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30-525: Land at Inverleith , at that time on the undeveloped northern fringe of Edinburgh , was purchased in 1897 by the Scottish Rugby Union (then the Scottish Football Union), which had previously played international matches at Raeburn Place about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) further south towards the city centre; that was primarily a cricket venue (although it is still used for rugby today as

60-601: A co-heiress, Mary (d. 1749) married Sir Francis Kinloch, 3rd Baronet , of Gilmerton (1676–1747). Their son Alexander (d. 1755) inherited the entire Inverleith estates, and changed his surname to become Alexander Rocheid of Inverleith. Alexander and his descendants spent most of their time in Germany, and the Inverleith estate was leased. In 1774, Inverleith House was built, to designs by the architect David Henderson. Alexander's son James Rocheid of Inverleith leased Inverleith Mains at

90-558: A local filling station a stone was unearthed bearing the inscription, "The Baxters Land 1686". It is now incorporated into a wall of the Canonmills Service Station. The only surviving building of the original village is a pantile-roofed former mill building on the corner of Eyre Place and Canon Street. Until c.1995 further remnants existed on Eyre Terrace. In winter this small man-made loch was used for curling. Canonmills Curling Society were painted by David Allan c.1796 (which

120-426: A merger of Daniel Stewart's College and Melville College, whose own sports grounds at Ferryfield, sold off for housing when the institutions merged, were immediately to the north). The stadium is located on Ferry Road (A902); Edinburgh Academy 's junior school is located a short distance to the east – much closer than Stewart's Melville College itself; Goldenacre , the home of another rival school club Heriot's ,

150-604: A mill here from the 12th century. It is shown pictorially as a cluster of buildings, three of which have waterwheels, on the 1560 Siege of Leith map. At a later period a mill lade from the Water of Leith reached the area via the village of Silvermills to the east. The Incorporation of Baxters (bakers) in the Canongate were compelled by law to have their corn ground at the Canonmills, and during demolition work carried out in 1964 to enlarge

180-484: A modern medical centre. A little lodge-type building on Rodney Street is the old school, where Sir Walter Scott 's father was educated. Bellevue Chapel is a Victorian gothic church located in Rodney Street. The church is an independent Evangelical congregation. The building was constructed from 1878-1881, and was originally a Lutheran place of worship for German residents of Edinburgh and those that were building

210-630: A time to swing by the hands "over a distance of 130 feet from one trapeze to the other", the Giant's Sea-Saw , 100 feet long by 7 wide, which could elevate 200 people to a height of 50 feet, and the Patent Velocipede Paddle Merry-go-Round propelled by the feet of 600 passengers. At the southern edge of the Park, in the cliff-like drop from the streets of the New Town, lies the northern end of

240-528: A very popular tourist attraction, local leisure amenity, and scientific research centre. In 1889 the city acquired South Inverleith Mains Farm from the Rocheid family to create Inverleith Park, adjacent to the Royal Botanic Gardens. This includes allotments and a well maintained pond, popular for use by model boat enthusiasts and well populated with water birds and occasionally kingfishers. The park also

270-623: Is also located here. Within Inverleith there are very few shops and offices, and it is almost entirely residential and recreational in character. Today Inverleith is home to houses often being sold considerably in excess of one million pounds sterling. These include Scotland's most expensive penthouses, selling for £1.5m, and a recently renovated villa, which sold for over two million pounds sterling. The houses are generally handsome and spacious Victorian or Georgian villas with two or three floors, garages and quite large gardens. The residents tend to be employed in professions in central Edinburgh. It

300-464: Is also one of the earliest paintings of this area). The loch survived until the late 19th century, at which point it was infilled and built over. The George V Park, occupying the old Canon Mill Haugh to the south east, used to be a popular sporting arena. With the final draining of the loch in 1865 it became the site of the Royal Patent Gymnasium, described by James Grant as "...one of

330-486: Is an inner suburb in the north of Edinburgh , Scotland, on the fringes of the central region of the city. Its neighbours include Trinity to the north and the New Town to the south, with Canonmills at the south-east and Stockbridge at the south-west. Like many places in and around Lothian and Edinburgh , the name comes from Scottish Gaelic – Inbhir Lìte , meaning "Mouth of Leith ", as with Inverness, meaning mouth of

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360-489: Is around 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) further east. The site is within the Inverleith conservation area . Local amateur rugby club Inverleith RFC do not play at the old stadium itself but on the Arboretum Road playing fields immediately to the east. 55°58′11″N 3°13′12″W  /  55.9698°N 3.2201°W  / 55.9698; -3.2201 Inverleith Inverleith ( Scottish Gaelic : Inbhir Lìte )

390-535: Is convenient for such workers, as it lies only a mile and a half from the centre. Being on grounds slightly higher than the centre, it commands views of the Edinburgh skyline, including Edinburgh Castle and Arthur's Seat . It has one of the lowest crime rates in the city and is a designated conservation area . Within the area are Fettes College , an independent boarding school, and the state-run Broughton High School . Edinburgh Academy , an independent day school,

420-572: Is nearby in the north of the New Town. The area gives its name to the Inverleith ward under the City of Edinburgh Council created in 2007, but this encompasses a larger territory including Stockbridge, Comely Bank and more westerly neighbourhoods such as Blackhall , Craigleith and Drylaw . Inverleith was for over two centuries owned by the Rocheid (sometimes spelt Rochead) family. It changed hands when

450-532: The Edinburgh Academy , Fettes College and Stewart's Melville College (plus those of modern Broughton High School ), including the home grounds of Edinburgh Accies (at Raeburn Place ), Edinburgh Northern RFC and Inverleith RFC , as well as The Grange Club , home of the Scotland national cricket team . Canonmills Canonmills is a district of Edinburgh , the capital of Scotland . It lies to

