Craigentinny is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

in the north-east of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland, east of

Restalrig Restalrig ( ) is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland (historically, an estate and independent parish). It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, Edinburgh, Lochend, both of which it ...

and Lochend. Its name may be a corruption of the Gaelic ''Creag an t-Sionnaich'', meaning "the fox's rock".

History

Previously moorland, the first major house was built shortly after 1604. This house, Craigentinny, gives its name to the wider area. It was built by James Nisbet of the Nisbet family associated more strongly with the Dean area of the city, as the occupants of Dean House. The land was bought from the Logan family of Restalrig. Through the Nisbet family it passed to John Nisbet, Lord Dirleton around 1680. Through Lord Dirleton it passed to the Scott-Nisbets. After the death of John Scott-Nisbet in 1765 it was bought by a William Miller (1722–99), a wealthy seedsman and

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

, living on the

Canongate The Canongate is a street and associated district in central Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The street forms the main eastern length of the Royal Mile while the district is the main eastern section of Edinburgh's Old Town. David ...

, who already owned property in the Craigentinny and Fillyside areas. William's only surviving son was with his third wife Martha Rowson: William Henry Miller (MP) (1789-1848) (whose mausoleum lies nearby). Around 1850 it was remodelled by

David Rhind David Rhind FRSE (1808 – 26 April 1883) was a prominent Scotland, Scottish architect, mainly remembered for his public buildings, banks, churches and schools, most of which are now listed buildings. Life Rhind was born at 15 Gayfield Plac ...

for the Marsh sisters who had inherited the house. It later passed to Samuel Christy, a distant relation (who changed his name to Christie-Miller e.g. Christiemiller Avenue). The house was largely inhabited by caretakers until it was purchased in 1937 by the Council and converted to serve as a community centre, said to be the first within a Scottish council estate. In 1932-4 the Council developed part of the area in two main phases with over 800 houses and a block of six shops, mainly in three-storey tenements by

Ebenezer James MacRae Ebenezer James MacRae (18 January 1881 – 15 January 1951) was a Scottish people, Scottish architect serving as City Architect for Edinburgh for most of his active life. Life He was the son of Rev Alexander MacRae of the Free Church of Scotl ...

and his team. The latter layout was by George C Robb with individual tenements by architects Andrew MacCulloch, John Mailler Scott and others.Ebenezer MacRae and Interwar housing in Edinburgh by Steven Robb, Book of the Old Edinburgh Club Vol 13 (2017) The remaining estate was laid out with private bungalows largely by James Miller (no relation) and Hepburn Brothers. The area contains churches and schools from the 1930s, including, Craigentinny Primary School on Loaning Road which was designed by Ebenezer James MacRae's team (1934), and St Christophers Church which is at the junction of Craigentinny Road and Craigentinny Avenue and was designed by James MacLachlan (1934). The most distinctive and unique structure in the area is the Craigentinny Marbles, a mausoleum to William Henry Miller (1789–1848) by

with

bas relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s by Sir Alfred Gatley. The monument was subsumed by bungalows in the 1930s and now stands on Craigentinny Crescent.

Demographics

Other features

Craigentinny Golf Course is an 18-hole par 67 course lying on the north edge of the district close to Seafield and the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

. Craigentinny train maintenance depot is located in the area.

References

{{Areas of Edinburgh Areas of Edinburgh Castles in Edinburgh