Bonnington, Edinburgh
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Bonnington is a district 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 ...
. The area centres upon an original village which grew up around a ford on the
Water of Leith The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing near central Edinburgh, Scotland, and flows into the port of Leith where it flows into the sea via the Firth of Forth. Name The name ''Leith'' may be of Britto ...
on the old boundary between Edinburgh and the port of
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 ...
. Before the creation of
Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the centre of the city to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the street to the ...
the road via the villages of Broughton and Bonnington, or Wester Road as it appears on some old maps, was one of two roads formerly connecting Edinburgh to Leith; the other being
Easter Road Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of , which makes it the fifth-larges ...
. The district lies between the districts of
Pilrig Pilrig is an area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The name probably derives from the long field (rig) on which a peel tower (pil/peel) stood. There is evidence of a peel tower situated on an area of higher ground above the Water of ...
and Newhaven.


History

The land and mills of Bonnytoun formed part of the Barony of Broughton mentioned in
King David I David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim ( Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Mal ...
’s confirmation charter to the Abbey of Holyrood in 1143. Like the nearby village of
Canonmills Canonmills is a district of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It lies to the south east of the Royal Botanic Garden at Inverleith, east of Stockbridge and west of Bellevue, in a low hollow north of Edinburgh's New Town. The area was forme ...
, Bonnington was a milling village making use of the river’s water-power. The village suffered in 1544 when the
Earl of Hertford Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
’s army passed through on its way to attack Edinburgh and again in 1547 after the Scottish defeat in the
Battle of Pinkie The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh ( , ), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Cro ...
, both events in the period of conflict known as the
Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following its break with the Roman Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break the ...
. In 1617 the land and mills were sold to the Town Council of Edinburgh by the then landowners, the Logans of
Restalrig Restalrig () is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland (historically, an estate and independent parish). It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, both of which it overlaps. Restalrig ...
. At the Council’s invitation, a Dutchman Jeromias van der Heill was installed in 1621 as a dyer to teach his craft locally. The house built for him, named Bonnyhaugh by a later occupant, still stands. When the mill buildings were demolished in the face of local protests in the 1980s, the house was saved, restored and converted into private apartments. The low cottage at its side was the original dying room and later became a
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
’s smiddy. A waterwheel of the ‘undershot’ type, from the Bonnington Mills, has been saved and in the 1980s was moved to a new position on the site of the mill lade. The water level in the lade was controlled by a sluice gate at the nearby weir at Redbraes. The water power generated was used to mill grain, weave cloth, tan leather and manufacture paper. Bonnington Road became a
toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...
at the end of the 18th century, hence the name Bonnington Toll at the Newhaven Road junction. The old toll house at the Leith end still exists, an abandoned two storey stone house on the edge of the Swanfield Industrial Estate. A bridge over the ford was built in 1812 and replaced by the present bridge in 1902-03. In 1832, Robert Burns’ skinworks occupied the site of Bonnington Mills. The Burns tenement, built on Newhaven Road to house the tannery workers, was renovated in the 1970s. A stone tablet on the tenement depicts a sheep and the tools of the tanner's trade. The
Bonnington Chemical Works The Bonnington Chemical Works was a pioneer coal tar chemical plant, processing plant established in Edinburgh. It was probably the first successful independent facility established for the integrated treatment of gasworks waste, and manufacturing ...
on Newhaven Road processed residues from the manufacture of
coal gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...
in Edinburgh. Starting up in 1822, it remained operational for half a century. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the area on the north side of Bonnington Road stretching eastwards to Leith became one of mixed types of industrial, business and retail premises, including a major printer’s works, sugar bond and engineering works. Some of these premises have been abandoned or converted to new uses in recent decades. One of the larger developments in the area from the 1980s is the storage depot of the
John Lewis Partnership The John Lewis Partnership plc (JLP) is a British company which operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose & Partners supermarkets, its banking and financial services, and other retail-related activities. The privately-held publ ...
in Bonnington Road Lane (this includes a minor public pick-up counter for some items). The former Bonnington Church (of the
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
) united with
North Leith Parish Church North Leith Parish Church is a congregation of the Church of Scotland, within the Presbytery of Edinburgh. It is serves part of Leith, formerly an independent burgh and since 1920 a part of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. Building The current ...
in 1968, with the united congregation thenceforth using the North Leith Parish Church building in Madeira Street, Leith. New housing built along the river bank has changed the face of the area around Bonnington Mills and necessitated work on improving flood defences. The former Bonnington Primary School reopened on 16 August 2013 as
Bun-sgoil Taobh na Pàirce Bun-sgoil Taobh na Pàirce (English: Parkside Primary School, referring to the adjoining Pilrig Park) is a Gaelic medium primary school in Edinburgh, Scotland. Administered by the City of Edinburgh Council, the school is open to any parents in ...
: Edinburgh's first Gaelic Medium School.


Industries

A core of industries and businesses lay on either side of the Water of Leith. * The original Chancelot Mill (replaced by a modern structure in Leith Docks) * Dofos dog food factory *
Bonnington Chemical Works The Bonnington Chemical Works was a pioneer coal tar chemical plant, processing plant established in Edinburgh. It was probably the first successful independent facility established for the integrated treatment of gasworks waste, and manufacturing ...
(1822-1878) * Powderhall Bronze, a modern foundry * The Scottish
tachometer A tachometer (revolution-counter, tach, rev-counter, RPM gauge) is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per minute (RPM) on a calibrated anal ...
centre * Dulux Paints * Farmer Jacks * A huge whisky bond at Anderson Place (now converted to housing) * James Pringle shopping warehouse * A stone and marble yard * The cardboard box factory on Bonnington Road (now converted to housing). Graham Street was cleared of traditional tenements in the 1960s to build low-grade industry but by 2000 was rebuilt as housing, including an unusual white block for Port of Leith Housing Association. Whilst industrial uses were protected in the area, recent planning changes have led to residential uses being likely to take over altogether.


Notable people from Bonnington

*
Leslie Balfour-Melville Leslie Balfour-Melville (9 March 1854 – 17 July 1937), born Leslie Balfour, was a Scottish amateur sportsman, serving as captain, opening batsman, and wicket-keeper for the Scotland national cricket team. Balfour-Melville was also an inter ...
* Robert Keith (one-time resident of Bonnyhaugh House) *
Edmund Ronalds Dr Edmund Ronalds FCS FRSE (18 June 1819 – 9 September 1889) was an English academic and industrial chemist.  He was co-author of a seminal series of books on chemical technology that helped begin university teaching of chemical applications fo ...
lived at Bonnington House


Footnotes


References


(Google Maps)
* H Coghill, Discovering The Water of Leith, John Donald 1988 * J M Wallace, Historic Houses Of Edinburgh, John Donald 1987 (for Bonnyhaugh House) {{coord, 55, 58, 15, N, 3, 10, 45, W, display=title Areas of Edinburgh