A small district in the South Side of Edinburgh, The Causey connects Chapel Street, Buccleuch Street and West Crosscauseway, immediately to the east of the University of Edinburgh's George Square campus. Centred around what is effectively a large traffic island, the area takes its name from the fact that it was a paved street (from the Norman French, causee) by the 16th century, and gave its name to Crosscausey, the street which linked the two ancient routeways south out of Edinburgh, which later became Crosscauseway. This was later cut by a third road (South Bridge, Nicholson Street, Clerk Street), creating West Crosscauseway and East Crosscauseway.
The Causey comprises a small group of 18th Century buildings, with Buccleuch & Greyfriars Free Church of Scotland to the north and the former Buccleuch Parish Church to the west. A strong community association has been working to re-establish the area as a community space.
