Stenhouse is a 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 lies to the west of the City Centre, adjacent to Whitson and
Saughton Mains and close to
Broomhouse and
Chesser. It is a mainly residential area.
The area derives its name from the Stanhope or Stenhope family who held land and mills near the Water of Leith from 1511 to 1621. Early references are variously to Stennop Milne (1576), Stanehope mylnes (1578), Stanehopps (1585), Stenhopmilne (1630) until, in 1773, the name Stenhouse Mill appears.
The oldest building, now known as Stenhouse Mansion, lies to the south of the area. The house was probably originally built by the Stenhopes but it was substantially rebuilt and extended by Patrick Ellis, an Edinburgh burgess and merchant, in 1623 according to the datestone over the main entrance with his initials and the Ellis heraldry, as described by
George Mackenzie. It was restored in 1964 and used as a centre for conservation of paintings and carved stones for
Historic Scotland until 2009 and now is maintained by the
National Trust for Scotland.
Around five hundred houses were built at Stenhouse between 1930 and 1936 by the City Architect
Ebenezer MacRae, mainly flatted blocks, but with a few tenements.From November 1953, 287 (4th Edinburgh) Squadron, of the
Air Training Corps, was based at its drill hall in the extreme north-west of Stenhouse, next to the Edinburgh/Glasgow railway line. In 2008, the Squadron was forced to move to make way for the
Edinburgh Trams line but it relocated to new premises on Stevenson Drive, adjacent to Saughton Enclosure, in 2010. In recognition of its connection with Stenhouse, the Squadron was renamed 287 (Stenhouse) Squadron in 2012.
Another part of Edinburgh – a hamlet east of
Liberton now referred to as Ellen's Glen – was once also known as Stenhouse probably after an ancient stone-built house in the area.
Aboon the Kirk Interesting places in Liberton
arts 10-12 The Liberton Association, 2020
Transport
Lothian Buses services 1,2,22 and night bus N22 pass through the area while services 3,25,30,33,35,300 and night services N25 and N30 travel along Stenhouse Road on the southern edge. The nearest trams stops are Saughton and Balgreen.
Notable residents
* William Stevenson (1772–1829), Scottish nonconformist preacher and writer
References
Sources
(Google Maps)
Aerial views of Stenhouse Housing Estate in 1935
Areas of Edinburgh
Housing estates in Edinburgh
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