Piershill is a suburb of north east

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, in the shadow of

Arthur's Seat Arthur's Seat (, ) is an ancient extinct volcano that is the main peak of the group of hills in Edinburgh, Scotland, which form most of Holyrood Park, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as "a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bol ...

. It is mainly residential, with local amenities including a large supermarket and filling station, bank, public library, optician, pharmacy, several takeaway restaurants and specialist retailers along with public houses. Piershill existed as a distinct area in

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 ...

before 1500 and is recorded in 1588 as ''Peirieshill''. The name may derive from the French name ''Pierre'' or from the Scots ''persche'' relating to other willow names in the area. Piershill is adjoined by Mountcastle and Willowbrae to the south, Jock's Lodge and Meadowbank just to the west, Portobello to the east and Restalrig and Craigentinny to the north.

Buildings

Remains of a wall tower of Piershill Barracks

The Piershill Square East/West/Portobello Road tenements, containing 342 dwellings, were built 1937-8 by the Edinburgh Corporation Council. They were designed 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 ...

(1881–1951), Edinburgh's City Architect and members of his architectural team, Malcolm Murchison, James Tweedie and Andrew Rollo. MacRae was City Architect for twenty years and his infill developments and reinterpretation of Scots vernacular architecture are an important part of Edinburgh's inter-war heritage. These tenements reflect MacRae's tours of Europe in their planning and layout. Many of the original multi-pane sash windows have been replaced with uPVC (without listed building consent) as the flats were sold under the right to buy. They were built on the site of

Piershill Barracks Piershill Barracks was a military installation in Piershill in Edinburgh. History The barracks were built as part of the British response to the threat of the French Revolution and were completed in 1793. Built along three sides of a quadrangle, ...

, and re-used the stone facings from the old buildings. They are a reinterpretation of the traditional tenement, a housing type more usually associated with the Nineteenth century.

Transport

St Margarets Piershill railway geograph-2140301

The

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...

between Edinburgh and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

lies to the immediate north of the estate. Smokey Brae lies immediately west of Piershill, being the local name for the route to

which travels beneath the railway line. Immediately before the first bridge on the high wall to the right can be seen the remains of the original back gate to Piershill Barracks, now walled up but still with the legend ''BACK GATE'' visible on the wall; there is also a bricked up doorway to the left of the back gate. As well as the East Coast Main Line railway there is also a busy crossroads, the main A1 road trunk route between Edinburgh and London and the A1140 to Portobello. The area is well 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 ...

Piershill Cemetery

The cemetery appears unexceptional but includes a number of curious military memorials, and 63 Commonwealth war graves. To the east there is a large section reserved for Jewish burials and to the north-west is Scotland's first and Edinburgh's only Pet Cemetery. Notable monuments include: *Multiple members of the Codona family, fairground entertainers *Memorial to David Norman Duncan, engineer lost in the disastrous test run on the submarine Thetis on 1 June 1939 *

Samuel Evans (VC) Samuel Evans VC (c. 1821 – 4 October 1901) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Early life He wa ...

(d.1901) *

Sigmund Neuberger Sigmund Neuberger (or Sigmund Newburger) (25 February 1871 – 9 May 1911), who performed as an illusionist under the stage name the Great Lafayette, was the highest-paid magician of his time. Early life and career Neuberger was born in Munich, ...

, a famous illusionist known as The Great Lafayette, along with his dog ''Beauty'' * George Wilson, a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

*Several monuments to members of the Order of Free Gardeners *Monument to ex-soldiers dying in the service of the Earl Haig Fund *Monument to the Jewish soldiers of Edinburgh who lost their lives in the two world wars *Monument to soldiers of the

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First World War, First and World War II, Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 t ...

*Monument to soldiers of the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

*Monument to soldiers of the

Royal Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the Army of Scotland that became a regiment of the British Army in 1707 upon the Union of Scotland and England, continuing until 1971 when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of ...

*Two Czechoslovak service personnel of World War II.
CWGC Cemetery report, details from casualty record. Note these lie in the central Jewish section

Community Flat

Until 2016 Piershill Square West had a "Community Flat", run by the NHS Scotland, National Health Service (NHS). Staffed full-time by a coordinator, with additional staff from various agencies supporting the project on a weekly basis, the Community Flat was run in partnership between 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 ...

and

NHS Lothian NHS Lothian is one of the 14 regions of NHS Scotland. It provides healthcare services in the City of Edinburgh (council area), City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian council areas. Its headquarters are at Mainpoint 102 West ...

. It offered services including a residents' group; a parent and toddler group; stop smoking services; state benefits advice; social groups; links to ''Working Towards Health''; and links to ''Action for Jobs'' with Jobcentre Plus. The flat was predominantly for use by residents of the two squares in Piershill, Portobello Road and the top of Restalrig Road South, but from March 2007 was part of the greater ''Regeneration Outcome Agreement'' area of Restalrig, Lochend and Craigentinny. It has now been returned to the Council by the NHS and is in ordinary housing use.

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