West Coates or Wester Coates is a residential district of central
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 on the A8, in proximity to
Haymarket railway station and
Roseburn, west of the city centre, bounded by the
Water of Leith
The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing through central Edinburgh, Scotland, that starts in the Pentlands Hills and flows into the port of Leith and then into the sea via the Firth of Forth.
Name
The ...
on its north side.
As well as numerous small hotels and
bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house.
''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...
lodges, the area was home to
Donaldson's College, a former school for the deaf.
The name derives from Coates Hall on Rosebery Crescent to the east.
The focal point in urban design terms is Roseburn Free Church on Hampton Terrace by
Robert Reid Raeburn (1867) but this its impact is only appreciated from Wester Coates Road as (on the main road) it is visually overwhelmed by Donaldson's School. The character is very different north and south of the main road. To the north the area is laid out as large villas on spacious avenues. South of the main road (and the modest houses of Osborne Terrace and Hampton Terrace, lies Devon Place, single storey cottages dating from 1864 and built by the
coal merchant
A coal merchant is the term used in the UK and other countries for a trader who sells coal and often delivers it to households. Coal merchants were once a major class of local business, but have declined in importance in many parts of the developed ...
James McKelvie, originally connected to the rail marshalling yards to the south.
In the main road the Jacobean style villas at 1 to 6 West Coates are by
Alexander Black. No 7 is by
John Chesser. In the luxurious hinterland 1 Wester Coates Gardens is by
Thomas Duncan Rhind.
[Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh by Gifford, McWilliam and Walker]
Notable residents
*Trix Kipling, aka Alice Kipling Fleming, writer and the sister of
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...
.
*
George F. Merson 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 Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...
lived at 9 Hampton Terrace
*
Andrew Edward Scougal 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 Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...
lived at 1 Wester Coates Avenue
*
Prof James Walker 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 Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...
lived at 5 Wester Coates Road
References
* Bell, Raymond MacKean (2017). ''Literary Corstorphine: A reader's guide to West Edinburgh.'' Edinburgh: Leamington Books. .
(Google Maps)
Areas of Edinburgh
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