Alnwickhill ( ) is a suburb of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, the capital of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It is on the southern edge of the city, approximately from the city centre. It neighbours the areas of Liberton and

Kaimes Kaimes is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is south of Alnwickhill Alnwickhill ( ) is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is on the southern edge of the city, approximately from the city centre. It neighb ...

. The area is now primarily residential, but was the site of Backside Lee Farm until the 1970s when the land was sold to Crudens for development.

Alnwickhill Reservoir and Waterworks

The waterworks, including a covered treated water reservoir and open settling ponds, were designed in 1875 by the civil engineer James Leslie. A second covered reservoir was added in 1888 giving a total capacity of 15 million gallons. Each covered reservoir had an outlet house built in Classic style. The builder was James Young and Son. Initially, the main water source was

Gladhouse Reservoir Gladhouse Reservoir, formerly known as Moorfoot Loch, is a reservoir in Midlothian, Scotland, five miles (8 km) south of Penicuik. It is the most southerly reservoir in Midlothian, as well as being the largest area of freshwater in the Lothia ...

in the

Moorfoot Hills The Moorfoot Hills are a range of hills south of Edinburgh in east central Scotland, one of the ranges which collectively form the Southern Uplands. Etymology The name ''Moorfoot'' was recorded as ''Morthwait'' in 1142. The second element is O ...

and the works supplied East Edinburgh,

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

and

Portobello Portobello, Porto Bello, Porto Belo, Portabello, or Portabella may refer to: Places Brazil * Porto Belo Ireland * Portobello, Dublin * Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin formerly ''Portobello Barracks'' New Zealand * Portobello, New Zealand, on Ot ...

. In 1905 the supply was supplemented by the

Talla Reservoir Talla Reservoir, located a mile from Tweedsmuir, Scottish Borders, Scotland, is an earth-work dam fed by Talla Water. The reservoir is supplemented by water from the nearby Fruid Reservoir. It was opened in 1905. To assist in bringing the mat ...

to cope with the growing population. It was created a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 1996. The waterworks were closed in 2012 on completion of new waterworks at

Glencorse Reservoir Glencorse Reservoir is a reservoir in Midlothian, Scotland, two miles west of Glencorse, in the Pentland Hills. It is retained by an earth dam, and it was built between 1820 and 1824 by James Jardine to provide water for the mills of Auchendin ...

. The site has been restored and developed for housing. One of the covered reservoirs remains.

References

Areas of Edinburgh {{Edinburgh-geo-stub