Currie ( gd, Currach, IPA: �kʰuːᵲəx is a village and suburb on the outskirts of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east- central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinbu ...

, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the

City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...

. It is situated between Juniper Green to the northeast and Balerno to the southwest. It gives its name to a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

. In 2001, the population of Currie was 8,550 and it contained 3,454 houses.

Etymology

The name is recorded from 1210 onwards under various spellings such as ''Curey'', ''Cory'', ''Curri'' with ''Currie'' in 1402. There is no accepted derivation of the name Currie but it is possibly from the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

word ''curagh/curragh'', a wet or boggy plain, or from the

Brythonic Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to: *Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain *Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic *Britons (Celtic people) The Br ...

word ''curi'', a dell or dirt hole. The neighbouring suburb of Balerno derives its name from

, whilst the nearby Pentland Hills derive their name from Brythonic, so either is possible.

History

The earliest record of a settlement in the Currie area is a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

razor (1800 BC) found at Kinleith Mill and the stone cists (500 BC) at Duncan's Belt and Blinkbonny. There are a few mentions of this area in

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and early modern documents. One of the first is when Robert of Kildeleith became Chancellor of Scotland in 1249. Kildeleith means Chapel by the Leith, and survives today as Kinleith.

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...

gave Riccarton as a wedding present in 1315 and in 1392 the land passed to the family of Bishop Wardlaw. In 1612 the land went to Ludovic Craig, a Senator of the

College of Justice The College of Justice includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies. The constituent bodies of the national supreme courts are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Office of the Accountant of Court, an ...

. In 1818 it passed to the female line and became the property of the Gibson-Craigs. There has been a Christian community in the area for more than 1,000 years. In 1018, the archdeacons of

Lothian Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Scott ...

set up their headquarters in the area.

John Bartholomew John Bartholomew (25 December 1831 – 29 March 1893) was a Scottish cartographer. Life Bartholomew was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, John Bartholomew Sr., started a cartographical establishment in Edinburgh, and he was educated ...

's Civic and Ecclesiastical maps of the 13th century do not show Currie, but the Index of Charters 1309-1413 records Currie as being 'favourite hunting grounds' for the Lords and Knights of

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

. A settlement began to take shape around Currie Kirk and the main Lanark Road, which was the main route south and continues to be known as 'The

Lang Whang The A70 road is a major road in Scotland, United Kingdom . It runs a total of from Edinburgh to Ayr. It begins as Dalry Road at the Haymarket, Edinburgh junction with the A8, passing near but not through Lanark and ending as Miller Road in ...

'. The weaver poet James Thomson was brought up in the village in the late 18th century and is commemorated by the dell of the Kinleith Burn being named the "Poet's Glen", where it runs down from beside his cottage at Mid Kinleith Farm to join the Water of Leith, and also by a number of street names, (Thomson Road, Thomson Drive, Thomson Crescent), in the east of Currie. The war memorial was erected in 1919 to a design by Sir

Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Got ...

. The period 1921-1951 brought great changes with the building of more council houses in Currie and private building along Lanark Road. Wider scale development began in the late 1950s and early 1960s with the construction of a private housing estate to the east of Curriehill Road. House builders began to promote Currie as a pleasant commuting suburb of Edinburgh and much house building took place to the north of Lanark Road West. Currie High School was constructed on its present site in 1966 and extensively refurbished and renewed in 1997. There was a Currie station on a short loop railway running over what is now the Water of Leith Walkway. The physical topography has ensured that the original historic core to the south of Lanark Road West including the Water of Leith has remained undeveloped. In March 1972 the historic centre of Currie was declared a

Conservation Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

Education

The earliest record of education in the area is contained in the Minutes of Edinburgh Town Council in 1598, when Baillie Lawrence Henderson was sent to "the toun o Currie to help the gentlemen of the Parish select a Schoolmaister"; however it is not stated where the school was situated. In 1694, the heritors appointed a Mr Thomson to teach scholars in the Church until Thomas Craig of Riccarton found a place for the building of a school and house for the schoolmaster. The foundations of the school were laid in 1699. The school and school house cost 500 merks and the salary of the schoolmaster was 20 pounds Scots per year. Currie is served by Currie High School (which has been a Green Flag Eco-School since 2004), Nether Currie Primary School and Currie Primary School, formed by an amalgamation in 2005 of Curriehill Primary School and Riccarton Primary School which shared neighbouring campuses. The largest single Year group since the School's inception, was 1984. According to the School Website this number will probably never be equalled or exceeded. CHS has sought to improve facilities since 2000 with additions of All Weather, floodlit Football Pitches. From the 1970s onwards,

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...

moved from its city centre location to occupy the lands of the former Riccarton Estate, gifted to the university by Midlothian County Council in 1966. The move has now been completed and the main campus of Heriot-Watt University occupies and manages a wooded area with enough space for future expansion.

