Bonnington, Edinburgh
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bonnington is a district of
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, the capital of
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. 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 through central Edinburgh, Scotland, that starts in the Pentlands Hills and flows into the port of Leith and then into the sea via the Firth of Forth. Name The ...
, on the old boundary between Edinburgh and the port of
Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...
. Before the creation of
Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the east end of the city centre to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the str ...
, 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-largest ...
. 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 Gaelic: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th century ruler and saint who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest ...
'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 formerl ...
, 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. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...
'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 Crowns, ...
, 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 the English Reformation, the break with the Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland ...
. 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, Edinburgh, Lochend, both of which it ...
. 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 for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...
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 processing plant established in Edinburgh. It was perhaps the first successful independent facility established for the integrated treatment of gasworks waste, and manufactured the residues of ...
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 John Lewis Partnership plc (JLP) is a British company that operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose supermarkets, financial services and a build to rent operation. The public limited company is owned by a trust on behalf o ...
in Bonnington Road Lane (this includes a minor public pick-up counter for some items). ow demolished - redeveloped as Residential properties} The former Bonnington Church (of the Church of Scotland) united with North Leith Parish Church 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 processing plant established in Edinburgh. It was perhaps the first successful independent facility established for the integrated treatment of gasworks waste, and manufactured the residues of ...
(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 axle, shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per minute (RPM) on a calibrat ...
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 intern ...
* Robert Keith, one-time resident of Bonnyhaugh House *
Edmund Ronalds 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 for ...
. He 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