Adagio Edinburgh teams up with Cyrenians to celebrate the legacy of hospitality at the Old Sailor’s Ark

Adagio Edinburgh Royal Mile, has launched a charity partnership with Cyrenians, a charity which works with those in Edinburgh and Scotland who have been excluded from family, home, work or community on their life journey.

The partnership follows the launch of the Adagio’s ‘Old Sailors Ark’ campaign, to gather memories and photos to celebrate the impact the Old Sailor’s Ark had on the city and its people, particularly in the early 20th century and on to the post-war era when 1 million meals a year were served to hungry Edinburgh families.

The partnership will see the Adagio team actively raising funds to support the work of Cyrenians in Edinburgh, including installing donation boxes for locals and those staying at the Adagio to offer their support to the great work of the charity.

On 18th May, Adagio will unveil an exhibition of photography by Patrick Keast, a local man who got himself back on his feet with the support of Cyrenians and along the way picked up a camera to record the city and people around him. Patrick photographed the city that he saw on his way to and from rehab appointments. Patrick will unveil a new collection of photos of Edinburgh with proceeds from the sale of prints going to Cyrenians, the charity that helped him regain control of his life.

In addition, Adagio has pledged to host an annual summer BBQ in the square behind the Adagio, inviting Edinburgh families and those in need to enjoy some local hospitality and continue the work that the old sailor, Captain Charles Taylor, started more than 80 years ago. Adagio will also work with Cyrenians to host a food education session as part of Cyrenians’ Homelessness Prevention Service, offering families living on small budgets education and tips to help them to find ways to stretch their income and feed their families filling and nutritious food.

For nearly 50 years, Cyrenians has served those on the edge, working with the homeless and vulnerable to transform their lives by beginning with their story, helping them believe that they can change their lives, and walking with them as they lead their own transformation.

The partnership was inspired by the history of the Old Sailor’s Ark building which now houses the Adagio Edinburgh. In 1911 an old sailor, Captain Charles Taylor of the Merchant Navy, died leaving instruction in his will for a sum of money to be devoted to the welfare of the poor, a cause he held dear to his heart during his life. His instructions were for the money to be left to accumulate until is reached a substantial amount, which it did in 1932, then amounting to £91,000.

The money was spent, as per his instructions, on building the Old Sailor’s Ark on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile in 1936, with the sole intention of providing cheap meals to the deserving poor of Edinburgh.

Adagio Edinburgh Royal Mile, which has opened inside Edinburgh’s renowned Old Sailor’s Ark building on the Royal Mile, has launched a campaign to gather memories and photos to celebrate the impact the Old Sailor’s Ark had on the city and its people, particularly in the early 20th century and on to the post-war era.

To share your memories, please email sailorsark@mason-williams.com or message the team via Facebook