Silverknowes

Origin of Name: Silverknowes is a relatively modern name but its origin is unfortunately unknown.

Position: Sea to the north, Barnton to the west, Muirhouse to the east and Davidson's Mains to the south. See map above.

Historical notes: Back in the 14th Century the lands were known as Randilstoun or Rudulf's farm. In more modern times the lands on which Silverknowes Farm stood were part of the old Muirhouse estate and in the 1930s most of the farmland was sold for housing. However in the early 1930s Silverknowes was a contender with Gilmerton as a place to build the city's first airport.
House builders McTaggart & Mickel began building owner occupier houses in 1935, starting with Silverknowes Terrace, Avenue and Loan – the distinctive crescent shaped streets coming slightly later. In 1937 a 3 bedroom semi detached house in Silverknowes Terrace was selling for £775. Work resumed again in 1946 after WWII and by 1954 nearly 300 houses were built. Silverknowes was a very desirable place to live and was named as the garden estate of Edinburgh. In 1955 Edinburgh buses extended their number 9 route into Silverknowes. WWII not only stopped the construction of housing, it also stopped the building of the Silverknowes golf course which had started in 1938 and was laid out on lands of Broomfield estate – Broomfield house being the one time home of the Haig family then owned by Edinburgh council,British Gas, Commodore Hotel and now a Globetrotter Inn. The house was considered as the club house doubling as tea rooms for day trippers to the course or nearby Cramond beach but instead a house called Silverknowe nearby was made into the club rooms in 1950. It was 1957 before the golf club opened and the present club house was built in 1965.
Silverknowes farmhouse was used by McTaggart & Mickel as their yard and still exists today just off Silverknowes Road and is used as a manse. The farm cottages nearby were demolished in 1972.

Today: A pleasant quiet suburb with mainly bungalow housing but also some blocks of flats around the area. There are a range of facilities from local shops to the golf course and also the promenade which connects to nearby Cramond.

Did You Know: The promenade was built in the late 1940s and it's estimated it will cost £142000 to repair the damage caused by 2010's storms and bad weather.

In 1931 a Mr CH Lowe Wylde became the first person to glide over the Firth of Forth as part of a pageant held at Silverknowes farm by the Edinburgh Gliding Club.

During WWII what was laid out as the future golf club was ploughed up and cultivated by the remains of Silverknowes farm as part of the war effort.

Links: http://www.dmsa.org.uk/