Comiston ( gd, Baile Chaluim, IPA: �paleˈxaɫ̪ɯim 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 south of Morningside and west of the

Braid Hills The Braid Hills form an area towards the south-western edge of Edinburgh, Scotland. The hills themselves are largely open space. Housing in the area is mostly confined to detached villas, and some large terraced houses. The ''Braid Hills Hotel'' ...

, linking the suburbs of

Oxgangs Oxgangs is a suburb in the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Surrounding districts include Caiystane, Dreghorn, Redford, Fairmilehead, Colinton and Swanston and Colinton Mains. The post code area for Oxgangs is EH13. Etymology The name d ...

and

Fairmilehead Fairmilehead is a district of southern Edinburgh, Scotland. It lies approximately due south of the city centre and borders Midlothian. The area comprises the neighbourhoods of Buckstone, Caiyside, Caiystane, Swanston, Frogston and Winton. T ...

. The main road through the area, Comiston Road, is a continuation of Morningside Road, and further south becomes Biggar Road. It is classified as the

A702 The A702 is a major road in Scotland, that runs from Edinburgh to St. John's Town of Dalry in Dumfries and Galloway. It is the last section of the route from London via the West Midlands and North West England to Edinburgh, which follows the ...

which runs eventually to Biggar. A part of Comiston Road has signage as Pentland Terrace, the name of a terrace of Victorian houses set back from, and above Comiston Road, with a roadway of its own immediately in front of the houses. Comiston House was owned by the Forrest baronets.

Sir James Forrest, 1st Baronet Sir James Forrest, 1st Baronet of Comiston FRSE (1780-1860) was a Scottish baronet and Whig politician who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh 1837–1843. The family crest is three oak trees. Forrest Road in Edinburgh is named in his honour. L ...

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by City_of_Edinburgh_Council, the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the e ...

, occupied it from 1837 to 1843. Its grounds now form Fairmilehead Public Park.

History

A great battle was fought here in prehistoric times, resulting in two large burial cairns (presumably housing the dead of the two opposing sides). These two cairns were raided and destroyed in the early 19th century by workers seeking material with which to create the new metalling on the toll roads. A commemorative stone remained as a memorial, 20 feet high, this was called the Camus stone, after Camus the Danish commander of one army. This name, Camus stone, was corrupted into "Comiston".Cassells Old and New Edinburgh vo;.6 Ch.38 From the 17th century waters were piped from Comiston Springs to the city centre and it was critical to the area's water supply.

References

External links

Google Maps

Official Comiston Website
Areas of Edinburgh {{Edinburgh-geo-stub