All About Edinburgh
Dean Village Edinburgh
Dean Village
Dean Village was a small village outside Edinburgh known as Water o Leith Village, and was famous as a grain milling area for over 800 years. The name Dean (Dene) meaning Deep Gorge. The village has steep hills on all sides. The Dean Village with the Water of Leith flowing through, grew as a community in the 1100s from the many mills that were built on the river banks. You will see many stones carved with crossed paddles of the bakers, as this area supplied all the bakers of Edinburgh with their flour. The Incorporation of Baxters (bakers) was a crucial role in Dean Village, controlling the grain milling industry from the 12th century. Mills were first mentioned in 1143 by David I.
Dean Bridge - Kirkbrae House
The house on the corner of the bridge was once a Tavern and Bakers, the square panel on the wall shows a sun with two arms below, one holding scales and the other a wheat sheaf, with two baker’s paddles crossed.
The inscription below reads: IN THE SWEAT OF THY FACE SHALT | THOU EAT BREAD | GEN 3 VERSE 19 | ANNO DOM 1619
Known as ‘The Baxter’s Stone. Put on this wall in 1893 from a demolished mill.
The Dean Bridge
The Dean Bridge was designed by Thomas Telford, and was completed in 1832 and opened in 1833. The Dean Bridge was Thomas Telford’s last project at the age 73 and retirement. The Dean Bridge with 4 arches is 447 feet long (136m) and 39 feet wide (12m) and built on four arches rising 106 feet (32m) above the river. Prior to the building of the Dean Bridge the only way across the river in to Edinburgh was by a ford in the river, which had been crossed since medieval times (5th to 15th centuries). A bridge, of wooden structure across the water of Leith was built in the 5th century. It is now a stone bridge (Bell’s Brae Bridge). The building of Dean Bridge gave access to the north for further extension of Edinburgh’s New Town.
Views from the Dean Bridge
Looking over the Dean Bridge West the Dean Village, East the New Town Randolph Cliff built on series of underground stone arches. The arches protect Randolph Cliff, Randolph Crescent, Great Stuart Street, Ainslie Place, and Moray Place from tumbling down into the Water of Leith. Designed by 1822 by, architect James Gillespie Graham for Francis Stuart, the 10th Earl of Moray on the Moray Estate which covers most of the western new town.
The Dean Village and looking down a sailor down on his luck wondering if I jump will I survive.
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
Gothic church at the North end of the Dean Bridge. The church is in its original state from when design / built by John Henderson, 1837-8. Henderson has built many churches in Scotland to a Gothic design. The church was converted into an electric sub-station in 1957. It is now the Rhema Christian Centre Church.
Belgrave and Buckingham Area
Belgrave Crescent was built on land bought by property developer and Lord Provost of Edinburgh James Steel, Designed by John Chesser and completed in 1874. The land between Water of Leith and the new houses also purchased by Steel, which became private gardens for the residents. The gardens designed by James Jeffery and completed in 1876. Buckingham Terrace was also part of the Steel development designed by Chesser which was completed in 1831.
Bristo Baptist Church
In 1765 in Bristo Place Original Scotch Baptist Church ‘the Scotch Baptist Church’ Bristo Baptist Church is the mother church for the Baptist movement in Scotland. A purpose-built chapel was constructed at Bristo Place in 1836. The designation ‘Scotch’ was discontinued from the church’s title in 1927. In 1932, the present site here on Buckingham Terrace was purchased for £1,000 In October 1933, the Memorial Stone of the new building on Queensferry Road was laid and the first service took place on Wednesday, 20th February, 1935. The church has a long history and is the second oldest Baptist church in Scotland Bible on Dean Path side inscription: SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES S. JOHN V. CH.39
The Dean Parish Church
The first church in Dean Path was built in 1836 then demolished and replaced by the present church in 1903. This was the main church for the Dean Village population. With the reducing congregation the church closed in 2006. It is now known as The Dean and is used as an Assembly Hall and Event Venue for the nearby Erskine Stewart’s Melville Schools (ESMS).
