IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Woodcroft Road, EDINBURGH, EH10 4EJ

New houses built on the site of Woodcroft, a large house and grounds.

A curious structure appears above the wall running along the north side of Clinton Road. Only on closer inspection is it found to be a rare survival from the time before this slope of the burgh muir was built over in the 19th century. It is a private doocot from around 1730 which is unusual in that its 12 flight holes are positioned at the south-west angle rather than facing the rising sun. It shares a Grade-A listing along with the likes of Edinburgh Castle.

Now converted into a private dwelling, this is an early 18th-century doocot with a sloping lectern-style roof. It originally contained 232 brick nesting boxes and a 15 foot deep subterranean well shaft, possibly for collecting the manure from above.

Though little read today, Susan Ferrier was at one time a noted novelist who was constantly encouraged to write more by her father's friend, Sir Walter Scott, who recognised her talent for describing the Scottish society of her day. Her first novel 'Marriage' was published in 1818, followed by 'The Inheritance' in 1824 and 'Destiny' in 1831. She inherited East Morningside House on the death of her father in 1829. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Edmonstoune_Ferrier "We are once more settled here and glad I am to find myself out of the smoke and dirt of the town, which always disagrees with me at this season—the air of this place suits me particularly well." -- Susan Ferrier

Continuation of Church Hill.

Grade-A listed gatepiers belonging to a private residence which stood here before the surrounding area filled up with grand Victorian villas in the 19th century.

Built 2014-16 on the site of a telephone exchange.

A tall elm which was once part of a long avenue of trees which can be seen on early maps of the area, running southwards down the slope from East Morningside House to Blackford Pond. It's tall enough to be seen above the rooftops of the Grange from Blackford Road. Sadly, its partner in the avenue was brought down in the gales of January 2012.

The house, built in 1726 by the Edinburgh merchant Gavin Baillie, stood in its own secluded grounds until the surrounding area was gradually built over. In 1801, it was bought by James Ferrier, Writer to the Signet and Principal Clerk of Session, a close colleague of Sir Walter Scott and father of the novelist Susan Ferrier. As well as Scott, visitors to the house included the writers Thomas De Quincey and Sydney Smith (co-founder of the 'Edinburgh Review'), and the historian Lord Macauley.