Piershill is a suburb of north east Edinburgh, Scotland, in the shadow of Arthur's Seat. It is mainly residential, with local amenities including a large supermarket and filling station, bank, public library, optician, pharmacy, several takeaway restaurants and specialist retailers along with public houses.
Piershill existed as a distinct area in Restalrig before 1500 and is recorded in 1588 as Peirieshill. The name may derive from the French name Pierre or from the Scotspersche relating to other willow names in the area.[1]
The Piershill Square East/West/Portobello Road tenements, containing 342 dwellings, were built 1937-8 by the Edinburgh Corporation Council. They were designed by Ebenezer James MacRae (1881–1951), Edinburgh's City Architect and members of his architectural team, Malcolm Murchison, James Tweedie and Andrew Rollo. MacRae was City Architect for twenty years and his infill developments and reinterpretation of Scots vernacular architecture are an important part of Edinburgh's inter-war heritage. These tenements reflect MacRae's tours of Europe in their planning and layout.[2] Many of the original multi-pane sash windows have been replaced with uPVC (without listed building consent) as the flats were sold under the right to buy. They were built on the site of Piershill Barracks, and re-used the stone facings from the old buildings.[3] They are a reinterpretation of the traditional tenement, a housing type more usually associated with the Nineteenth century.[4]
Transport
Train near St Margaret's Locomotive Depot, Piershill
The East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh and London lies to the immediate north of the estate. Smokey Brae lies immediately west of Piershill, being the local name for the route to Restalrig which travels beneath the railway line. Immediately before the first bridge on the high wall to the right can be seen the remains of the original back gate to Piershill Barracks, now walled up but still with the legend BACK GATE visible on the wall; there is also a bricked up doorway to the left of the back gate.
As well as the East Coast Main Line railway there is also a busy crossroads, the main A1 roadtrunk route between Edinburgh and London and the A1140 to Portobello. The area is well served by Lothian Buses.
Piershill Cemetery
Grave of The Great Lafayette
The cemetery appears unexceptional but includes a number of curious military memorials, and 63 Commonwealth war graves. To the east there is a large section reserved for Jewish burials and to the north-west is Scotland's first and Edinburgh's only Pet Cemetery. Notable monuments include:
Multiple members of the Codona family, fairground entertainers
Memorial to David Norman Duncan, engineer lost in the disastrous test run on the submarine Thetis on 1 June 1939
Two Czechoslovakian service personnel of World War II.[5] Note these lie in the central Jewish section
Community Flat
Until 2016 Piershill Square West had a "Community Flat", run by the National Health Service (NHS). Staffed full-time by a coordinator, with additional staff from various agencies supporting the project on a weekly basis, the Community Flat was run in partnership between the City of Edinburgh Council and NHS Lothian. It offered services including a residents' group; a parent and toddler group; stop smoking services; state benefits advice; social groups; links to Working Towards Health; and links to Action for Jobs with Jobcentre Plus. The flat was predominantly for use by residents of the two squares in Piershill, Portobello Road and the top of Restalrig Road South, but from March 2007 was part of the greater Regeneration Outcome Agreement area of Restalrig, Lochend and Craigentinny. It has now been returned to the Council by the NHS and is in ordinary housing use.
Portobello is a coastal suburb of Edinburgh in eastern central Scotland. It lies 3 miles (5 km) east of the city centre, facing the Firth of Forth, between the suburbs of Joppa and Craigentinny. Although historically it was a town in its own right, it is officially a residential suburb of Edinburgh. The promenade fronts onto a wide sandy beach.
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Sciennes is a district of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated approximately 2 kilometres south of the city centre. It is a mainly residential district, although it is also well-known as the site of the former Royal Hospital for Sick Children. Most of its housing stock consists of terraces of four-storey Victorian tenements. The district is popular with students, thanks to its proximity to the University of Edinburgh. Its early history is linked to the presence in the area of the 16th-century Convent of St Catherine of Scienna, from which the district derives its name.
Abbeyhill is an area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.
Ardmillan is a mainly residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. The area developed during the mid to late Victorian era as Edinburgh expanded and many of the present tenement flats and houses date from this era. The area is bisected by the A70 road and its north-west edge is marked by the Shotts railway line. The area has several pubs, small shops, churches and a cemetery.
Jock's Lodge is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It centres on the junction of London Road and Willowbrae Road, Portobello Road and Restalrig Road South and is an alternative name for the Meadowbank / Piershill area. Restalrig village lies to its north.
Craigentinny is a suburb in the north-east of Edinburgh, Scotland, east of Restalrig and close to Portobello.
Sighthill is a suburb in the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. The area is bordered by Broomhouse and Parkhead to the east, South Gyle to the north, the industrial suburb of Bankhead and the Calders neighbourhood to the west, and Wester Hailes to the south. It is sometimes included in the Wester Hailes area, while the Calders, Bankhead and Parkhead are sometimes considered parts of Sighthill. Administratively it has formed a core part of the City of Edinburgh Council's Sighthill/Gorgie ward since 2007.
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Restalrig is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, both of which it overlaps. Restalrig Road is the main route through the area, running from London Road, at Jock's Lodge, to Leith Links. It is in the ward of Lochend.
Stenhouse is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It lies to the west of the City Centre, adjacent to Whitson and Saughton Mains and close to Broomhouse and Chesser. It is a mainly residential area.
Ebenezer James MacRae was a Scottish architect serving as City Architect for Edinburgh for most of his active life.
Piershill Barracks was a military installation in Piershill in Edinburgh.
Craigentinny/Duddingston is one of the seventeen wards used to elect members of the City of Edinburgh Council. Established in 2007 along with the other wards, it currently elects four Councillors.
Stewart Kaye FRIBA FRICS (1885–1952) was a Scottish architect in the 20th century. Working in a stripped down Scottish version of the Art Deco style he was consultant architect to the Presbytery of East Lothian and the Halifax Building Society. Mainly based in Edinburgh he is responsible for a large proportion of the city's housing estates from the 1930s.
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