Sandy Bell’s.
What to notice
- 01
Outside, read the surviving Forrest Hill Bar ghost lettering separately from the current Sandy Bell's name.
- 02
Inside, distinguish retained fittings from recorded change: the old gantry and counter, vestibule, covered fireplace and pedimented arch sit beside a glass counter panel and a rear room extended into a passage.
- 03
Treat the music as a participatory pub session, not a fixed stage show: sessions run nightly but vary, and the venue asks visitors to seek permission before photographing musicians.
The time rail
The building, the pub and its interior may date from different periods. The timeline keeps documented dates separate from tradition.
HES describes the principal 7-25 Forrest Road range as R Thornton Shiells's work.
HES says an earlier building to the north was incorporated and altered by R Thornton Shiells and Thomson.
The official history says the operating bar was known as the Forrest Hill Buffet.
The venue attributes the beginning of traditional music sessions to this year.
A 1988 ethnographic thesis says the Forrest Hill Bar had become a musicians' and singers' gathering place.
The official history says the exterior sign still read Forrest Hill Bar.
Edinburgh Folk Club records that its founders met at Sandy Bell's while developing the club.
The venue attributes formal adoption of the Sandy Bell's exterior name to this period.
The statutory 7-25 odd-numbered Forrest Road range, including No. 25, was listed at Category C.
CAMRA rates the historic interior two-star for very special national importance.
Sources & confidence
LB47863 places No. 25 inside the statutory 7-25 odd-numbered Forrest Road range, records Category C status from 29 March 2001 and specifically describes Sandy Bell's bar. HES dates the wider range to 1872 and says an earlier north building was incorporated and altered in 1891, but does not number that component as No. 25; both dates remain block context, not pub construction dates. The venue and Time Out report earlier shop and 1920s bar use, but no property-specific contemporary record was obtained. The exact 1942 session date remains venue-attributed; Time Out separately reports only the 1940s and is not independent underlying evidence. A 1988 University of Edinburgh thesis anchors the Forrest Hill Bar as a musicians' gathering place, familiar as Sandy Bell's, by 1961. Edinburgh Folk Club's reminiscence originated in 2003, was updated for 2013 and again in 2015, supporting early-1970s club and Broadsheet links. The venue alone dates the formal rename to the early 1990s; barman lore remains rejected. CAMRA supports the two-star rating, fittings, alterations, ghost lettering and current music pattern. Phone, website and hours were corroborated on 12 August 2026.
Research reviewed
- Edinburgh, 25 Forrest Road, Sandy BellsHistoric Environment Scotland / trove.scotarchive
SupportsNRHE identity for Sandy Bell's at 25 Forrest Road, public-house classification in the nineteenth century, site identifiers and mapped coordinates. It does not date the surviving bar fittings, the Forrest Hill names or the music sessions.
- Sandy Bell's, EdinburghCAMRAspecialist
SupportsCurrent name, address, phone, linked official website and corroborating hours; two-star National Inventory status; old gantry, counter, vestibule, covered fireplace, pedimented arch, later counter-panel and rear-room changes; Forrest Hill Bar ghost signs and current music pattern. CAMRA's interface displays Listed status 'Not listed', but this conflicts with authoritative HES designation LB47863; CAMRA is not used to determine statutory status. Visitor details are mutable.
- HistorySandy Bell'sofficial
SupportsFirst-party history of shop use, the Forrest Hill Buffet and Forrest Hill Bar identities, Mrs Bell, popular Sandy Bell's usage, Jimmy Cairney and the folk-revival period, plus the early-1990s formal name change. It is retrospective and does not independently prove the exact 1920s chronology or the disputed origin of 'Sandy'.
- Music SessionsSandy Bell'sofficial
SupportsFirst-party claim that traditional sessions began in 1942, current nightly-session identity, the variable participatory character of sessions and visitor etiquette. The exact 1942 date is not independently established by a primary contemporary record.
- Opening TimesSandy Bell'sofficial
SupportsCurrent operator-controlled bar hours, address and telephone number checked on 12 August 2026. Hours and contact details may change.
- A contextual study of singing in the Fisher familyUniversity of Edinburgh Research Archivearchive
SupportsStephanie Deborah Ladd Smith's 1988 ethnographic thesis and oral history of the Scottish folk revival states that, by the time the Howff ceased in 1961, the Forrest Hill Bar was known to folk enthusiasts as Sandy Bell's and had become a gathering place whose pub-session tradition continued. This is retrospective oral-history evidence, not a licensing or directory record.
- A history of Edinburgh Folk ClubEdinburgh Folk Clubspecialist
SupportsJean Bechhofer's personal reminiscence for Edinburgh Folk Club originated in 2003, was updated for the club's 40th anniversary in 2013, and the page states it was updated in 2015 from the original. It records that the early-1970s founders met at Sandy Bell's while the pub was officially called the Forrest Road Bar and created the Sandy Bell's Broadsheet alongside the club. It speaks to the club scene, not earlier pub ownership.
- SANDY BELL'STime Outeditorial
SupportsKeith Davidson's 11 January 2017 profile separately reports an Old Town venue, earlier shop use, bar use since at least the 1920s, folk music since the 1940s, a key 1960s revival role and continuing sessions. Its underlying provenance for the early dates is not exposed, so it is not counted as independent historical evidence.
- 7-25 (Odd Nos) Forrest Road (LB47863)Historic Environment Scotlandheritage
SupportsStatutory address 7-25 odd-numbered Forrest Road includes No. 25; Category C designation LB47863, added 29 March 2001; R Thornton Shiells's 1872 range; an earlier north building incorporated and altered in 1891 by Shiells and Thomson; a ground-floor public house; and a Sandy Bell's-specific interior. HES controls statutory status over CAMRA's conflicting 'Not listed' display. The record does not explicitly number the earlier north building as No. 25, so neither 1872 nor 1891 is assigned as the pub premises' construction date.
