Craigwell Cottage, Edinburgh

Events of 1822

2007-10-12T07:28:00.000-07:00

As the Craigwell Brewery was being built, the foundation stones for the National Monument were being laid. - More on this.

Source: Old and New Edinburgh: http://www.oldandnewedinburgh.co.uk - chapter on the Calton Hill.

Researching Calton Road

2007-10-12T07:20:00.000-07:00

Interesting Website 'Old and New Edinburgh' with many sketches of Old Edinburgh - worth a further look when I get the time - link saved to 'Calton Road' Search

Beers Brewed at Craigwell Brewery

2007-10-12T06:19:00.000-07:00

Got an e-mail this morning from Iain Russell the Scottish Brewing Archivist at Glasgow University. He's going to look out some information about Craigwell Brewery, but he says:

We have some black and white photos of the brewery in the archive, and a short (1 and a wee bit pages!) history of the firm post 1923 which mentions that the brewery produced Heavy Bitter Ale, Scotch Stout, Triple Ale, Unique Scotch Ale and a strong ale called Gay Gordon.

I believe we have some old bottles and labels in the archive. I'll have a look for them when I'm back on SBA duties at the end of next week, and let you know what we have. 
How fantastic!  Can't wait to see the labels and old photographs.


Search for "Unique Scotch Ale" provides some information on "The Brewer's Apprentice Website" which shows one Tom Logan is currently brewing:

Logan's Scotch Ale

This unique Scotch Ale was created by Tom Logan, an Brewer's employee and experienced home brewer. We used peated malt and Edinburgh Yeast to achieve this traditional flavor. This one is receiving rave reviews. Price: $190.00

in New Jersey, USA! Wonder if he'd be interested to know that there used to be a beer brewed called "Unique Scotch Ale"? What an interesting concept - a micro-brewery where enthusiasts gather to brew their own ale....

And here's something about 'Triple Ale' - how it's made.

Scotch Stout - being brewed in Santa Maria, California even now! Wow, this whole brewing thing is quite a hobby in the USA.

12 October 2007

More Historic Maps re history of Nether Craigwell

2007-10-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

I've found a link to a photograph of a representation of Edinburgh in 1460, in which you can clearly see the river running through the Waverley Valley - which later becomes Calton Road.

The link to Edinburgh Photography website is: http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/1_MAP/1_map_edinburgh_1460.htm#map

History of Craigwell Brewery - Gordon & Blair/ John Blair

2007-10-11T14:26:00.001-07:00

Doing a search on the internet of 'Craigwell Brewery' turns up an article in the Scottish Brewing archive, which can be accessed here:

http://www.archives.gla.ac.uk/sba/sbacolls/gb.html

John Blair is quoted as the builder of the Craigwell Brewery in 1822, and this article on Scottish Brewing history mentions his associations with Holyrood (http://www.scottishpubs.co.uk/scotbeers/monk.htm)

Old Brewery Garden, Nether Craigwell, Calton Road, Edinburgh EH8 8DR

2007-10-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

The longest of the residents of Nether Craigwell, Dave Fiddimore, who has lived there since the conversion to residential properties in 1987 was on duty on the weekend of 5 May at the entrance to the Garden of Nether Craigwell which was open to the public at the 'Open Gardens Day' - Organised by the Cockburn Association in partnership with Edinburgh World Heritage.

Quoting from the flyer which Dave was handing out:

"Welcome to our wild garden behind a development of flats and houses inside the original superstructure of the Victorian Craigwell Brewery, once one of fourteen in a square mile. The name Craigwell was recorded for the area in 1647, describing a section of The North Back of Canongate (now Calton Road) between Leith Wynd, and what is now the boundary wall of the cemetry. The square stone lip of the well (Nether Craigwell - The well beneath the cliff) can still be seen in our courtyard. The longest range of building was the bonded warehouse, and the brewery garden rose behind it on the flank of Calton Hill - accessed via a tunnel, and steps from the courtyard.

