Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often considered to include the smaller neighbouring areas of Ravelston (to the north) and Roseburn (to the south).

History

The name comes from the estate of Archibald Murray who built Murrayfield House for himself in 1735 on the south-facing slopes over the area. Archibald Murray bought the land from Nisbet of Dean in 1733; it was previously Nisbet's Park.

Alexander Murray, Lord Henderland Alexander Murray, Lord Henderland (11 May 1736 – 16 March 1795) was a Scottish judge and politician. Life Born at Murrayfield House west of Edinburgh's Old Town on 11 May 1736, he was the son of Archibald Murray of Cringletie, an advocate. ...

was born here the year after its construction. Much of the Murrayfield area was semi-rural up until the early 19th century. Among mansion houses built then was Belmont House in 1828 by architect William Playfair for Lord Mackenzie and a large villa known as Rock Villa (later Rockshiel) appears on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1855. The OS map from the 1890s suggests this area remained spacious with scattered individual houses and villas throughout the nineteenth-century. Easter Belmont Road (a private road), is one of Edinburgh's "Millionaire's Rows" and is home to local businessman David Murray. Aside from sports facilities, there is much residential land use and a private hospital,

Spire Murrayfield Hospital A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

, part of the Spire Healthcare group. There are also a few shops, businesses and hotels.

Sports

Murrayfield is known for

Murrayfield Stadium Murrayfield Stadium (known as BT Murrayfield Stadium for sponsorship reasons, or popularly as Murrayfield) is a Rugby stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It has a seating capacity of 67,144 making it the largest sta ...

, home to the

Scottish national rugby union team The Scotland national rugby union team represents Scotland in men's international rugby union and is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, w ...

and venue for many sporting events. In the shadow of the stadium is Murrayfield Ice Rink, which currently hosts the Edinburgh Capitals ice hockey team and previously played host to the famous

Murrayfield Racers The Murrayfield Racers were an ice hockey team based in Edinburgh, Scotland who were founded in 1952 as the Murrayfield Royals before changing their name to the Murrayfield Racers in 1966. The team won the British Championship four times in ...

. In the 2006-07 season, Heart of Midlothian played their UEFA Champions League ties at Murrayfield.

has also been the venue for some large concerts. In addition to the stadium, there are Murrayfield Lawn Tennis Club and Murrayfield golf course which is between Ravelston and Corstorphine Hill. The tennis club was founded in 1904 as The West Edinburgh Tennis and Croquet Club. Murrayfield Golf Club was founded in 1896 and its initial membership was limited to '300 gentlemen and 200 ladies'; in 1904 it was laid out on Ravelston Estate west of Murrayfield Road. Murrayfield Golf Club is notable for having been a mixed club from the start with female members having the same rights and privileges as the men.

Schools

The well-known independent schools, St. George's School for Girls and the Merchant Company of Edinburgh's The Mary Erskine School for girls are situated in the Murrayfield area. The local primary school for most is Roseburn Primary School and Murrayfield is part of the

Craigmount High School Craigmount High School is a non-denominational secondary school in Edinburgh, Scotland with 1,269 pupils located in the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is situated between Corstorphine, East Craigs and Drumbrae and it moved into new premises at ...

catchment area. The nearest Roman Catholic schools are Fox Covert R.C. Primary School and St. Augustine's High School.

Notable residents

Chris Hoy Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy MBE (born 23 March 1976) is a former track cyclist and Racing driver from Scotland who represented Great Britain at the Olympic and World Championships and Scotland at the Commonwealth Games. Hoy is eleven-times a wor ...

grew up on the boundary of Corstorphine and Murrayfield.

References

External links