Dean Cemetery Edinburgh
The Dean Village is named from Dean House and the Nisbet family who owned the lands. The House was demolished in 1843 and in 1845 the Dean Cemetery was created. A carved heraldic panel from Dean House, now installed on a wall in Dean Cemetery, is decorated with three boars’ heads around a chevron, all surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves, and carries the initials HN for Henry Nisbet born 1535 who died in 1608
The Notable Graves of The Dean Cemetery
David Octavius Hill, Colonel Robert Smith, James Buchanan, Lord Francis Jeffrey, James Falshaw James Nasmyth, Alexander Nasmyth Artist, Lord Henry Cockburn, Robert McVitie, Lord Andrew Rutherfurd, James Hamilton,
Sir Thomas Bouch, Alexander Russell, James Stevenson, William H Playfair, George Combe,
Cameron Highlanders Obelisk, Robert Chamber, Sir John Ritchie Findlay, Thomas Drybrough,
Flora Stevenson, Louisa Stevenson, Elsie Inglis, Dr Joseph Bell (LINK TO CEMETERY)
29 Dean Path
The house on Dean Path was dates from circa 1790 with a Victorian-era post box ("VR" Cypher) circa 1850 still present. This may have been the post house in its time. The tenements in Dean Path, now all demolished and rebuilt, were where most of the families lived.
Dean Village School
The Old School house on Bell’s Brae was built in 1872 and a historic part of the Dean Village. The public school educated the local children until it closed in 1961. It was able to hold up to 400 children by 1961 there were only 37 pupils. Carvings can be seen "Education" above the ground floor windows and a tablet on the front with the words “Edinburgh School Board 1875”
Old West Mill Building
The stone building over the bridge with round windows is the Old West Mill, built in 1805. At the top of the building you can see a wheat sheaf. The mill is one of few surviving examples in the Dean Village of its former industrial heritage. Particularly based on grain milling, many of which utilised power provided by the Water of Leith.
Bells Brae Bridge
In the centre of the Dean village is the Bells Brae Bridge which was the original crossing point of the Water of Leith as it was shallow and narrow. Getting to and from Edinburgh this the only crossing. In the 5th century a single arch bridge which was wide enough for a carriage with horses. The Dean Village stands below the Belford Bridge which was built in 1887 to carry Belford Road. Bells Brae Bridge was built in 1830 replacing previous bridges, the old road from Edinburgh to Queensferry.
Well Court- Dean Village
The most impressive buildings are of Well Court. Built in 1884 by the then owner of the Scotsman newspaper
Sir John Ritchie Findlay. Well Court had its own hall for socialising with a clock tower a communal court yard, and accommodation (tenements). For his staff who worked for Sir John at the Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh.
Well Court - John Ritchie Findlay
Plaque on Well Court and Portrait of Sir John Ritchie Findlay in National Portrait Gallery
Inscription, In memory of John Ritchie Findlay The founder of
The National Portrait Gallery of Scotland and donor of this building.
Dean Path Footbridge
This foot bridge takes you over the Water of Leith from Hawthornbank Lane to Well Court,
Old West Mill and the Village School house. Along the water side about 100 metres is a waterfall which was a weir (a low dam) which was used to power the mills. A great variety of wild life.
The Plague
The burgh records mention that the pest was in the Dene On the 15th June 1513 and no one from the area was allowed to enter the walls of Edinburgh. If a women entered she would be branded on the cheek. If a man entered the punishment would be sever even hung.
Merchants House 17 Bells Brae
The building on the south west corner of Bell’s Brae Bridge is one of the oldest buildings that still remains from the Water of Leith Village built circa 1650. 17 Bells Brae, was where the head of the local merchants' guild lived who oversaw the village's milling industry. It was also a local shop run by A W Kemp in the 20th century
The Granary | Old Tollbooth
The Granary was built in 1675 (yellow building in photo) known as the Old Tollbooth Inscribed in two lines
GOD BLESS THE BAXTERS OF EDINBURGH WHO BUILT THIS HOUS 1675. On the cornice is a carved panel with a circular garland, a wheat-sheaf flanked by two cherub's heads another inscription GODS PROVIDENCE IS OUR | INHERITANCE 1677, The Last Mill at Bell's Mills was nearly totally destroyed by an explosion in 1971.