It was once a beautiful garden, with specimen trees (Eucalyptus, Fir, apple and Birch) many of which are still there. It had a pagoda-like summer house, where there is now a small patio to the South East, and a 'folly' cairn in the North West Corner. The grooves in the gound across the current greens track the original garden paths and flower beds.

What you have come to see are the views - The Craigs, Arthur's Seat and the incomporable Edinburgh skyline to the South and West. Burns Monument on Regent Road to the North West, and looking over The New Calton Cemetery, the roofs of Holyrood Palace and Whitehorse Loan to the East. [The 1814 New Calton Cemetery is worth an hour of your time. You will find the 'Lighthouse' Stevensons there, along with a Polish count and a man killed in 1842 during the British retreat from Kabul - what goes around, comes around. Enter from Regent Road.]

The current owners keep the garden 'wildish'. Its wild residents and visitors include the Blackbird and Thrush, 4 kinds of Tit (Blue, Coal, Great and Long-tailed), Sparrows, Dunnock, Green, Bull and Chaf-finch, Tree creepers, Sparrow hawk and Kestrel, Starlings, Magpies - an urban Fox, Stoat, Pipistrelle Bats, Grey Squirrels, Field mice...the Hedgehogs are coming (but not here yet) and last week I watched the early arrival of the first Swallows. Sit for a while if the sun is shining, and enjoy its peace as much as we do... and let us know if you have any comment or suggestion re this "Brewery Garden" open day.

[DF 27th April 2007]"

Searching Edinburgh Maps for Craigwell Brewery History

2007-10-11T08:34:00.000-07:00

10 October 2007 - visited the Edinburgh Room at Edinburgh's Central Library on George IV Bridge. Found a great collection of old maps of Edinburgh there, and searched through them for evidence of buildings on the site where Nether Craigwell now stands - EH8 8DR.

Notes made when consulting "An Atlas of Old Edinburgh" in the Edinburgh Room

(subsequent research 1544 Gordon of Rothiemay's Map)

1647 - Map of Reverend James Gordon

Shows "Water Port" where "Watergate" is now at Holyrood.
Waverley Valley has stream running thr0ugh it - where Calton Road is now
Houses on the Canongate at the foot of the 'Royal Mile' have long gardens to the rear
Map shows Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood, St Giles, Greyfriars Kirk, Heriots (now school)
Calton Hill is called 'North Craigs' or 'Neil's Craigs'
Notes on this map state that it was first published in 1690 in "Theatrum Praecipuarum Totius Europae Urbium" c. 1690 by F de Wit

1742 Map of Edinburgh

show 'Caltoun Crags' and 'Caltoun Burying Place' - now Old Calton Cemetery
Calton Road is named 'Back of Canongate'
in this map there are buildings at the foot of Abbeyhill and some on the north side of the North Back of Canongate
there appears to be a structure on the site of what will become Nether Craigwell - it looks like a well
Map refers to "76 (closes) in the Canongate"

1763 - John Laurie's Map of Edinburgh

shows 'Calton Hill' (rather than Caltoun)

1780 - John Ainslie's Map

shows two buildings opposite the bottom of Campbell's Close and Reid's Yard, with trees illustrated on the hill behind them
closes numbered at the foot of the Canongate between Reids Yard (25) and White Horse Close (34) are:-

(25) Reid's Yard
(26) Campbell's Close
(27) Sommerville's Close
(28) Malloch's Close
(29) Callendar's Close
(30) Forsyth's Close
(31) Galloway's Close
(32) Ramsay's Close
(33) Duncan's Close
(34) White Horse Close

1778 Map which incorporates the design forEdinburgh's New Town shows three built structures in the region of Nether Craigwell's site - with the site for the New Calton Burial Ground being marked on the plan

(1816 Map in NLS shows proposal for the Edinburgh - Glasgow Canal running at right angles to the foot of the Canongate and North Back of Canongate - given the steepness of this area it's no wonder the canal scheme was never realised! See this link to view the map.)

