Craigleith ( gd, Creag Lìte) is an area of west

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 ...

, Scotland. Its name comes from various forms of Craig of

Inverleith Inverleith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Lìte'') is an inner suburb in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, on the fringes of the central region of the city. Its neighbours include Trinity to the north and the New Town to the south, with Canonmills ...

, or rock or hill of Inverleith. The area lies between Ravelston Dykes, to

Crewe Toll Crewe Toll is an area in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital. The area takes its name from the Toll house which once stood at the junction of Ferry Road and Crewe Road North and South. The name Crewe, or a variation thereof (Creue, Crew or Crou), can ...

and the Ferry Road, and

Comely Bank Comely Bank (; gd, Bruach Cheanalta, IPA: �pɾuəxˈçɛnəɫ̪t̪ʰə is an area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It lies southwest of Royal Botanic Garden and is situated between Stockbridge and Craigleith. It is bound on its northe ...

on the east. Queensferry Road and Craigleith Road both pass through here. There are also a number of private schools in the area such as Stewart's Melville College and The Mary Erskine School. The Royal Victoria Hospital is off Craigleith Road while the

Western General Hospital The Western General Hospital (often abbreviated to simply ‘The Western General’) is a health facility at Craigleith, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Lothian. History The hospital was designed by Peddie and Kinnear and opened as ...

on Crewe Road was opened in 1868 as the Craigleith Hospital and Poorhouse.

Quarrying

Craigleith Quarry was active for more than 300 years from 1615 to 1942. The 350-million-year-old Carboniferous Craigleith

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

was used extensively in construction because it was a hard-wearing composite. Architects used it extensively in buildings in both Edinburgh's Old and

New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

. Many famous buildings including

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

and Holyrood Palace were built from Craigleith sandstone. The statue on

Nelson's Column Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the combined French and Spanish navies, during whi ...

in London was also built from the stone. Because of its hardness, Craigleith Sandstone was also favoured for cutting stones used to make

cut glass Cut glass or cut-glass is a technique and a style of decorating glass. For some time the style has often been produced by other techniques such as the use of moulding, but the original technique of cutting glass on an abrasive wheel is still u ...

during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edward ...

. At its peak, the quarry was the largest and most productive in Edinburgh. In 1995, the Craigleith Retail Park was built upon the infilled Craigleith Quarry; it is situated at the junction of Queensferry Road and Craigleith Road.

References

External links

A History of the Craigleith Hill DistrictCraigleith and Blackhall Community Council
{{coord, 55, 57, 42, N, 003, 13, 43, W, type:city_region:GB-EDH_scale:30000, display=title, name=Craigleith Areas of Edinburgh