Blackhall is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

in the north west of the Scottish capital

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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 ...

. It is a mainly residential area with amenities including a library and a small number of shops.

Geography

Most of the housing in the neighbourhood was constructed in the

inter-war period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

, although the recent housing boom has seen new development on the north east slope of

Corstorphine Hill Corstorphine Hill is a low ridge-shaped hill rising above the western suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. Although there has been residential and commercial development on its lower slopes, especially in the south and west, most of the hill is occu ...

. This development went ahead despite considerable opposition from the local community and an unusual planning quirk which allowed the development to go ahead based on forty-year-old outline permission. Blackhall has numerous community and church-based groups including a bowling club, two

Probus Clubs Probus Clubs are clubs for retired or semi-retired people from all walks of life and may include business or professional people. The movement operates worldwide. Organisation PROBUS is a local, national, and international association of retir ...

, and a horticultural society. There is a local community council, Craigleith/Blackhall, that serves the area.

Etymology

According to Stuart Harris in ''

The Place Names Of Edinburgh ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' the "Black-" in the placename could derive either from the Anglian ''blaec'' or Scots ''blac'' meaning simply black, and the "-hall" ending is from the Anglian ''halh'' or Scots ''haugh'' meaning land beside or in the bend of a river. The local school, Blackhall Primary School, has recently been extended and parts rebuilt, as has the local Royal High School which serves Blackhall.

Nearby areas

One of the main arterial routes of the city goes through the area, which borders

Drylaw Drylaw is an area in the north west of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, located between Blackhall and Granton. It forms the community of Drylaw–Telford. Drylaw used to belong to the younger branch of the Foresters of Corstorphine. Former ...

Davidson's Mains Davidson's Mains is a former village and now a district in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is adjacent to the districts of Barnton, Cramond, Silverknowes, Blackhall and Corbiehill/House O'Hill. It was absorbed into Edinburgh as part ...

, and

Craigcrook Craigcrook is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland, best known for Craigcrook Castle. It is fairly affluent, and lies on the north east slopes of Corstorphine Hill. It is near Clerwood, and Blackhall. Davidson's Mains lies to the north, separated ...

Notable residents

John Horne John Horne PRSE FRS FRSE FEGS LLD (1 January 1848 – 30 May 1928) was a Scottish geologist. He served as President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 1915 to 1919. Life Horne was born on 1 January 1848, in Campsie, Stirlingshire, the ...

lived at 12 Keith CrescentEdinburgh and Leith Post Office directory 1911-12 *

Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey (23 October 1773 – 26 January 1850) was a Scottish judge and literary critic. Life He was born at 7 Charles Street near Potterow in south Edinburgh, the son of George Jeffrey, a clerk in the Court of Session ...

(1773–1850), judge and editor of the ''

Edinburgh Review The ''Edinburgh Review'' is the title of four distinct intellectual and cultural magazines. The best known, longest-lasting, and most influential of the four was the third, which was published regularly from 1802 to 1929. ''Edinburgh Review'', ...

''. There is a street named after him in Blackhall

References

External links

Bartholomew's ''Chronological map of Edinburgh'' (1919)

Blackhall St. Columba's Church

Craigleith and Blackhall Community Council

Blackhall Primary School

Royal High School
{{Areas of Edinburgh Areas of Edinburgh