First established in 1968, Leith Civic Trust's mission was to provide a body to stimulate public interest in, and care for, the beauty, history and character of Leith, encouraging preservation and the thoughtful development of historic features for public benefit.
‍
In the following decades we campaigned to save The King's Wark and Pilrig House, undertook an Open Spaces review to understand and offer constructive suggestions for recreational spaces, spearheaded 'Clean Up Leith' projects which have been continued by other bodies since, and was one of a group of organisations who supported the hugely successful Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race which saw tens of thousands of people flock to Leith for this landmark event in 1995. In 2020 the Trust was a partner in the Leith 100 Days project marking the centenary of the forced amalgamation of Leith and Edinburgh, and which can be found on the Leith Forever website.

The Trust was an early supporter of the campaign for a museum for Leith, and along with many others, actively championed the purchase of Custom House as a venue for this.
‍
Scottish Historic Buildings Trust (SHBT) was tasked with not only maintaining Custom House from 2015 onwards, but also establishing the plan for a dedicated museum space within a restored building. In 2024, SHBT unveiled the plans for Custom House's restoration and transformation, and as part of this, Leith Civic Trust became a community partner of the project.
Leith Civic Trust will advise and support SHBT, as well as developing a Friends of Leith Museum scheme and associated activities including events and volunteering.

Through opportunities, challenges, excitement and endless possibility over six decades, the Trust has always kept true to one word in particular that just happens to be Leith's motto: persevere.