Walk No. 201: Historic Walk - Drumsheaugh - Dean Village
Date: Monday 25th January 2016
Started at: Charlotte Square, outside West Register House
Finished at: Dean Village / Stockbridge
Forty Strollers
turned out for the January History Walk led by our Blue Badge Guides Karen and
Helen. Changing the day of the walk proved to be very fortuitous on the weather
front as it remained dry and mild though a trifle windy. Gathering together at Charlotte Square,
we made our way into what was known as the Drumsheugh Estate when the Edinburgh
New Town extended westwards.
At the start of Melville Street we learned about the fine wrought iron work and the history of Lord Melville. This street used to be home to Melville College, the all boys school, before it merged with Daniel Stewarts. In addition, St Georges, the all girls’ school, used to be here before moving to Ravelston. The Girl Guide Association still has its headquarters here as well as the Consulates of around 30 different countries and the Edinburgh office of the Secretary of State for Scotland. We then stopped in Stafford Street to see the site of a Turkish Baths that existed there in the 19th and early 20th Century, for both men and women, though at different times. It was one of several in the city but the only one surviving now is in Portobello baths. Moving on to Walker Street, we heard about the first site of the Elsie Inglis medical centre, the forerunner to the better known Edinburgh hospital. At the outbreak of the First World War she offered to set up nursing units but was refused by the British Government, however her offer was accepted by the French and she also worked in Serbia and Russia. She died in 1917 but her work was recognised by the countries she served in and the hospital in Serbia still bears her name.
We moved on to Rothesay Terrace to B+B Edinburgh, a boutique bed and breakfast hotel. No, not time for a nap, but time to see the former home of John Ritchie Findlay, once the owner of the Scotsman newspaper. It has a lovely view over the Dean Village from the window at the back. Its architect, Sydney Mitchell, also oversaw the apprenticeship of Findlay's son, James Leslie, who went on to design the Scotsman Newspaper's former headquarters on North Bridge, which is also now a hotel.
Leaving the Drumsheugh Estate, we headed down to the Dean Village to visit the site of all the grain mills that used to exist. Collectively known as 'The Baxters' or baker's guild, they provided the whole of Edinburgh and surrounding villages with meal and thrived until the 19th Century, when the larger flour mills in Leith eventually made them redundant. They have all gone now or converted to housing but the Miller Row name reminds us of who has been there, as does the engraving of paddles on the Brae Bridge. This was the main route out of Edinburgh to Queensferry before the Dean Bridge (designed by Thomas Telford) was built in 1832. The name of the village comes from the word dene meaning "deep valley”. The most striking building in the Dean Village is Well Court, recently restored with the help of Edinburgh World Heritage but built in the 1880s as model housing for local workers by John Ritchie Findlay, to improve the view from his house in Rothesay Terrace!. What goes down must come up again and so we did - up Bells Brae to Kirkbrae House which at one time was a tavern for the Dean Village Baxters. It has an engraving on the wall in keeping with its clientele: "In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread Gen 3 verse 19". Here we ended our walk.
Our thanks once again tour guides, Karen and Helen, for all the information we enjoyed on the walk. See you next month.
At the start of Melville Street we learned about the fine wrought iron work and the history of Lord Melville. This street used to be home to Melville College, the all boys school, before it merged with Daniel Stewarts. In addition, St Georges, the all girls’ school, used to be here before moving to Ravelston. The Girl Guide Association still has its headquarters here as well as the Consulates of around 30 different countries and the Edinburgh office of the Secretary of State for Scotland. We then stopped in Stafford Street to see the site of a Turkish Baths that existed there in the 19th and early 20th Century, for both men and women, though at different times. It was one of several in the city but the only one surviving now is in Portobello baths. Moving on to Walker Street, we heard about the first site of the Elsie Inglis medical centre, the forerunner to the better known Edinburgh hospital. At the outbreak of the First World War she offered to set up nursing units but was refused by the British Government, however her offer was accepted by the French and she also worked in Serbia and Russia. She died in 1917 but her work was recognised by the countries she served in and the hospital in Serbia still bears her name.
We moved on to Rothesay Terrace to B+B Edinburgh, a boutique bed and breakfast hotel. No, not time for a nap, but time to see the former home of John Ritchie Findlay, once the owner of the Scotsman newspaper. It has a lovely view over the Dean Village from the window at the back. Its architect, Sydney Mitchell, also oversaw the apprenticeship of Findlay's son, James Leslie, who went on to design the Scotsman Newspaper's former headquarters on North Bridge, which is also now a hotel.
Leaving the Drumsheugh Estate, we headed down to the Dean Village to visit the site of all the grain mills that used to exist. Collectively known as 'The Baxters' or baker's guild, they provided the whole of Edinburgh and surrounding villages with meal and thrived until the 19th Century, when the larger flour mills in Leith eventually made them redundant. They have all gone now or converted to housing but the Miller Row name reminds us of who has been there, as does the engraving of paddles on the Brae Bridge. This was the main route out of Edinburgh to Queensferry before the Dean Bridge (designed by Thomas Telford) was built in 1832. The name of the village comes from the word dene meaning "deep valley”. The most striking building in the Dean Village is Well Court, recently restored with the help of Edinburgh World Heritage but built in the 1880s as model housing for local workers by John Ritchie Findlay, to improve the view from his house in Rothesay Terrace!. What goes down must come up again and so we did - up Bells Brae to Kirkbrae House which at one time was a tavern for the Dean Village Baxters. It has an engraving on the wall in keeping with its clientele: "In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread Gen 3 verse 19". Here we ended our walk.
Our thanks once again tour guides, Karen and Helen, for all the information we enjoyed on the walk. See you next month.
