Historic Houses North 1

CRAIGCROOK CASTLE – CRAIGCROOK ROAD

The castle was built in the mid 1500s by William Adamson an Edinburgh merchant. It was extended in 1626 by Sir John Hall who became Lord Provost by 1689. A drawing room wing was added to the north by Lord Francis Jeffrey in the early 1800s and in 1835 he commissioned William Playfair to rebuild the eastern extension and remodel the main block. Sir Walter Scott visited regularly as a friend of Jeffreys and also the previous owner Archibald Constable, Scott's publisher. Lord Jeffrey is said to haunt the building. It had some minor extensions in the 1890s when a billiard room was added and a modern extension was added in 1968 when the castle became a base for an architectural company. Between 1986 and 2004 it was the Scottish headquarters of a fish farming company called Marine Harvest who did some internal restoration in 1989. In 2010 it is occupied by different businesses.

DRYLAW HOUSE- GROATHILL ROAD NORTH

The Forresters of Corstorphine owned the estate back in the 1400s followed by the MacGills in the 1500s. In 1641 it was sold to the Lochs of Drylaw and they built this house in 1718. In 1786 William Ramsay of Barnton took over and the house was given a new entrance on its eastern side. The grounds of the house were built on in the 1950s to house some of those displaced in slum clearances in other parts of the city. It is still a private house.

LAMBS HOUSE – WATERS CLOSE

It is not known when this house was built. It is claimed that when Mary Queen of Scots returned to Scotland in 1561 she stayed at the house of Andrew Lamb a wealthy Leith merchant. It is possible that the house was demolished and rebuilt as it is architecturally mid 17th century. In the early 20th century the house was sub divided into flats but by 1933 had deteriorated to such an extent that it was in danger of being demolished. The Marquis of Bute bought the house in 1938 and had it restored. The National Trust took over ownership in 1958 and in 1961 leased it to Edinburgh and Leith Old People's Welfare Council who used it as a day care centre. The National Trust sold the house in 2010 due to financial difficulties but no progress in renovating the house has yet been made.

PILRIG HOUSE - PILRIG PARK
Gilbert Kirkwood an Edinburgh goldsmith built the house in 1638 for his bride Margaret Foulis. It was bought in 1718 by James Balfour whose father was a director of the Darien Company and who died a broken man after the failure of the expedition. James was given compensation by the government in 1707 and bought the lands of Pilrig. Robert Louis Stevenson was a descendant of the Balfours and mentions Pilrig House in his novel Kidnapped. The house was extended in 1828.The Balfour family owned it until 1941 when the house was gifted to Edinburgh council who had already obtained over 20 acres of the Pilrig estate. The house was used as a civil defence centre, a boys club, fireman's hostel and emergency accommodation for homeless families. By 1954 it was empty except for a caretaker and despite an undertaking to preserve the building, it was allowed to fall into disrepair finally becoming uninhabitable in 1969 the same year the extension was demolished. In 1971 the house burned down. The exterior was restored and internally rebuilt and converted into flats in 1985. Today they are luxury self catering apartments.

SMITHS PLACE – SMITHS PLACE

Merchant James Smith built this house in 1812 and also laid out the street that he gave his name to. The house was used for many years as Raines Clark & Co wholesale chemists whose name is still above the door. It is still used as commercial premises.

SEACOTE HOUSE – SEAFIELD AVENUE

Built around 1810 and extended in 1830 it was also known as Seagrove. It was rediscovered in the 1970s by the Cockburn Association. It is still in residential use and stands in a cul de sac off Seafield Avenue called Seacote.

MUIRHOUSE MANSION – MARINE DRIVE

This Tudor-Gothic house was built in 1832 by the Davidson family, merchants, who purchased the Muirhouse estate in 1776. It replaced an earlier house on the site that was built around1670 and the new house was built with the remains of the old. Two towers from the old house were incorporated into the new. Edinburgh council bought the building in 1936 for £48500 as a home for tuberculosis sufferers but later leased it out. A businessman named William Munro lived in the house from 1950. It was then used by Ferranti who also occupied Craigroyston House and it was used by photography studio Robb & Campbell Harper Ltd from 1971 to 1983. An advertising agency Woolward Royds used it as offices after that followed by McCann Erikson but it has been empty since 1999.

LAURISTON CASTLE – CRAMOND ROAD NORTH

The original castle was a tower which was built around 1590 by Sir Archibald Napier for his son also called Archibald. The Napier family also owned Merchiston Castle and Archibald's other son John was the inventor of Logarithms. In 1827 under the ownership of Thomas Allan, a banker and minerologist, the house was greatly altered and this is the house that can be seen today. The architect William Burn made many additions and alterations to the house although Sir Walter Scott believed Mr Burn would have rather pulled the house down. In 1845 WH Playfair added the gabled porches.
In 1902 the owner William Reid modernised the interior by installing bathrooms, electricity and central heating. Mr Reid owned a cabinet making business and had a great appreciation of art and fine furniture. He lived in the house with his wife and brother in law and wanted to leave the house to Scotland when the last of them died, provided it remained unchanged. Mrs Reid died in 1926 and the house was taken over by Edinburgh Council. Today it offers a view of life in Edwardian Britain – the grounds and house are open to the public.

STARBANK PARK HOUSE – STARBANK PARK

In the late 1800s the gardens of Starbank House and Laverockbank House (demolished) were joined together to form Starbank Park. The remaining house was renamed Starbank Park House. Starbank Cottages which stood on the main street in front of the house were also demolished and railings added for the entrance to the new park. The main entrance of the house has a church style archway revealing the fact it was once home to a Reverend.

WARDIE HOUSE - WARDIE HOUSE LANE OFF BOSWALL ROAD

Built around the early 1500s it was originally known as Wardie Castle. It belonged to the Boswalls of Wardie in the 1700s but fell into serious disrepair. The current house was reconstructed in 1860 and it is the kitchens of the mansion house that have since been renovated and turned into the Wardie House of today.