Victoria Park is a district in north

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 ...

south of

Newhaven Newhaven is a port town in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England, lying at the mouth of the River Ouse. The town developed during the Middle Ages as the nearby port of Seaford began drying up, forcing a new port to be established. A ...

and lying between

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

and

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 The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

. The area was given Conservation Area status in March 1998.

History

The park itself was not created until the early 20th century. It was originally smaller, and was mainly based on the former grounds of

Bonnington Bonnington is a dispersed village and civil parish on the northern edge of the Romney Marsh in Ashford District of Kent, England. The village is located to the south of the town of Ashford on the B2067 ( Hamstreet to Hythe road). Bonningt ...

Park House (built in 1789), a still extant villa, now in the north-east corner of the park. A statue of King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

by John Stevenson Rhind dominates the entrance (off Newhaven Road). Critically, a deep railway cut used to bound the western side of the park. This came in from the south then split in two just before Trinity Academy, linking to the main east west line into Leith Docks. Not until this line was closed (as part of the

Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...

) and the cutting infilled, was it possible to increase the park to its current width. The land west of the railway line was originally proposed as an extension to the Craighall estate but this never came to fruition.

Surrounding housing

The park is bounded by villas on the Craighall estate to the west and by the flat-roofed terraces of the "Dudleys" to the east. To the north the area is dominated by Trinity Academy and its eastern extensions, built over a large section which was originally parkland. An interesting finger of houses on Craighall Bank curve into the park on the line of the former railway. Bonnington Park House (aka Victoria Park House) operates as a children's centre and hides amid trees on the north side of the park. On the south side of the park the former Ainslie Park School annexe by

Ebenezer MacRae Ebenezer James MacRae (18 January 1881 – 15 January 1951) was a Scottish architect serving as City Architect for Edinburgh for most of his active life. Life He was the son of Rev Alexander MacRae of the Free Church of Scotland. To family a ...

was demolished around 1995 and replaced by New Cut Rigg, flats designed to echo

Ramsay Gardens Ramsay Garden is a block of sixteen private apartment buildings in the Castlehill area of Edinburgh, Scotland. They stand out for their red ashlar and white harled exteriors, and for their prominent position, most visible from Princes Street. ...

in the town centre. Victoria Park Neuk lines the southern exit of the park alongside the remnant railway line, connecting to the

Water of Leith Walkway The Water of Leith Walkway is a public footpath and cycleway that runs alongside the river of the same name through Edinburgh, Scotland, from Balerno to Leith. History The concept of a public path first appeared in 1949, but the necessar ...

. The south-east corner of the park is bounded by mid-19th-century villas on Ferry Road and Newhaven Road.

Famous Residents

Christian Salvesen Christian Salvesen was a Scottish whaling, transport and logistics company with a long and varied history, employing 13,000 staff and operating in seven countries in western Europe. In December 2007, it was acquired by France, French listed tr ...

and his son

Edward Theodore Salvesen Edward Theodore Salvesen, Lord Salvesen, (20 July 1857 – 23 February 1942) was a British lawyer, politician and judge who rose to be a Senator of the College of Justice. Life Edward Theodore Salvesen was the son of Christian Salvesen, Chr ...

lived in Catherine Bank House on Newhaven Road facing the park (demolished c.1900 to create the Dudley estate)

Sporting facilities

The park contains bowling greens to the south-east, and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

courts to the

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

. A

putting green A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". T ...

which stood to the north-west no longer exists. The bowling greens were reduced in scale during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to provide allotments

Public transport

The area is served by the number 7 and 11 buses into the city centre. The former goes via

.LRT route map planner

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Victoria Park Areas of Edinburgh Parks and commons in Edinburgh Leith