1817 Map shows "Queensbury House Barracks" - this is now part of the Scottish Parliament

1820 Map has the Calton New Burying Ground clearly marked and you can see the 'North Back of Canongate' with the Craigwell Buildings on it - the Burns Monument also now appears on this map

1829 - The Murderer William Hare escapes from Calton Jail

(Researching the subject subsequently on the internet brought up the Post Office Map of 1830/31, which has a good image where the buildings are visible, which can be found on the Edinburgh Photo Website)

1823 - Brown's Map shows the brewery buildings under construction

1833 - Letter from Condemned Cell in Calton Jail

1840 - Post Office Map - need to take a further look at this as the copy in the book I was consulting had the Brewery site on a join in the pages

1842 - Queen Victoria Visits Scotland

(Subsequent research found an 1844 Map on the Edinburgh Photo Website: Link)

(Subsequent research found an 1870 Map on the Edinburgh Photo Website: Link - of interest here is that it looks like a Gas Tank is visible diagonally opposite the Brewery - this is the first sight of the Gas Works which was said to have polluted the face of the Burns Monuments, causing the artifacts stored therein to be removed to the National Gallery)

1894 - 1896 Ordnance Survey Maps first produced - points to note around Calton Hill:

"Her Majesty's Prison" next to the Calton Old Burial Ground
Craigwell Brewery is marked, along with the Calton Hill Brewery next to it
The Burns Monument is clearly marked

Further research in the Edinburgh Room showed some sketches of 1818 by James Skene depicting areas around Calton Road

(12)pYDA2302 (1818) - Low Calton - ECL 223010.TIF
(1818) - Low Calton - ECL 223013.TIF
(1818) - Tower of the New Jail from the Low Calton ECL 223014.TIF

Also found a couple of books which might prove fruitful for further research:-

E. Patricia Dennison (2005) - Holyrood and Canongate - A Thousand Years of History published by Birlinn (www.birlinn.co.uk)
Ann Mitchell (1993) - The People of Calton Hill - published by Mercat Press

In (1) there is a quote on p134 "On 5 March 1870 The Scottish Standard reported that "the south back of the Canongate of Edinburgh is more famous for breweries than any street in the United Kingdom"

I also found a photograph in one of these books (?) of Rock House, Calton Hill which was the Home of Archibald Burns Photographer - photographed by Alexander Burns in 1874 - maybe it would be worth checking to see if any of his photographs feature the Brewery?

Susan McNaughton
11 October 2007

Craigwell Brewery - 1987 Conversion to Dwelling Houses

2007-10-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

In 1987 the old derelict warehousing/storage facilities which had formerly been Craigwell Brewery were converted to form 22 dwelling houses - a mixture of town houses, apartments and one semi-detached cottage (No. 16).

When researching this aspect of the history of Nether Craigwell and Craigwell Brewery, we found some photographs which had been taken by Groves Raines - Architects on the project. They kindly lent the photographs to Susan McNaughton who has digitised them and put them in a Picasa Web Album which can be viewed below.

Researching history of Craigwell Cottage

2007-10-10T07:32:00.001-07:00

Craigwell Cottage at 16 Nether Craigwell, Edinburgh is one of 22 dwellinghouses which were formed when old industrial buildings were converted to housing in 1987.

On 26 April 2007 Sandcastle Holidays (Scotland) Ltd purchased the cottage at 16 Nether Craigwell with the intention of using it for holiday letting. Susan McNaughton of Sandcastle Holidays had spotted the property being marketed by Warners when looking for a potential property which would be ideal for self-catering holiday makers to spend a vacation in Edinburgh.

