Joppa is an eastern suburb 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 ...
. It is bounded on the north by the coast of the
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers.
Name
''Firth'' is a cognate ...
, on the west by
Portobello of which it was a suburb when Portobello was a burgh, to the south by the open area south of Milton Road and to the east by
Musselburgh
Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of .
History
The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...
in
East Lothian
East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
In ...
. The name "Joppa" is of biblical origin, referring to the port of
Jaffa
Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...
in Israel, and was first bestowed on this part of Edinburgh in the 18th century (apparently because, like its namesake, it sits next to the sea).
Joppa is now largely residential, but
salt
In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
was once produced from seawater by
evaporation
Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the Interface (chemistry), surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. A high concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evapora ...
at Joppa Pans. Practically nothing remains of the industrial buildings but Rockville, formerly the owner's/manager's house and now a hotel and Rock Cottage. Some light industry has operated from the area near the former
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
in Brunstane Road and at
Eastfield. Many of the larger houses near the seafront date from early nineteenth century, with extensive later areas further inland built up in the mid-twentieth century.
While the last cable cars were in use in Edinburgh, a line ran through to Joppa, where it connected with the Musselburgh electric tram line. The two lines joined together in 1923 when the Edinburgh system was converted to electricity, and through trams then ran from Levenhall in Musselburgh to Waterloo Place in Edinburgh.
Joppa's skyline is dominated by the 165 ft spire of Portobello and Joppa Parish Church (formerly St Philip's Church), situated on the corner of Brunstane Road North. It is built from Binny Stone in the Early
Decorated style
English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...
by
John Honeyman
John Honeyman (1729August 18, 1822) was an American spy and British informant for George Washington, primarily responsible for spreading disinformation and gathering the intelligence crucial to Washington's victory in the Battle of Trenton.
...
(1831–1914) and was completed in 1877. On 2 December 1998, a fire destroyed the roof and much of the interior. It has since been fully restored.
On 16 October 1939, the Luftwaffe made a daylight air raid up the Forth to bomb British warships (HMS Edinburgh, HMS Mohawk and HMS Southampton) at
Rosyth
Rosyth () is a town and Garden City in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth.
Scotland's first Garden city movement, Garden City, Rosyth is part of the Greater Dunfermline Area and is located 3 miles south of Dunfermline city cen ...
. This was the first daylight air raid in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. Houses in Morton Street and Brunstane Road North were damaged as a result. The German pilots shot down during the raid were buried, following a ceremony at St Philip's Church, in Portobello Cemetery which lies on Milton Road East. They were the first enemy casualties of the Second World War to be buried on British soil.
The main attractions are now the Joppa Rocks, for their geological interest, and Portobello Beach on the seafront.
In 1789,
Christopher Girtanner is noted as having a "salt manufactory" at Joppa Pans.
[Literary and Miscellaneous Memoirs by Joseph Cradock, John Bowyer Nichols 1828, p.309-310]
References
{{Areas of Edinburgh
Areas of Edinburgh