- Address
- How to get here
- Toilets
- Accessibility information
- Room description
- Sensory information
- Covid consciousness
- Contact us
Address:
Edinburgh Palette, St Margaret’s House, Room G25c, 151 London Road, Edinburgh, EH7 6AE
We’re open every Tuesday and Thursday between 11am and 4pm, and every second and fourth Sunday between 2pm and 4pm for Social Sunday. You don’t need to contact us in advance to visit – just pop in!
We know that St Margaret’s House is a confusing building, so if you’d like someone from our team to meet you at an entrance and show you where the archive is, let us know in your event booking form or email us on themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk before your visit.
If you have access requirements which mean it would be easier to visit outside of usual opening hours, we’re happy to arrange that.
How to get here
Our space is located in Edinburgh Palette, St Margaret’s House, Room G25c, 151 London Road, Edinburgh, EH7 6AE.
St Margaret’s House is managed by Edinburgh Palette/Scot-ART. It is a former office building in Meadowbank, with “ART” written on the side.
Buses:
Jock’s Lodge – 4, 5, X7, 26, X26, 44, X44, 45, 104, 113, 124
Coming from Portobello and Musselburgh:
From the bus stop on London Road, cross over at the pedestrian crossing and turn left and walk a short distance towards the city. On your right, you’ll see the entrance to St Margaret’s House marked with a large sign saying ART EDINBURGH PALETTE above the door.
Coming from Central Edinburgh:
From the bus stop, walk back towards the city beyond the pedestrian crossing. On your right, you’ll see the entrance to St Margaret’s House marked with a large sign saying ART EDINBURGH PALETTE above the door. (Meadowbank House is a separate building and not connected to us.)
The London Road entrance is not accessible for wheelchair users.
Press “Reception Gallery” at the door to enter and follow the arrow signs showing which way to go. Lavender Menace is in Room G25c, on the ground floor – the same floor when you enter the building from London Road.
Toilets
There are male and female toilets on the ground floor opposite the lifts. There is one cubicle in the ground floor toilets which has a handrail and slightly larger width (approx 130cm).
There is an accessible, gender neutral, single cubicle toilet on the basement level (accessible via stairs or lift).
Accessibility information
London Road entrance:
The front entrance to the building is from London Road. There are two flights of steps from London Road to the front door and therefore is not wheelchair accessible.
Once inside, go through the foyer and down the corridor with the lifts on your right. Go through the double doors and turn right. The archive is at the end of the corridor.
Click the images above to enlarge
Accessible entrance:
The accessible, level access entrance is located in the carpark at the back of St Margaret’s House, accessed via Restalrig Road South. This entrance can be accessed without a car but it can be challenging to navigate the car park independently. If you’d like one of our team to accompany you, let us know in your event booking form or email us on themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk before your visit.
St Margaret’s House is the second building in the car park, behind Meadowbank House. If you are travelling independently, cross the first car park and follow the road on the north side of St Margaret’s House with the railway line on your right. If you’re driving, follow the one-way system around the building to reach the rear entrance marked ART.
From the bus stop, turn right towards Portobello (away from the city centre). Turn left onto Restalrig Road South which is relatively steep. Take the first left into the Meadowbank House car park.
There are Blue Badge parking spaces close to the entrance which is wheelchair accessible.
Press ‘Reception Gallery’ at the door to enter. Just beyond the door are lifts to all floors.
Lavender Menace is in Room G25c, on the ground floor (indicated by floor 0 in the lift). Turn right out of the lift on the ground floor and follow the arrow signs showing which way to go.
This accessibility information was drawn up after consulting Robin Wickes from the Edinburgh Access Panel. We are grateful for their very helpful service.
These images show the route from Restalrig Road South. Click the images to enlarge.
Room description
The archive is approximately 5 metres squared (exact dimensions will be added here ASAP). Three of the walls are covered in bookshelves, and one of the walls contains artwork or and/or exhibition materials.
Usually we have two tables in the centre of the room, but it’s easy to move these if you need more space to move around. You can join our volunteers at the table to read or have a cuppa, or you can sit in the comfy reading chair.
When you arrive, one of our team will greet you and let you know more about the archive. We’ll offer you a cup of tea, coffee, or water, and usually some kind of sweet treat too. You can chat with us if you like, or peruse quietly.
Sensory information
Lighting: The archive has three windows which let in natural light and are covered with blinds and a rainbow pride flag. The room has overhead LED strip lights.
Sound: Edinburgh Palette hosts classes and meetings of all kinds and there may be unexpected noise or music from neighbouring rooms. We are next to a dance studio which can be loud on weekends and evenings. During visiting hours, our volunteers often chat about archival work so the archive can be quite loud at times.
Smell: We allow food and drinks in the archive – usually tea, coffee, cake and biscuits. Sometimes volunteers will eat lunch in the archive, and we usually check with each other if this would disturb anyone beforehand.
If you have specific sensory requirements, please let us know. We are happy to turn off the lights, have a quiet hour, and avoid eating/drinking if needed. Most of our team is neurodiverse, so we get it!
Covid consciousness
We are aware that covid-19 continues to spread in Scotland and beyond.
In order to limit the potential risk of covid and other viruses, the archive has an air purifier and we keep a window open. Masks are optional, we have a supply in the archive and many of our volunteers choose to wear masks.
We have run events before where masks are required and participants are asked to take a lateral flow test before attending. Please get in touch if you would like to request that a particular event requires guests to wear masks.
(Last updated: September 2024)
Contact us
Email: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk
If you have any questions or you’d like someone to meet you an one of the entrances for your visit, please let us know – we’d be happy to help.
If you have specific access requirements not covered here, please get in touch. If your access requirements mean it would be easier to visit outside of usual opening hours, we’re happy to arrange that.