Whilst considering the purchase of the property, and breaking down the resistance of her fellow director to the purchase, Susan happened upon a photograph which was stored on the SCRAN Archive, showing Nick Groves-Raines standing at Nether Craigwell. Other photographs of the property at 65 Calton Road, Edinburgh were featured on the SCRAN Archive:-

1. Craigwell Brewery by Charles McKean
2. Craigwell Brewery, Calton Road, Edinburgh
3. Craigwell Brewery, Calton Road, Edinburgh - although the photograph shows the buildings opposite Nether Craigwell at Campbell's Close.
4. Former Craigwell Brewery, No 65 Calton Road, Edinburgh
5. Former Craigwell Brewery, No 65 Calton Road, Edinburgh
6. Former Craigwell Brewery, No 65 Calton Road, Edinburgh - again showing the building at Campbell's Close.
7. Nick Groves at former Craigwell Brewery, 1987
8. Nick Groves at former Craigwell Brewery, 1987
9. Balmoral Brewery Maltings, No 36 Calton Road, Edinburgh - photo is small, but appears to show brewery buildings photographed from somewhere on the side of Calton Hill.

The two photos of Nick Groves suggested to Susan that she should 'Google' Nick Groves to see what she could find - and this proved a fruitful search! Nick Groves-Raines was still practising in Edinburgh. He is an award winning architect and designed the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, amongst many other successful projects.

His practice - Groves Raines Architects had a website with contact details, so Susan got in touch with a very helpful young lady in his offices, Nicky Jowett, who searched the Groves Raines Archives for photographs of the project. When these had been located, Susan went to the offices of Groves Raines in Liberton and borrowed the photographs, scanning them to make digital images. I think the best place to put these images is on a Picasa Album so that if you are interested you may view them as a slide show.

Here's the show:

Local Shops for Self-Catering at Craigwell Cottage, Edinburgh

2007-05-23T02:17:00.000-07:00

One of the first things that you will want to do on arrival at Craigwell Cottage is to make sure that you have arranged sufficient supplies for your immediate needs. We do leave small supplies of tea, coffee, salt, pepper, sugar for you, but if you have a requirement for us to do some shopping ready for your arrival we'd be happy to provide this service for you. We will charge any groceries purchased at cost, with a small charge of £5 for the service. This will be deducted from your security deposit before it is returned to you. Please contact us by e-mail if you would like to discuss your requirements.

There are a couple of local convenience stores within walking distance of Craigwell Cottage which are useful for immediate needs such as bread and milk. You'll find Canongate Stores by crossing Calton Road, going up Campbells Close opposite Nether Craigwell, and turning right when you reach the Royal Mile.

If you cross the Royal Mile and go through one of the closes just up from Canongate Primary School - such as Bull's Close - you'll find your way through to Holyrood Road. Turn right on Holyrood Road and continue past Pizza Express, Bean Scene and Thyme and you'll find Nisa Metro Mini Market where there is a wider range of goods as well as magazines and newspapers.

You could of course forget self-catering altogether and pop in to Clarinda's Tea Room (where Campbell's Close meets the Royal Mile) - they open early in the morning for cooked breakfasts and you won't be able to resist going back later in the day for reasonably priced lunches or delicious home baking.

The nearest Marks and Spencer Simply Food store is in Waverley Station, which is a short walk up Calton Road. You'll find the entrance to Waverley Station on the left side of Calton Road and a footbridge takes you to Platform 2 where the Marks and Spencer Simply Food Store is located.

There is a large branch of Marks and Spencer at 54 Princes Street where you'll find a food hall in the basement.

There is a Sainsbury's Central situated on St Andrews Square, which you'll find immediately behind Jenners the famous Princes Street Store.

The food hall in Jenners is worth a visit too - you'll find speciality foods and whiskies there. The Edinburgh Evening News Article comparing up-market food shopping in Edinburgh gives a comparison between Jenners, Harvey Nichols, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose. Finding this reminded me that there is a food department in Harvey Nichols but to date I've not managed to add this particular store to my list of shopping experiences.

