Craigmillar Preston
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Craigmillar (from Gaelic ''Creag a' Mhaol Àird'', "rock of the bare summit") is an area 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 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 ...
, about south east of the city centre, with
Duddingston Duddingston is an affluent, historic village in the east of Edinburgh, Scotland, next to Holyrood Park.It is a conservation area, not to be confused with the rest of Duddingston, which stretches down towards Portobello. Duddingston Village bo ...
to the north and
Newcraighall Newcraighall (, ) ttp://www.gaelicplacenames.org/databasedetails.php?id=535 Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba ~ Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland/ref> is a South-Eastern suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. A former mining village, its prosperity was based on th ...
to the east.


History

Despite the relative modernity of most of the housing in the area, the settlement of Craigmillar itself is very old, and contains
Craigmillar Castle Craigmillar Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is south-east of the city centre, on a low hill to the south of the modern suburb of Craigmillar. The Preston family of Craigmillar, the local feudal barons, began buil ...
. The castle was originally the Barony of Preston, or Prestoun. It was then renamed Gourtoun and then finally Craigmillar. Craigmillar began in the late 14th or early 15th century, and was occupied until the early 18th century. In 1660, the Craigmillar estate was bought by Sir John Gilmour. The housing scheme at
Niddrie Mains Niddrie () is a residential suburb in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is situated in the south-east of the city, south-west of the coast, seaside area of Portobello, Edinburgh, Portobello, and west of Musselburgh in East Lothian near Fort Kinnaird r ...
was created through the Housing (Scotland) Act of 1924, with lands bought from the Wauchope Estate. The ancient heart of the estate, Niddrie Marischal House, survived for a few years before being demolished, but an C18th mausoleum formally attached to the house survives off Niddrie Marischal Terrace. The Niddrie Mains area was designed and laid out by the then City Architect,
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 ...
from 1927. The separate Craigmilllar estate, immediately below the castle, was planned in 1936, largely by the architect Thomas Smith. By 2000 the area consisted mainly of high-density inter-war and post-war
public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
schemes, ranging from 1920s tenements to high-rise tower blocks. After 2000 the
City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Dhùn Èideann'') is the local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the built-up area of Edinburgh, capital of Sco ...
decided to demolish, rather than refurbish, around 2000 homes in Niddrie Mains, with only a handful of dwellings and two interwar listed schools being retained. At the same time much of the interwar Craigmillar estate was either demolished or refurbished. Between 1945 and 1950 the Thistle Foundation, a housing complex for disabled ex-servicemen was built, being designed in a traditional style by architects Lorimer & Matthew. Its centrepiece is the A-listed Robin Chapel built between 1949-52 in a Scottish Arts and Crafts style by the architect John F Matthew to commemorate Robin Tudsbury. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw seven breweries being built in what was open country at Craigmillar/Duddingston, concentrated in a small area beside the railway line and taking advantage of the local aquifers providing excellent water for brewing. The first of these was the Craigmillar Brewery of William Murray & Co. Ltd built in 1886 and followed within a few years by Andrew Drybrough's brewery, also called the Craigmillar Brewery (1892), the Duddingston Brewery built by Pattisons Ltd (1896), bought by Robert Deuchar Ltd in 1899 following Pattisons' liquidation, the North British Brewery (1897) which was taken over by Murray's in 1927 becoming known as Murray's No. 2 Brewery, Maclauchlan's Castle Brewery, Raeburn's New Craigmillar Brewery and Paterson's Pentland Brewery, all opening in 1901. These breweries stopped brewing at various times, mainly in the 1960s, but Drybrough's survived for several years and ceased brewing in January 1987.


Historical maps

In 2009 The
National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...
released maps for the Craigmillar Area
Ordnance Survey 1:10,560 Sheet IV SW, 1909
Shows detail of Niddrie House, Waterfall, Icehouse, Niddrie Stone 1909.
Ordnance Survey 1:10,560 Sheet IV SW, 1938
Shows the development of Niddrie Main 1938.
Ordnance Survey 1:10,560 – Air Photos – Sheet NT 27 SE 1946
an
NT 37 SW, 1946
Shows the aerial photos from 1946
Other georeferenced historical maps
of Craigmillar from the mid 18th to the mid 20th centuries


Present day maps

OpenStreetMap OpenStreetMap (abbreviated OSM) is a free, Open Database License, open geographic database, map database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveying, surveys, trace from Ae ...
volunteers completed
OpenStreetMap Craigmillar
in January 2009.


Facilities

Craigmillar saw riots in the 1980s, amid complaints about the lack of facilities in the area. Both the library and Arts Centre were won by
grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...
-based community action trying to tackle the area's social problems. One such venture was the
Craigmillar Festival Society The Craigmillar Festival Society (CFS) was a community arts organisation in the Craigmillar area of Edinburgh, Scotland, that ran from 1962 to 2002. It is regarded as an important contributor to the Community Arts Movement. Many of its producti ...
, which was active from 1962 until 2002. The area also had a large concrete sculpture/play-structure, created by artist Jimmy Boyle called ''Gulliver, The Gentle Giant that cares and shares''. It was built for the Craigmillar Festival Society in 1976, and largely demolished in 2011 when the Niddrie Burn was re-routed through Hunter's Hall Park, the remaining portion being listed in 2023. The
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
has playing fields in this area, including one of the oldest modern-style
shinty Shinty () is a team sport played with sticks and a ball. It is played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and among Highland migrants to the major cities of Scotland. The sport was formerly more widespread in Scotland and even played in Northern ...
fields in Scotland. ''Gulliver'' was considered a
geoglyph A geoglyph is a large design or motif – generally longer than – produced on the ground by durable elements of the landscape, such as stones, stone fragments, gravel, or earth. A positive geoglyph is formed by the arrangement and alignment ...
.


