Jock's Lodge is an area of

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

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It centres on the junction of London Road and Willowbrae Road (part of the A1 trunk route to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

), Portobello Road and Restalrig Road South (Smokey Brae) and is an alternative name for the Meadowbank / Piershill area.

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. Restalri ...

village lies to its north. The name is mentioned, as ''Jokis Ludge'', in John Nicoll's diary in 1650. A sasine in 1736 refers to "the Bleugowns Lodge commonly called Jocks Lodge". It is recorded that the Bluegowns, the king's bedesmen, were called by themselves and others ''Jockies''. Thus the name of their house was ''Jockies Lodge''. The area is dominated by civil service office blocks, St Margaret's House and Meadowbank House, which were constructed in the early-1970s on the site of the St Margaret's railway locomotive depot, which was primarily for steam locomotives. From 2008, St Margaret's House has been leased to Edinburgh Palette, a registered charity which provides some 200 affordable studio spaces for designers, artists, small businesses and community organisations.

Meadowbank Stadium Meadowbank Stadium (officially the Meadowbank Sports Centre) is a multi-purpose sports facility located in the Meadowbank area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Built on the site of the earlier New Meadowbank and Old Meadowbank sports venues, it was or ...

, immediately to the west was the location for the 1970 and 1986

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

. The East Coast Main Line railway also passes by here. Many of the houses in this area are Victorian tenements. Both Royal HSFP and Lismore RFC were formerly based in the area; Lismore RFC taking its name from nearby Lismore Crescent. Jock's Lodge was the first stop and change of the team horses for the original horse-drawn stagecoach run on the Edinburgh to London journey. At the back of the Jock Lodge Inn were the stables. This journey began at the

White Horse Close White Horse Close, or "Whitehorse Close", is an enclosed courtyard off the Canongate at the foot of the Royal Mile at the eastern end of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. History It was formerly known as "Ord's Close" ...

in the Canongate, technically then just outside

References

Gazetteer for Scotland: Jock's Lodge
{{Areas of Edinburgh Areas of Edinburgh