Cammo () is a northwestern suburb 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 ...

, the capital of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is south of A90, at the edge of the city, approximately from the city centre.

Etymology

The name is Celtic in origin, but could have originated either in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

Cumbric Cumbric is an extinct Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North", in Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands. It was closely related to Old Welsh and the ot ...

. In the former case it would be an adjectival form of Gaelic ''cambas'' 'bay. creek'; in the latter it would be from Brittonic *''cambāco-'', an adjectival form of *''camas'' 'bend in river, bay'. This element would probably refer to a bend of the river in this context, as Cammo is inland.

Cammo House

To the west of the housing area there is the former estate of Cammo House. The house was built for John Menzies in 1693, and the surrounding parkland was laid out between 1710-26 by Sir John Clerk of Penicuik (1676–1755). In 1741, the estate passed to the Watsons of Saughton at which time it was called New Saughton. The house was bequeathed to the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

in 1975 but, in 1977, the house was torched twice by vandals. The house was considered unsafe and was reduced to its external ground floor walls. In 1980 the City of Edinburgh Council was gifted the estate and declared it a Wilderness Park. The Council now maintain the grounds and operates a ranger service. Cammo is thought to have been the inspiration for the "House of Shaws" in

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

's novel '' Kidnapped''.

Cammo Tower () is a 19th-century

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

for Cammo House. Other remains include the ruined stable block, an ornamental canal, a bridge, and the lodge which now houses a small visitor centre. The grounds are now widely used by people for walking in, although other sections remain as farmland, used for cattle grazing.

Stable Block

The stable block was built in 1811 and consists of a two story building floored with flagstones, a large central arched pavilion, an octagonal clock tower, and a cobblestone courtyard. Behind the stable block there is a steep hill where there are the remains of worker's cottages, which were known as offices or steadings. The possible existence of an older stable block is supported by older maps which predate the current buildings.

Famous Residents

* Alexander Charles Stephen zoologist lived at 17 Cammo Crescent

References

* Baillie, Simon J. ''The private world of Cammo'' (1995) * Bell, Raymond MacKean ''Literary Corstorphine: A reader's guide to West Edinburgh'', Leamington Books, Edinburgh 2017 * Cant, Michael, ''Villages of Edinburgh'' volumes 1 & 2, John Donald Publishers Ltd., Edinburgh, 1986-1987. & * Cowper, Alexandra Stewart ''Corstorphine Village, 1891'' (1973), Edinburgh University Extra-Mural Association * Dey, W.G. ''Corstorphine: A Pictorial History of a Midlothian Village'' (1990), Mainstream Publishing * Harris, Stuart (1996). The Place Names of Edinburgh. Edinburgh: Gordon Wright Publishing. p. 144. . * Sherman, Robin ''Old Murrayfield and Corstorphine'' (2003)

External links

Cammo Estate ParkFriends of Cammo
{{coord, 55, 57, 37.28, N, 3, 19, 0.11, W, display=title Areas of Edinburgh Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Parks and commons in Edinburgh