480-551: The Inverleith Sports Ground (hosting international matches from 1899 until 1925 when they moved to Murrayfield Stadium ) is located off Ferry Road and is today used by Stewarts Melville RFC . In addition to some public facilities in Inverleith Park itself, the wider area contains a large expanse of separate but almost contiguous sports grounds, most of which are associated to local, historic fee-paying schools like

510-599: The Kinloch Anderson Sundial that was originally gifted to the City of Edinburgh in 1890, was restored as the result of an approach from the Friends of Inverleith Park to Kinloch Anderson. The company restored the sundial to mark its 150th anniversary. The park has also played host as a shooting location for feature films such as Chariots of Fire and Dark Sense . A former home of the Scotland national rugby union team ,

540-491: The River Ness. Some documents refer to the area as "Inner Leith". It is characterised by its wealth of open green space. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Inverleith Park, in addition to the numerous playing fields owned and used by the independent schools Edinburgh Academy , Fettes College , Stewart's Melville College and George Heriot's . The Royal Botanic Gardens' nursery garden, for growing and cultivating plants,

570-562: The Scotland Street Tunnel which once provided an underground rail link to Canal Street Station on the site of present-day Waverley Station . The tunnel, built under Scotland Street in 1847 by the Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway , is three quarters of a mile long and descends a 1 in 27 gradient. Trains descended the tunnel under gravity, controlled by two men operating handbrakes in two front wagons. Robert Louis Stevenson described

600-423: The appearance in his ' Edinburgh: Picturesque Notes ' (1879): "The Scotland Street Station, the sight of the train shooting out of its dark maw with the two guards upon the brake, the thought of its length and the many ponderous edifices and thoroughfares above, were certainly things of paramount impressiveness to a young mind." For the return journey, 150mm steel cables were attached to the trains which were pulled up

630-539: The beginning of the 19th century to George Lauder (1776–1824), Comptroller of the City of Edinburgh's Tolls, and the great-grandfather of Sir Harry Lauder . In late 1823, George Lauder, described as the tenant farmer of Inverleith Mains, agreed with James Rocheid of Inverleith to a reversion of part of his leasehold lands, 11.5 Scots acres , for the site of the Royal Botanic Garden , which had formerly been located on Leith Walk . Commonly known as "The Botanics",

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660-470: The condition of the stadium following World War I (when only minimal maintenance was carried out) and the poor potential for expansion to cope with larger crowds as the sport's popularity grew, the SRU decided to move to a new site and transferred operations to Murrayfield Stadium on the west side of the city. The last international at the old ground was a victory over France in the 1925 Five Nations Championship ;

690-466: The home of Edinburgh Accies ). Thus the organisation became the first of the ' Home Unions ' to have its own ground. The first match at the new ground was played on 18 February 1899 when Scotland were defeated 9–3 by Ireland in the 1899 Home Nations Championship . International rugby was played at Inverleith until the early 1920s, including the first matches played at home by Scotland against New Zealand in 1905 and France in 1910 . Having assessed

720-472: The most remarkable and attractive places of its kind in Edinburgh", created "at considerable expense for the purpose of affording healthful and exhilarating recreation in the open air". The principal feature was the circular Great Sea Serpent which could seat 600 rowers embarking and disembarking at four separate piers. Other attractions were the Self-Adjusting Trapeze enabling up to 100 patrons at

750-503: The new site was opened in May 1824, comprising a large and varied set of gardens or parks with a wide range of plants, from around the world, in the open and in greenhouses. There is a Chinese-themed garden, an extensive landscaped rock garden, a large palm house, and since its opening in July 2006, an official memorial of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother , opened by Queen Elizabeth . It is maintained as

780-552: The site of French boule ( pétanque ) competitions. Cricket , rugby union and football matches are played there as well. There are also tennis and volleyball courts maintained by Edinburgh Council and a safe play area for toddlers. The park has hosted the Edinburgh International Science Festival, and is also used as a viewing area for fireworks set off over central Edinburgh. Inverleith Park also plays host to an annual Foodies Festival. In early 2018,

810-483: The slope by a stationary winding-engine at the Waverley end. The bridge (generally called Canonmills Bridge) linking Canonmills to Inverleith Row was built in 1767, its single arch replaced by three arches in 1840. It was widened in 1896. The deep elliptical crescent of Eyre Crescent was built around Canonmills (or Eyre) House which was replaced in 1880-1 by a United Presbyterian Church which in turn has been replaced by

840-494: The south east of the Royal Botanic Garden at Inverleith , east of Stockbridge and west of Bellevue , in a low hollow north of Edinburgh's New Town. The area was formerly a loch which was drained in three phases in the 18th and 19th centuries, disappearing finally in 1865. Formerly a small village, Canonmills owes its origins and name, in the same way as The Canongate , to the Augustinian canons of Holyrood Abbey who operated

870-421: The subsequent win over England two months later that clinched the title and a first Grand Slam was the first match at the new ground. Some further unofficial Scotland matches were played at Inverleith during World War II when Murrayfield was requisitioned for military use. The Scotland women's national rugby union team hosted matches there occasionally in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Club rugby

900-413: Was initially played at Inverleith by Stewart's College FP , the forerunner to the current Stewart's Melville RFC who still play there operating out of the 1990s clubhouse adjacent to the original grandstand – the owners, Stewart's Melville College , have their fields for other sports (such as Hockey and Cricket, as well as an impressive number of rugby pitches) in the surrounding area (they were formed by

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