Sport

Football

Currie has two youth football teams Currie Football Club and Currie Star FC (Currie Star play their games in the Kingsknowe area of

Rugby

Currie has one rugby team,

Currie RFC Currie Rugby Football Club are an Edinburgh-based rugby union club in the Scottish Rugby Union, they currently play in the Scottish Premiership. Despite the name, "Currie" RFC is actually based in the neighbouring suburb of Balerno, and they pl ...

who are based and play their home games in the neighbouring village of Balerno.

Culture and attractions

Currie has two Scout Groups - the 31st Pentland which has run continuously since 1924 and the 42nd Pentland. Currie is a District of Girlguiding Edinburgh. 1st Currie Guides have run continuously since 1921, and 1st Currie Brownies continually since 1933. On the first Saturday of May The Currie Riding of the Marches takes place.

Local History Society

Currie and District Local History Society meets 12 times a year and has speakers on all aspects of the area. The society meets every first and third Monday in the month and their year starts in October. The venue is in the Gibson Craig Hall on the Lanark Road in Currie.

Local Newspaper

C&B News
(originally Currie & Balerno News) is a volunteer-led community news magazine covering Currie as well as nearby Balerno, Juniper Green, Baberton and Colinton. Launched in February 1976, and published 10 times a year, the publication features local news and articles, reports from local groups/organisations, political representatives and Community Councils, plus regular coverage of local planning applications and developments.

Demographics

Transport

The A70 runs through the area and Currie is serviced by th
44
an
45
bus routes, which are operated by

Lothian Buses Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothi ...

. Currie is served by rail by

Curriehill railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Curriehill-230608.jpg , caption = View from footbridge at Curriehill railway station, looking towards Edinburgh , borough = Currie, Edin ...

on the Glasgow-Edinburgh via Shotts Line. Currie is also close to the City of Edinburgh bypass and is bordered by the

Union Canal Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** '' ...

to the north and the Water of Leith to the south. Edinburgh Airport is located approximately north of Currie and the M8 motorway to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

is around north. It also has connections to Livingston in West Lothian throug
E&M Horsburgh
servic
24
between Juniper Green and Livingston.

Currie Kirk

Coffin gravestone, 1751, Currie churchyard

The grave of Rev James Dick, Currie churchyard

The pre-Reformation church was dedicated to

St Mungo Kentigern ( cy, Cyndeyrn Garthwys; la, Kentigernus), known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow. Name In Wales and England, this ...

and was under the control of the Archdeaconry of Lothian. The parish church lies south of the current main road, amongst a small cluster of buildings which represent the original village. It was built in a simple rectangular form, with a pediment on its north (entrance) side and a low central spire, in 1784 by James Thompson of

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

. Its interior was remodelled in 1835 by the

architect,

David Bryce David Bryce FRSE FRIBA RSA (3 April 1803 – 7 May 1876) was a Scottish architect. Life Bryce was born at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh, the son of David Bryce (1763–1816) a grocer with a successful side interest in buildi ...

, and in 1848 the windows were enlarged by the architect

David Cousin David Cousin (19 May 1809 – 14 August 1878) was a Scottish architect, landscape architect and planner, closely associated with early cemetery design and many prominent buildings in Edinburgh. From 1841 to 1872 he operated as Edinburgh’s ...

. As the graveyard pre-dates the church it is presumed that the church replaced an earlier church. The graveyard is laid out in three sections: an original section around the church including several interesting carved stones from the 17th and 18th centuries; a Victorian section on a raised tier; and an attached, but separately walled cemetery to the south, containing 20th century graves. The lower section contains a coffin shaped stone to the Napier family dated 1751. This rare form is also found in Ratho churchyard to the north-west. The

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

. which adopts the form of a medieval

market cross A market cross, or in Scots, a mercat cross, is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron. History Market crosses ...

