Our Local History
Before we start, here's a quick look at the plans for the new school accross the road:
Firstly, a breif run-down on the area from "Wikipedia"
Despite the relative modernity of most of the housing in the area, the settlement of Craigmillar itself is very old. It contains Craigmillar Castle, which was begun in the late 14th or early 15th century, & occupied until the early 18th century. In 1660 the Craigmillar estate was bought by Sir John Gilmour.
The housing scheme at Niddrie Mains was created through the Housing (Scotland) Act of 1924, with lands bought from the Wauchope Estate. The area was designed & laid out by the then City Architect, Ebenezer James MacRae from 1927. The Craigmilllar estate, immediately below the castle, was planned in 1936. Until around 2008, the area consisted mainly of inter-war & post-war public housing schemes, ranging from private bungalows to Edinburgh Council-owned high rise tower blocks. The City of Edinburgh Council is now well into a regeneration programme which has seen the demolition of the earlier estates & the area has benefited from many initiatives aimed at tackling the social deprivation that has characterised the area for many years.
The late 19th & 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 & taking advantage of the local aquifers (a body of saturated rock through which water can easily move) providing excellent water for brewing. The first of these was the Craigmillar Brewery of William Murray & Co. Ltd built in 1886 & 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 & 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 & ceased brewing in January 1987.
Next - the history of The Whitehouse, where we met during the Covid lockdown. (taken from Edinburgh Evening News: January 28, 2010, p.21)
The White House pub in Niddrie Mains Road was built in 1936 as one of Edinburgh's original roadhouses. It later became a popular pub for the Craigmillar area but closed around 2000, It has since deteriorated badly and had a serious fire five years ago, in 2005.
However, the developer, Park has now taken over the building and has announced plans to restore it to its former glory, as part of a £200m scheme to regenerate Craigmillar. The White House and adjoining shops are to given back their original art deco features. The White House will be given a new roof, outside rendering, windows and doors.
The building will first house a temporary exhibition on the history of the Craigmillar area. Craigmillar Community Arts group has a large collection of photos that could be included in this exhibition. No firm timescale has yet been set for the reopening. In the longer term The White House might become a pub or Café bar. Park will have discussions soon to see what use the local community would like to see for the building.
Little France Park
A map of Little France Park, showing the park boundaries in yellow © Dave 2021
You may well know the junction, along the road from The Whitehouse towards Portobello, where there is a street turning up towards the hill, called Greendykes Road. At the top of the hill (after the two tower-blocks, where I live!) is a small roundabout, surrounded by new building sites, & a road crossing the now re-routed "Niddrie Burn". It then passes more new buildings (including George's son's house!) & the hospital (If you are in a bus or taxi). Before reaching the hospital the road goes through a public park called "Little France Park". Within the park is a notice with the following text:..
"Little France Park is reclaimed farmland which became a public park in 2018. As you walk, look out for rubble stone walls (they mean Dry Stane Dykes if you're Scottish!) that were once farm & field boundaries. You may even see wildlife that you might find on a country farm, such as hares or pheasants. (..yawn!)
The name Little France comes from the visits of Mary Queen Of Scots (1542-1587). (She was visiting Craigmillar Castle) The entourage of servants & courtiers that travelled with her needed a settlement created for them for the duration of their visits. The encampment is thought to have been where the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh now sits.
The new park is on land that was once known as Edmunstone Home Farm. It was part of an estate that originally belonged to the Edmunston family from around 1248. Edmunstone Estate was sold to the Rait or Raith family then in 1646, by marriage, the land passed to the Wauchope of Niddry Marishal family. The estate sits on a ridge where the Scottish army camped before the battle of Pinkie in 1547
Records around the 1830s show Edmunston Estate had an orchard, a very large walled garden with heated walls, an icehouse & a dovecot with a spire & gatehouses, just south of today's park boundaries. The mansion was demolished in the 1950s but some vetern trees recorded before 1850 remain in the old grounds."
The Wauchope story
An old postcard showing "Niddrie Marshal House", which was known locally as Wauchope House
"Gilbert Wauchop had a charter from Robert III (1390-1406) for the lands of Niddrie in the vicinity of Craigmillar Castle. This branch of the Wauchope family is thought to have derived from the Aberdeen branch. It has been suggested the family possessed the property as early as 1249. The Wauchopes were one of the two oldest families with seats in Midlothian, the other being the Lords Sumerville. Niddrie-Marischal was held by the family until its sale in 1944, except for two short intervals. The mansion was torched by a mob in the late 1940's & stood in its ruined state till it was demolished in 1959 (A low income public housing experiment was then erected on the former lands & many of todays streets bear the name of Niddrie & Wauchope). The addition of Marischal was thought to arise from the heads of the family having been hereditary Baillies (i.e, judge/sheriff) to the Keith Lords Marischal, & Marischal-Deputies in Midlothian. In addition, Adam Wauchope was on record in 1565 as possessing Cakemuir Castle in Midlothian..
... This mid sixteenth century tower was last restored in 1949."
"Niddrie was rebuilt about 1630 by Sir. John Wauchope. Another member of this family, Gilbert Wauchope frequently filled the office of Deputy Marischal in Parliment from 1527 to 1535. Lairds of Niddrie were hereditary Bailies to the Keiths, Earls Marischal & Marischal deputies in Midlothian. The Wauchope Family had great power in the southern borders."
Major General Andrew Gilbert Wauchope
(1846-1899)
"Niddrie was occupied by Major General Andrew Gilbert Wauchope & his family. Who was famous for his role in the Anglo-Boer Wars. When the last resident of Niddrie, Lady Jane, died, she had no heirs. Because the family had spread out abroad, the estate was sold in 1944 to the City of Edinburgh. Niddrie House was still a fine house in good condition at the time of the sale. The City of Edinburgh was to keep the house up & eventually turn this fine home into a training ground & museum. Edinburgh did not live up to their side of the deal & because of the high crime area, created by the nearby housing project, the building was heavily vandalized. In time a fire was set & Niddrie's fate was sealed. Niddrie Marischal stood into the 1960's before it was torn down. All that remains now is the tombhouse which stands amidst the projects." (I have never seen this & have been here for well over a decade! Also, the date given for the sale is wrong, as you will read later on.)
The ruins of Niddrie House with new council housing projects in background (ca. 1960)
The House in 1898 from a different angle
www.edinphoto.org has several pages on local history, & a page debating the naming of Wauchope, &/or Niddrie House.
There are several videos on YouTube which document the good & bad side of the local area - Click here.
Lastly, a selection of images from Craigmillar & Niddrie, documenting the social history of the area. - Be warned, the music is fairly loud but the volume can easily be turned down before playing the film. Click here to watch