Springwell House, Gorgie Road

Image: © kim traynor Taken: 8 Aug 2009

The building, dating from 1840, was formerly the Edinburgh Magdalene Asylum, an institution which witnessed the darker side of the city's past. The original Asylum, established in 1797 and situated immediately west of Tolbooth Wynd in the Canongate, served as a refuge for released female prisoners and 'fallen' women. The inmates, who were easily recognised by their common dress and shaven heads, were regularly subjected to abuse when they ventured beyond its walls. On 8th April 1828, the young Mary Patterson was discharged after spending 18 months as an inmate and returned to 'working the streets'. The next day she was murdered by William Burke who sold her body to Dr. Robert Knox. A medical student who attended the dissection later attested that he had recognised Mary from having recently made her acquaintance. The Asylum's director, Dr. William Tait, recommended a move away from the unpleasant atmosphere of the Old Town to Dalry - then well outside the city limits - where it was relocated in 1840 and remained for the next hundred years. When it declared itself bankrupt in 1950, the Council took over the premises which are now used as a Social Work Centre. Image

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