Hawthornbank Lane
Hawthornbank lane is part of the original milling hamlet known the Dene or Water of Leith Village and was famous as a grain milling area for over 800 years. The name Dene (Dean) meaning Deep Gorge. The Dean Village with the Water of Leith flowing through, grew as a community in the 1100s from the numerous mills that were built on the river banks.
Miller’s Row
On the pathway towards Leith under the Dean Bridge is an area called Miller’s Row old houses for the mill workers. Also you can see three mill stones resting against each other previously used in the Granaries in the 1600s. Look over the wall to see a waterfall which is another part of the weir
St George's Well
The Water of Leith and the source of the mineral water for St Bernard's Well and St George's Well. St George's Well is on the banks of the Water of Leith near to Alexander Nasmyth's St Bernard's Well. Built in 1810 by Mr MacDonald of Stockbridge on the 50th year on the throne to commemorate the jubilee of George III. King George III celebrated his Golden Jubilee on October 25, 1809, marking the beginning of his 50th year on the throne. It was the first significant jubilee celebration in British history. The well was finally blocked up in 1969.
St Bernard's Well
A natural mineral spring was discovered on the Water of Leith near to Stockbridge in 1760, some claimed that the water could cure everything. Francis Garden, Lord Gardenstone of Troup the landowner, commissioned a building in 1789 to be erected over the well Alexander Nasmyth designed a Doric Temple, a copy of the Temple to the Sybil at Tivoli, the summer palace of the Roman emperors. The Temple has a domed ceiling supported by 10 columns which covers the statue of Hygeia, the Greek goddess of health The Well closed in 1940. There are two mineral wells on the Water of Leith one called St Bernard's Well and the other well a short distance west and this is called St George’s Well. This was also to have the same powers as St Bernard’s well but was never used to the extent of St Bernard's well.
Hygeia Greek Goddess of Health
The well named after St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) a French abbot, theologian, and major leader in the reform of the Cistercian Order which was present over Scotland, in 1136 an invitation of King David I lead to many Abbeys being built. Melrose Abbey: Founded in 1136, was Scotland's first Cistercian monastery. Famously for the place the heart of Robert the Bruce is buried. Also A pig playing bagpipes.
William Nelson Memorial
William Nelson was a publisher in Edinburgh and took it upon himself to renovate the St Bernard’s well as it had become in a state of disrepair. He used his own funds to renovate and improve its aesthetic look.
The Dene Archway
Water of Leith Walkway. The Dene to Belford Bridge.
The Dene meaning Deep Gorge was first mentioned in 1143 when David I granted one of his mills of Dene to the Abbey monks of Holyrood. The Dene steps take you to St Bernard’s Bridge built in 1824.
St Bernard’s Bridge
Also known as Mackenzie Bridge possibly named after Samuel Mackenzie
(portrait painter and pupil of Sir Henry Raeburn).The bridge was Built in 1824. The steps and added archways were built in 1887, with Edinburgh’s Coat of Arms above the western arch. The small arch was block off in 1890.
The view over the Water of Leith east and west and the road from Mackenzie Place to Dean Terrace.
The Dean Area
The other parts of the Dean Village area Sunbury Street, Belford Mews, over the Belford Bridge (Belford Road).
The Art Galleries Modern 1 and 2, Daniel Stewart's Hospital (School) Queensferry Road.
Sunbury and Belford Mews
Sunbury Mews John C Hay, 1886. 2-storey Scots Baronial mews building on narrow wedged site at head of Sunbury Mews and Sunbury Street terminated by large circular plan tower with conical roof; prominent crow stepped gables to E and W elevations.
No.12 and 13 Belford Mews face Sunbury Mews in a courtyard once used stables, tack rooms, and carriage houses.
Sunbury House
Whytock and Reid well-detailed building purpose built in 1886 as a cabinet maker's workshop. The workshop provides a link to the industrial heritage of the Dean Village with nearby Sunbury Street a row of houses for artisans. Although now no longer occupied by the firm Whytock and Reid (converted for residential dwelling, 2008) the building was originally commissioned by Robert and Hugh Reid in 1886. The firm of Whytock and Reid received a Royal warrant in the early 19th century and supplied furniture to the Royal and major houses of Scotland.
