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The pub’s story
The Spylaw looks towards Colinton Dell from a conservatory behind its street-facing bar. An Alloa Brewery advertisement lists the Royal Scot at this address in 1992. A parish-archive account credits the Royal Scot with helping fund the brochure for Colinton's 1995 anniversary celebrations. A 2007 licensing list names the Spylaw Tavern here under the Sillars and Reilly partnership. By 2010, the pub was a regular annual sponsor of Edinburgh Monarchs speedway fixtures at Armadale. Local archivist Derek Douglas identifies old Colinton Dell Railway Inn lettering below the roofline. Colinton Village Enterprise records new ownership and a complete refurbishment in April and May 2019. The front bar leads towards dining booths and the garden-facing conservatory. Rotating cask ale and more than forty malt whiskies are advertised. At busy dining times, CAMRA warns that drinkers may have only six bar stools available. The kitchen closes at nine, before the bar.
What to notice
- 01
Old Colinton Dell Railway Inn lettering survives below the roofline.
- 02
Two white gabled dormers rise above the sandstone frontage and pale-green joinery.
- 03
The rear conservatory looks over the garden towards Colinton Dell.
The time rail
The building, the pub and its interior may date from different periods. The timeline keeps documented dates separate from tradition.
Alloa Brewery advertised the Royal Scot at 27 Spylaw Street among its Edinburgh pubs.
The Royal Scot helped fund the Colinton 900 community brochure, according to a later parish-archive account.
The premises were listed as Spylaw Tavern under the Sillars and Reilly partnership.
The Spylaw Tavern was a regular annual match sponsor for Edinburgh Monarchs speedway at Armadale.
Under new ownership, Spylaw Tavern underwent a complete refurbishment recorded by Colinton Village Enterprise.
Sources & confidence
An original 1992 brewery advertisement fixes the Royal Scot at this address. A later parish-archive account names it among sponsors of the 1995 Colinton 900 brochure; the retrospective account is available through a public full-text mirror. The 2007 licensing list records the Spylaw Tavern and Sillars-Reilly partnership. A contemporary 2010 Monarchs report establishes regular annual match sponsorship at Armadale, corroborated by the club's 2009 report. The 2019 community plan records new ownership and completed refurbishment. The operator and national CAMRA agree on all seven bar hours; CAMRA notes limited drink-only seating during busy dining. The 1874 railway date is not a pub foundation date, and ghost lettering does not indicate a haunting.
Research reviewed
- The Spylaw: current bar, restaurant and contact detailsThe Spylawofficial
SupportsCurrent identity at 27 Spylaw Street, EH13 0JT, telephone, family-run public drinks access, rotating cask ale, over forty malt whiskies, garden, Sunday quiz and kitchen closing at 21:00. Named-day opening is 10:00-23:00 Mon-Thu/Sun and 10:00-00:00 Fri-Sat.
- Spylaw, Edinburgh: CAMRA venue recordCAMRA Edinburgh and South East Scotlandspecialist
SupportsFront bar, rear booths, conservatory overlooking garden and Colinton Dell; former Spylaw Tavern, Royal Scot and Colinton Dell Railway Inn names, with no transition dates. Current named-day hours match the operator. The 1874 logo refers to the railway station, not a pub foundation. Current frontage photograph.
- CVE 2019 business plan, page 20Colinton Village Enterprise, council-hostedgovernment
SupportsPage 20 reports Spylaw Tavern under new ownership and undergoing complete refurbishment in April/May 2019. The subject of the overall project is the neighbouring Shed, not the pub.
- Local Ghost Signs and Forthcoming Meetings, November 2025Derek Douglas, Colinton Local History Society, in C&B Newsheritage
SupportsLocal archivist identifies surviving Colinton Dell Railway Inn lettering below The Spylaw roofline. Printed page 17, PDF page 9. This records surviving signage, with no application or pub-opening date; it is not a haunting.
- The Spylaw: exact OpenStreetMap node 699641779OpenStreetMap contributorsappearance
SupportsExact named pub node at 27 Spylaw Street, EH13 0JT, 55.9076779,-3.2582348. Point checked within the premises building against retained street and building geometry. Does not establish building age, hours or ownership.
- Alloa Brewery advertisement, Edinburgh Festival programme 1992Alloa Brewery Company; archive of Pina Bauscharchive
SupportsPDF page 39 names Royal Scot at 27 Spylaw Street among Alloa pubs. Programme year supported internally on page 34. Establishes named trading premises by 1992, not first opening or construction.
- Licensing Lists, 10 October 2007, public-house entry 349Marchmont and Sciennes Community Council, reproducing licensing listgovernment
SupportsContemporary community-council reproduction lists27 Spylaw Street as Spylaw Tavern, entry 349, with R G Sillars, L J Reilly and C P Sillars partnership. Establishes name/operator phase by October 2007, not the rename date. The listed extended permitted hours are historical licensing entries, not current opening hours.
- Colinton 900 revisited, Colinton News 396, December 2022/January 2023, pp10-11Lawrence Mackie / Colinton Parish Church; public Scribd mirrorheritage
SupportsLawrence Mackie's parish-archive account on printed pp10-11 identifies the Royal Scot, explicitly now Spylaw Tavern, among businesses funding the brochure for the 1995 Colinton 900 celebrations. The article states it draws on parish photographs and paperwork. Public full-text HTML preview was actually opened and captured; the original publisher PDF and underlying 1995 records were not inspected. Uploader identity is not established. This supports an attributed anniversary-publication contribution, not the date/amount of payment or hosting the celebrations.
- Our Premier League campaign starts, 27 April 2010Mike Hunter / Edinburgh Monarchsofficial
SupportsContemporary club release dated 27 April 2010 identifies the Spylaw Tavern of Colinton as the regular annual match sponsor, naming Ross Sillars and party, for the forthcoming 30 April fixture at Armadale. The retrospective regular-annual wording establishes a sporting relationship by 2010. It does not establish the first sponsorship year, a permanent sponsorship, or speedway racing at the pub. The separately retained 2009 club release corroborates the same relationship, not a second chronology event.