We're also starting to explore the area around the top of Easter Road to find more local stores within a short walk from Craigwell Cottage. I'd definitely recommend the baker's shop and cafe called 'The Manna House' which you can find at No 22-24 Easter Road. A wonderful patisserie and bakery shop with croissants, cakes, scones, speciality breads. Definitely worth a quick early-morning stroll there to find breakfast. If you read the Guardian Review of this local treasure, you will be drooling already! The locals rate it highly too - another rave review to read.

If you've come by car to stay at Craigwell Cottage there's a large Sainsbury's Store at the Meadowbank Retail Park if you want to do a supermarket shop to stock up.

Susan McNaughton
May 2007

Edinburgh with a 2-year old

2007-04-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

Our first guests at Craigwell Cottage are travelling with a young old child, so we thought it would be a good idea to put together some ideas of activities which would suit a family with small children holidaying in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Zoo

Edinburgh Zoo is a firm favourite no matter what age you are! It's open every day of the year - including Christmas Day, so no matter when you visit Craigwell Cottage, you'll be able to pay a visit to Edinburgh Zoo during your stay. You'll find opening times and admission charges by following this link.

Getting to Edinburgh Zoo from Craigwell Cottage:

The most frequent bus service which passes the Zoo is the 26 which you can catch from the stop opposite the main branch of Marks and Spencer in Princes Street.

By Bus

Edinburgh Zoo, located on Corstorphine Road, is well serviced by public transport. With bus stops located directly outside the Zoo, it makes it easily accessible by the following buses;

All the following Lothian Buses go from Princes Street, Edinburgh city centre;

12 - The Jewel - Princes Street - The Gyle. Timetable link: here

26 - Tranent - Princes Street - Clerwood. Timetable link: here

31 - Polton - Princes Street - East Craigs. Timetable link: here

X48 - The Ingliston Park and Ride Timetable link: here

Your Day at Edinburgh Zoo

At the entrance to the Zoo you'll be given a daily schedule of events. It's a good idea to take a few minutes to read this and plan your day's activities as there are often interesting talks on, or chances to see animals up close.

Our recommendation would be to arrive early in the morning and take advantage of the free Hilltop Safari rides which take you up to the top of the Corstorphine Hill on which the Zoo stands. The first Hilltop Safari ride starts at 10 am.

It's quite a good idea to take a picnic with you as this keeps the cost of the trip down, and is usually a favourite option for young children. There are plenty of picnic benches and grassy areas throughout the Zoo where you can picnic. But don't worry if you haven't brought your picnic with you, there are places where you can buy a picnic, or cafés and restaurants throughout the Zoo park too. You'll find further information about Picnics at the Zoo by following the link.

Don't forget your camera - if it's a clear day you'll get wonderful views over Edinburgh and particularly towards the Pentland Hills to the south.

One of the main events which Edinburgh Zoo is famous for is the daily 'Penguin Parade' which takes place every day at 2 pm at the Penguin Enclosure - any penguins who feel like taking a stroll are allowed out of the enclosure to parade round the children's play park. It's a purely voluntary affair these days, so some days only one or two penguins come out for a walk, and other days there are many more. Provides lots of photo opportunities though.

Holyrood Park
A short walk away from the cottage and providing spectacular scenery in the centre of Edinburgh, you'll find Holyrood Park. You can take a stroll round the low level paths, or try a more adventurous walk up by Salisbury Crags, or scale Arthur's Seat (these two prominent geological features give the 'Sleeping Lion' skyline). You'll find Historic Scotland's Education Centre at Holyrood Park Education centre, which is shown on the map you'll find on the Historic Scotland web page about the park. There is a play park off Queen's Drive between the Dynamic Earth exit and the Commonwealth Pool exit.

