On this day in 1548 a French army landed at Leith outside Edinburgh at the invitation of the Scottish Court after an English Invasion.
The first French troops arrived in Leith, soon to total 8,000 men commanded by André de Montalembert sieur d'Esse.The infant Queen Mary was removed to France the following month and the English cause was effectively lost. Most of their troops had left by the end of 1549. In the following years the French interest became dominant in Scotland with increasing numbers of French troops concentrated in Haddington, Broughty Castle, and Leith.
From 1548 onwards work began fortifying the port of Leith initially with a bulwark at the Kirkgate and at the chapel by the harbour.
