The Sikh Temple – Edinburgh

Our community development in Edinburgh began in 1958 with small family groups relatively from the same area in Punjab. Their initial stop was London from which they travelled to various parts of Scotland eventually settling in Edinburgh. Leith, Hamilton St, Wilkie place, Springfield St and ST Mary’s St were the main areas of our residence. As is norm with a Sikh community a place of worship is an essential part of our life. A Sikh place of residence will always have a dedicated place of worship. As a community develops the want for a common place of worship becomes a need. The Sikh place of worship is known as The Gurdwara and not Temple as it is commonly mistaken. Translated, Gurdwara means the ‘doorway to the Guru’. The word ‘Guru’ means ‘that which is takes fro darkness (gu) to light (ru)’. In 1964 The first Gurdwara in Edinburgh was established at 7 Hopefield Terrace, Leith, Edinburgh. The house belonged to two brothers, Gholu S Roudh and Mangal S Khanda Roudh, who donated the property to be used as a Gurdwara by the Sikh community. It was a top floor flat with a kitchen, 2 bedrooms and a sitting room. The wall between the sitting room and a bedroom was removed to create a space of worship approximately 28sq yds.