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Craiglockhart


Craiglockhart (/krɡˈlɒkərt/; Scottish Gaelic: Creag Longairt) is a suburb in the south west of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying between Colinton to the south, Morningside to the east Merchiston to the north east and Kingsknowe to the west. The Water of Leith is also to the west.

The name is first recorded in 1278 as "Crag quam Stephanus Loccard miles tenuit", thus "Craig (or rock) of Loccard". The family, whose name was changed to Lockhart, are credited by Historic Scotland with building Craiglockhart Castle in the fifteenth century.

The oldest "structure" in the area is the remains of a vitrified fort on the top of Wester Craiglockhart Hill, which is of prehistoric origin. This was somewhat mutilated by the addition of gun-emplacements in World War II, guarding against aerial attack. Excavations show the fort was re-occupied during Roman times. Craiglockhart Castle dates from the 15th century but is now ruined. The hill is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to its diverse biological habitat.

In Victorian times the area was dominated by hospital buildings: The City Hospital (1896); Old Craig House (1565) converted to an asylum in 1878; its "modern" partner, Craighouse, purpose-built as part of the Royal Edinburgh Asylum (1889); the City Poorhouse (1867) later converted to Greenlea's Old People's Home; and Craiglockhart Hydropathic Institution, and in the years 1871-1982 this building rose dramatically above and directly overlooked the home playing grounds of Edinburgh University RFC. Craighouse and The Hydropathic are now part of the campus of Edinburgh Napier University. During the First World War, the hospital was used to house officers suffering from the symptoms of shell-shock. Invalids here included the poets Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, who met while patients. After the war this the building served as a convent and then a theological school, before passing to the then Napier College.


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