Whisky
from the Dean Village
The Water of Leith around the area of the Dean Village was the site of a number of Distilleries which are now closed. The Sunbury and Dean Distillers both closed many years ago but you can still get the taste of the Dean Whisky as it is now made at the Loch Lomond Distillery to the same traditional recipe as it was made in the Dean Distillery from 1818 to 1922.
BELFORD BRIDGE
A single-arch stone bridge near to the same spot was built for ease of crossing at the foot of Bell’s Brae in the Dean Village previously of wooden construction. Belford Road in Edinburgh was named after the Belford Bridge, which was built to carry the road over the Water of Leith. The road itself is part of the old route from Edinburgh to Queensferry, and the bridge was constructed in 1885-7.
The river is the Water of Leith which flows from the Pentland Hills to the Port of Leith where it joins the Firth of Forth before joining the North Sea. There is a walk way at the side of the river with a visitors centre in Lanark Road that can give you detailed information on the best routes. The Water of Leith walkway extends from the Shore at Leith to Balerno a village suburb of Edinburgh over 19 km from the shore. The pathway is suitable for walking or cycling.
COMMEMORATIVE STONE
Carved in the stone on the Belford Bridge is:
BELFORD BRIDGE
ERECTED BY THE MAGISTRATES
AND TOWN COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF EDINBURGH
WITH THE AID OF THE LOCAL SUBSCRIPTIONS
OBTAINED BY THE BELFORD BRIDGE ASSOCIATION
OPENED BY
THE RT HON SIR THOMAS CLARK (BART) LORD PROVOST
JULY 1887
Scottish National Gallery
of Modern Art One
Scottish Gallery of Modern Art One Ravelston Area Edinburgh
Ravelston Area Edinburgh, The building was originally the home of John Watson’s Hospital (school) built in 1828 by William Burn with funds left by John Watson an Edinburgh solicitor on his death in 1762 and closed in 1975 due to lack of funding. The gallery opened at its present address in 1984. Set in large grounds it features a stepped S-shaped landform by Charles Jenks which provides the setting for a range of sculptures. The Gallery collection has approximately 5000 pieces ranging from prints and paintings to contemporary video installations are all house in the gallery.
There is also a café for refreshments.
The Plaque at the door to the Gallery of Modern Art reads;
John Watson’s school 1828 – 1975 | This building originally John Watson’s Institute | was designed by William Burn in 1825, opening in 1828 under the aegis of the society of H M Writers | to the signet, its original purpose to house | maintain and educate destitute children, the | institution became John Watson’s school in 1934 | enrolling fee paying pupils while maintaining its | original purpose and by 1957 the school offered continuous education to all pupils from 5-18 years. | In 1975 despite its growing reputation John Watson’s school unexpectedly closed after the withdrawal | of its grant. The building reopened as the Scottish |National Gallery of Modern Art in 1984.
Dean Gallery
Scottish National Gallery
of Modern Art 2
The Dean Gallery building was designed in 1833 by Thomas Hamilton and was originally an orphanage.
The clock is said to be that of the Nether Bow Port that once stood as the gates to Edinburgh in the High Street.
The Gallery opened in 1999 and is home for the Eduardo Paolozzi collection. In the grounds are sculpture and graphic art, It contains a large collection of Dada and Surrealist art and literature and also holds temporary exhibitions.
There is a café for refreshments
Stewart's Hospital
Ravelston Edinburgh
Stewart's Hospital was also built in this area in 1855. Daniel Stewart a wealthy merchant of Edinburgh left money in his will in 1814 for a hospital (school) to be built for the unfortunate children that could not afford to be schooled in other institutions giving preference to families with the name Stewart. Melville College was a former school, Edinburgh Institution for Mathematics and Language, which opened in 1832 and renamed in 1936. Daniel Stewart’s College and Melville College were joined in 1972 and became, Daniel Stewart’s and Melville College. The School is now after amalgamation of three schools Mary Erskine School, Daniel Stewart’s College and Melville College, in 1974 created the largest independent family of schools in Europe.