Regeneration of Craigmillar

The area has benefited from many initiatives aimed at tackling the social deprivation that has characterised the area for many years, and a new 'town centre' is being brought back to the main street, Niddrie Mains Road, with a new library, secondary school and shops. The area occupied by the Council housing in Niddrie Mains is gradually being rebuilt with new housing. An ambitious plan to re-develop parts of Craigmillar is underway. The Scottish Government's "Green Quarter Plan" proposes the creation of several new parks and woodland areas throughout the Craigmillar area. The "Green Quarter Plan" is being undertaken by the Parc life development company. They also propose the development of 3,200 affordable houses to rent and improved learning and leisure facilities for young people. One of the few retained buildings of significance is "
The White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 whe ...
" former public house, an
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
which was restored with gallery space inside in 2011.


Demographics


Transport

Craigmillar is served 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 Lothia ...
service 12 which runs from Portobello to
The Gyle Shopping Centre The Gyle Shopping Centre is a shopping centre located in the South Gyle area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The main centre has two anchor tenants, Marks & Spencer and Morrisons (formerly Safeway), at opposite ends of the shopping centre. Constructi ...
, service 2 from The Jewel,
Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...
, to Hermiston Gait Retail Park, service 14 from
Greendykes Greendykes is a neighbourhood of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was originally a council scheme, consisting mostly of low-rise flats but also two 15-storey tower blocks (Greendykes House and Wauchope House). It is sometimes considered ...
to
Muirhouse Muirhouse is a housing estate in the north of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Location The housing estate of Muirhouse (Pennywell and Muirhouse) is bounded by Muirhouse Parkway to the North, Pennywell Road to the East, Ferry Road to the So ...
& Service 30 from
Queen Margaret University Queen Margaret University is a public university located wholly within the county of East Lothian on the outskirts of Musselburgh, Scotland. It is named after the Scottish Queen Saint Margaret (1045–1093). The university can trace its ...
to Clovenstone,
Wester Hailes Wester Hailes is an area in the south west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Wester Hailes borders on Kingsknowe and Longstone to the east. Bankhead Industrial Estate and Sighthill Park lie to the north. History Although named after a large private ...
. The area was once served by a local railway from Duddingston & Craigmillar railway station on the
Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Railway The Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Railway was a railway company that built an east–west railway (known as the Edinburgh Suburban Line or more familiarly the Sub) on the southern margin of Edinburgh, Scotland, primarily to facilitat ...
. The station closed in 1962, but local pressure groups are campaigning to have the line re-opened, possibly as an extension of the forthcoming
Edinburgh Tram Network Edinburgh Trams is a tramway in Edinburgh, Scotland, operated by Edinburgh Trams Ltd. It is an line between Newhaven and Edinburgh Airport, with 23 stops. A modern tram network for Edinburgh was proposed by Edinburgh Council in 1999, wit ...
. Following a petition submitted to the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
in 2007, the proposal was rejected in 2009 by transport planners due to anticipated cost.


Notable people

*
Helen Duncan Victoria Helen McCrae Duncan (née MacFarlane, 25 November 1897 – 6 December 1956) was a Scottish medium best known as the last person to be imprisoned under the Witchcraft Act 1735 ( 9 Geo. 2. c. 5) for fraudulent claims. She was famous for ...
(1897–1956), the last woman to be imprisoned under the
Witchcraft Act 1735 The Witchcraft Act 1735 ( 9 Geo. 2. c. 5) was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain in 1735 which made it a crime for a person to claim that any human being had magical powers or was guilty of practising witchcraft. With this, the law abol ...
, lived in Craigmillar. *The former Craigmillar Primary School building houses a mural by the painter John Maxwell, who was trained by
Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...
and was a fellow student of
Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...
in Paris. *There is a fine example of 20th century
stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
by Sadie Maclellan in Robin Chapel, in the Thistle Foundation, a housing complex for disabled people in the centre of Craigmillar. *Local mother Helen Crummy was instrumental in the founding of the
Craigmillar Festival Society The Craigmillar Festival Society (CFS) was a community arts organisation in the Craigmillar area of Edinburgh, Scotland, that ran from 1962 to 2002. It is regarded as an important contributor to the Community Arts Movement. Many of its producti ...
in 1962. *The noted Conservative politician Sir
Ian Gilmour Ian Hedworth John Little Gilmour, Baron Gilmour of Craigmillar, (8 July 1926 – 21 September 2007) was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was styled Sir Ian Gilmour, 3rd Baronet from 1977, having succeeded to his fat ...
was given a life peerage by
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...
in 1992, becoming Baron Gilmour of Craigmillar, of Craigmillar in the District of the City of Edinburgh, of which his family were, for several hundred years, the feudal superiors.


References


External links


Craigmillar community site

Craigmillar Partnership

CraigmillarOnline

Robin Chapel
{{Authority control Areas of Edinburgh Housing estates in Edinburgh Hill figures in Scotland Geoglyphs