Drylaw

Origin of Name: From Anglian Dryge hlaw or Scots dry law dried up hill

Position: Muirhouse and Pilton to the north, Blackhall and Craigleith to the south and east and Davidson's Mains to the west.

Historical notes: Recorded back to 1296 when is was called Drilawe and by 1491 the estate was divided into Easter and Wester Drylaw. Drylaw. The Forresters of Corstorphine owned the estate during the 15th & 16th centuries then it passed, through marriage, to the Macgills who combined both Drylaws in 1638. The Stalker family owned the Easter section for some time and in 1641 the estate was sold to James Loch, an Edinburgh merchant. Drylaw House was built in 1718 and was surrounded by farmland. There were two farms close together: Drylaw Mains (south of Ferry Road at the top of Groathill Road North) and Easter Drylaw (just south of Easter Drylaw Place). Groathill was a separate estate, first recorded in 1350 but was taken into Drylaw in 1683. Groathill House was situated just east of the junction of Telford Road and Groathill Road North. The house had a thatched roof and was demolished when work began to build Telford Road in 1925. House building began with Drylaw Avenue in 1923 and continued with Drylaw Crescent in 1925. Development in East Drylaw began in 1936 with Easter Drylaw Drive and continued until the 1970s

Today: A small area of mainly council or ex council housing. There are local shops and businesses and a good community spirit with a neighbourhood centre, community garden project and a community council.

Did You Know: Silverknowes Green, Midway, Southway and view were built in 1960 on Drylaw ground and the area of today's Craigleith just south of Telford Road and west of the retail park was built on Drylaw land.

Drylaw House Gardens and Paddock were named in 1981 as they occupied those parts of the house's grounds.

The Drylaw Neighbourhood centre opened in 1995 and provides community activities such as cooking and gardening classes amongst others. They also run a community gardens project.

Links:
http://www.drylawnc.org.uk/