Silverknowes
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Silverknowes is a district 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 ...
. Silverknowes lies to the northwest of the city. The district contains over 2000 homes, ranging in size from bungalow to
semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced hou ...
housing, much of it built during the mid-twentieth century. It holds the EH4 postcode. Silverknowes is surrounded by
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 par ...
(former village) to the south, Barnton,
Lauriston Lauriston ( ) is an area of central Edinburgh, Scotland, and home to a number of significant historic buildings. It lies south of Edinburgh Castle and the Grassmarket, and north of The Meadows public park. Lauriston is the former location ...
to the west, and
Muirhouse Muirhouse is a housing estate in the north of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Location The housing estate of Muirhouse (Pennywell and Muirhouse) is bounded by Muirhouse Parkway to the North, Pennywell Road to the East, Ferry Road to the So ...
to the east.


Location

Silverknowes is located in the north west of Edinburgh, on the shores of the Firth of Forth. It lies approximately from the city centre. The district is bounded by
Cramond Cramond Village (; gd, Cathair Amain) is a village and suburb in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland, at the mouth of the River Almond where it enters the Firth of Forth. The Cramond area has evidence of Mesolithic, Bronze Age and Roman ac ...
to the north and west,
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 par ...
to the southwest, Blackhall to the south,
Muirhouse Muirhouse is a housing estate in the north of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Location The housing estate of Muirhouse (Pennywell and Muirhouse) is bounded by Muirhouse Parkway to the North, Pennywell Road to the East, Ferry Road to the So ...
to the east, and the Firth of Forth to the north. Silverknowes lies within the boundaries of the Almond local government ward (Ward 1), the Edinburgh West parliamentary constituency (UK parliament) and the Edinburgh Western parliamentary constituency (Scottish parliament). It is part of the area covered by the Davidson's Mains & Silverknowes Association and the Silverknowes Community Council.


History

Until the 1930s, the Silverknowes area was open farmland. It was previously part of the Lauriston Estate, and was known as Randalston (spelled as Randalistoun on some maps), that name dating back to at least the 14th century. In 1934, most of the land was acquired by McTaggart & Mickel, a Glasgow-based firm of tenement builders. In 1936, the firm started building houses to the west of the existing Silverknowes Road, creating Silverknowes Avenue, Crescent, Drive, Hill (formerly Circus), Loan and Terrace. The work was interrupted by
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, but resumed in 1952 with the development of Silverknowes Bank, Brae, Court, Eastway, Gardens, Grove, Parkway and Place, these all being to the east of Silverknowes Road. Most of these roads form a series of concentric semi-circles on either side of Silverknowes Road. In 1960, Silverknowes Green, Midway, Southway and View were built on part of the former Drylaw Estate to the south. The development was originally a mixture of private and council housing, but is now mainly owner-occupied, most of the council houses having been purchased by their tenants under the
Right to Buy The Right to Buy scheme is a policy in the United Kingdom, with the exception of Scotland since 1 August 2016 and Wales from 26 January 2019, which gives secure tenants of councils and some housing associations the legal right to buy, at a large ...
legislation of the 1980s. In the early 1930s, Edinburgh Corporation started developing the Silverknowes Esplanade, a walkway running from Cramond along the south shore of the Firth of Forth to Granton. The work was completed in 1947, at which point the construction of a parallel motor road, Marine Drive, was begun. The scheme originally included plans for a paddling pool, open-air swimming pool and model yacht basin, but these were never realised.


Caledonian Railway

In 1894, the
Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh an ...
opened a branch line from Craigleith to Barnton via Davidson's Mains, running through the south of Silverknowes. The line closed to passengers in 1951 and to goods traffic in 1960. The surviving trackbed is now a footpath and cycle path, forming part of the
National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...
Route 1.


Anti-aircraft measures

During World War II, Silverknowes was the site of a heavy anti-aircraft battery, situated on the north side of Silverknowes Golf Course. A Starfish anti-aircraft decoy was located to the west, at the west end of Marine Drive. This consisted of a group of 'fire-burning' boxes, designed to appear from the air as a burning town or city, thus diverting enemy aircraft from their intended targets.