, stands near the entrance to the church. It was designed by Sir

and added in 1921. Below the site of the church close to the Water of Leith is St Mungo's Holy Well with its stone basin and side walls.

Ministers

*1568 to 1591 - Adam Lichton *1591 to 1631 - Matthew Lichton, his son *1631 to 1668 - John Charteris MA son of

Henry Charteris Henry Charteris the younger (1565–1628) was a Scottish minister and Principal of the University of Edinburgh from 1599 to 1620. Life He was the eldest son of Henry Charteris, Printer to the King in Scotland (this status allowed printing of Bibl ...

*1668 to 1689 - James Scrymgeour MA *1691 to 1700 - Henry Hamilton MA *1701 to 1713 - Robert Taylor *1713 to 1717 - Mungo Clarkson *1719 to 1739 - John Spark drowned in the Water of Leith in 1739 *1740 to 1751 - David Moubray *1752 to 1792 - James Craig (1721-1792) previously a master at George Heriot's School. Eloped with Mary Buntine, a Quaker in 1744. *1793 to 1815 - James Dick, previously tutor to Adam Duncan, Admiral Duncan *1816 to 1837 - John Somerville (1774-1837) inventor of the safety catch on firearms *1837 to 1844 - Robert Jamieson Moderator in 1872 *1844 to 1858 - Thomas Barclay MA became Principal of

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

*1859 to 1898 - James Langwill DD (1824-1898) *1898 to ? - David Caldwell Stewart

Notable Interments

Alick Buchanan-Smith, Baron Balerno Brigadier Alick Drummond Buchanan-Smith, Baron Balerno, (9 October 1898 – 28 July 1984) was a British soldier and prominent geneticist. Life He was born in Glasgow, the son of Alice Lillian (née Buchanan), daughter of Sir George Buchanan, a ...

(1898-1984) * Alick Laidlaw Buchanan-Smith MP (1932-1991) *Sir

Stanley Davidson Sir Leybourne Stanley Patrick Davidson (1894-1981) was a British physician, medical investigator and author who is well known for his medical textbook ''Principles and Practice of Medicine'', which was first published in 1952. Early life an ...

(1894-1981) Professor of Medicine *William Henderson (1766-1842) co-founder of

Scottish Widows Scottish Widows is a life insurance and pensions company located in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. Its product range includes life assurance and pensions. The company has been providing financial services to t ...

(large obelisk to the north-west of the churchyard) *Dr Robert Cranston Low MD FRCPE

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(1879-1949) medical author *Dr Alexander Morison (1779-1866) * Sir David Ferguson Ochterlony (1848-1931) 3rd Baronet Ochterlony *Sir George Adam Smith (1856-1942) including a memorial to his daughter, Janet Adam Smith *Brigadier General Ernest Craig Brown, who gives his name to the military march "Captain Craig Brown"

Famous residents

* Stephen Carter, Baron Carter of Barnes *

Jamie Dick James A. Dick V (born February 5, 1989) is an American professional stock car racing driver. A veteran of the NASCAR Camping World West Series, he last competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on a part-time basis, driving the No. 55 Chevrolet for ...

- Youth Olympic Gold Medalist in Curling * Kate Green - Labour MP *

Dougal Haston Duncan "''Dougal"'' Curdy MacSporran Haston (19 April 1940 – 17 January 1977) was a Scottish mountaineer noted for his exploits in the British Isles, Alps, and the Himalayas. From 1967 he was the director of the International School of Mountai ...

- pioneer of Scottish mountaineering * John Henry Maitland Moir - Archimandrite, Greek Orthodox Church of St Andrew * Rev Alexander Ranken born and raised in Currie * Peter Sawkins -

Great British Bake Off ''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, atte ...

Winner Series 11 * Matt Scott - Scottish international Rugby Union player * James Thomson (weaver poet) *Paul Research and John Mackie of post-punk band The Scars

References

https://web.archive.org/web/20100329115029/http://www.curriechs.co.uk/ ast accessed 26 Feb 1013

External links

Currie Community CouncilCurrie Community High SchoolCurrie Rugby Football ClubHeriot-Watt UniversityCurrie Primary SchoolNether Currie Primary's page on Scottish Schools OnlineCurrie and District Local history SocietyNether Currie Primary SchoolSt Mungo's WellCurriehill railway stationC&B News
{{Areas of Edinburgh Areas of Edinburgh Parishes formerly in Midlothian