Amenities

Lauriston Farm Buildings were used for Farming Purposes until the 1970s, when the Ross Family introduced a Market Garden followed by an Eatery. The Robertson Family then took over Lauriston Farm and turned it into a Restaurant, selling out to Whitbread in the late 1980s. In the early 1990s, Lauriston Farm Restaurant became a Whitbread Brewer's Fayre (1993) before being taken over by Mitchell and Butler, relaunching as The Lauriston Farm Restaurant, which was refurbished in 2019. The area of Silverknowes, Davidson's Mains, Muirhouse (former home to Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting), Granton, Cramond & Cammo boasts the largest concentration of significant Country Houses in Scotland: Lauriston Castle, with its world-famous Blue John Glass and Furniture Collections, once Owned by
John Napier John Napier of Merchiston (; 1 February 1550 – 4 April 1617), nicknamed Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish landowner known as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. He was the 8th Laird of Merchiston. His Latinized name was Ioan ...
, Inventor of Logarithms & former Home of
John Law (economist) John Law (pronounced in French in the traditional approximation of ''Laws'', the colloquial Scottish form of the name; 21 April 1671 – 21 March 1729) was a Scottish economist who distinguished money, a means of exchange, from national wealth ...
of Lauriston, World-Famous in the 18th & 19th Centuries, Chief Financier of France under King Louis XIV, Founder of the Bank of France and Creator of the infamous Mississippi Bubble; Barnton House (a.k.a. Cramond Regis), Former Hunting Estate of Kings of Scotland; Muirhouse (now Muirhouse Mansion, formerly known as Randalistoun), Grade A Listed Building, now a Homeless Hostel; Silverknowe House, formerly Silverknowe Hydro Convalescence Home (destroyed by fire in 1960 while being used as Silverknowes Golf Club House); Broomfield House owned by Earl Haig's Sister (which became The Commodore Hotel 1950s to early 2000s, a former Four Star Stakis Hotel, before its current life as a Two Star Hotel come Homeless Hostel, Almond House Lodge Hotel); Granton House (destroyed by fire in 1954 after becoming a Home for the Homeless); Granton Tower; Craigroyston House; Royston House; Cammo House (destroyed by fire in 1978) and Cammo Estate. Silverknowes includes Silverknowes Beach and Promenade which stretches for 3 miles from Cramond Village in the West through Silverknowes to Gypsy Brae Recreational Park and Granton in the East. Silverknowes Beach is tidal and overlooks Cramond Island, which can be accessed across the Drum Sands for four hours twice a day and via Cramond Causeway, built in 1939 by the War Department as part of World War Two Coastal Defences. To the west of Silverknowes is the
Lauriston Castle Lauriston Castle is a 16th-century tower house with 19th-century extensions overlooking the Firth of Forth, in Edinburgh, Scotland. It lies on Cramond Road South, between Cramond, Davidson's Mains, and Silverknowes. The substantial grounds, L ...
and Estate. Open farmland lies between the northern fringes overlooking Cramond Island. Silverknowes Beach and Promenade are in sight of Lauriston Castle and stretches 3 miles from Granton in the East to Cramond village in the west, along the banks of the Firth of Forth. The Boardwalk Beach Club café lies about half-way along the Promenade. There is a frequent 29 Lothian Bus Service to Silverknowes Promenade from Edinburgh City Centre, taking 20 minutes direct from Edinburgh Waverley Station and 1 hour from Gorebridge, to the south of Edinburgh. It is possible to reach the 18th century
Cramond Cramond Village (; gd, Cathair Amain) is a village and suburb in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland, at the mouth of the River Almond where it enters the Firth of Forth. The Cramond area has evidence of Mesolithic, Bronze Age and Roman ac ...
Village using this Silverknowes Promenade. To the east side of Silverknowes Road lies the Silverknowes Golf Club and 18 hole golf course, operated by Edinburgh Leisure. The golf course stretches to the beach. Along Silverknowes Parkway there are also well-used playing fields.


Education

Most of the neighbourhood lies in the catchment area for Davidson's Mains Primary School and the Royal High School in Barnton, one of Scotland's most famous schools, the 28th oldest school in the world, dating back to 1128. Previously, one of the primary schools serving the area was known as Silverknowes Primary. After its merger with Muirhouse Primary, the land was developed as housing, and now has the address of Silverknowes Eastway. This newly developed area falls within the catchments of Craigroyston Primary & High schools.


Transport links

Frequent
Lothian Buses Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothi ...
link Silverknowes to Edinburgh city centre, continuing to:


Boundary change

In 2006, there were plans to place Silverknowes in the new "Forth" local authority voting ward. This outraged residents, who felt it would lead to the breakup of Davidson's Mains as a community. Over 600 objections were sent by members of the community and various local establishments, and Silverknowes became part of "Almond" ward alongside Davidson's Mains, Barnton and Cramond. The area is served by the Davidson's Mains and Silverknowes Association and four City of Edinburgh Councillors, MSP for Edinburgh West and MP for Edinburgh West.


References

{{coord, 55, 58, 10.19, N, 3, 16, 13.78, W, display=title Areas of Edinburgh