From Craigwell Cottage turn right and walk down Calton Road to the end, then turn right and follow the road past the front of the Scottish Parliament and you'll find the entrance to Holyrood Park. The Ranger Centre is on the grassy area behind Holyrood Palace - also a great place to kick a ball or fly a kite!

Commonwealth Pool
When travelling with small children it's sometimes hard to find the places that the local Mums know about for providing activities for kids to run off some of their energy and give them a safe place to play. One of the favourites when our children were small is the play area at the Commonwealth Pool, called 'Clambers' - there's a soft play area where children can climb and explore in relative safety, and there's a coffee shop where you can buy light snacks and refreshments. The swimming pool was originally constructed for the 1970 Commonwealth Games and it is in serious need of renovation - but there is a 0.8 metre deep kids' pool which is also worth a visit if your kids enjoy splashing about or practising their swimming technique.

From Craigwell Cottage you can walk through Holyrood Park - it's a steady uphill climb and probably only manageable by young ones if they're travelling in a buggy. At the Holyrood Palace entrance turn to your right and follow Queen's Drive to the Commonwealth Pool exit (it's probably best if you refer to the Ranger Service map for directions).

Ocean Terminal
A shopping centre with a difference - there's plenty available at Ocean Terminal for a day out for all ages. The former Royal Yacht Britannia is moored at Ocean Terminal where there's a great visitor centre and tours of the ship. You'll also find Molly's play area near the entrance to the Royal Yacht, where small children can have an hour or so of adventurous activity while Mum or Dad relaxes with a coffee and a good book! It's a reasonably priced place to have a child friendly lunch or snack too.

For older children there's the challenge of the 40-foot climbing adventure which is The Totem
- my eight year old had a wonderful time there being shown how to climb wearing a harness and exploring the different zones. See the website for more details and on-line booking of the half-hour sessions.

There's also a Vue Cinema at Ocean Terminal where you can catch up with all the latest releases.

From Craigwell Cottage you can get a bus directly from the bottom of the Royal Mile - Lothian Buses route 36 travels through Edinburgh's new town to Ocean Terminal, while route 35 goes in the opposite direction and passes Leith Links before arriving Ocean Terminal.

Preparing to market Craigwell Cottage

2007-02-23T13:55:00.000-08:00

On the evening our conditional offer was accepted we started to draft up a website which we will use to market the property. Is it sufficient to use www.2edinburgh.com for this purpose? I've set up a subdomain www.craigwell.2edinburgh.com for the purpose - is this attractive enough?

We also need to think about our strategy for marketing. It's a fantastic property, and 'ticks all the boxes' for self-catering properties.

It has PARKING adjacent to the property inside a gated courtyard.
It has TWO BEDROOMS and will be furnished to sleep 4 - one double and one twin room
It has a shared garden to the rear of the property which is accessed by climbing very steep steps which reach up past the roofs of the townhouses opposite, but when you get up there it's worth every step. Phenomenal VIEWS over Holyrood Palace, Holyrood Park, Salisbury Crags, and down to East Lothian.
It is within easy walking distance to Holyrood Palace, The Royal Mile, Dynamic Earth, The Scottish Parliament and Edinburgh City Centre

We need to think about:-

Listing the new property on VisitScotland.com in lieu of our current holiday rental property, Sandcastle-in-the-City
Working out which 'free listing' sites are worth listing on
Contacting the staff at AboutScotland.com to see if they'd be interested in taking us on now that we have an interesting and unusual property to rent and not just a 'run of the mill', albeit luxurious one-bedroomed property.
Are there 'cottage' sites which we could advertise on, given that we're going to call the property Craigwell Cottage and it is a semi-detached cottage style property?
What are the key attractions close to the apartment which would be of most interest to potential guests.
Getting good photographs taken.
Letting the guests who've already advance booked Sandcastle-in-the-City know that we're offering them a superior property for their stay, but also accepting that they may have definite reasons for staying in the New Town rather than the Old Town.

Making an offer for an exciting new holiday rental property

2007-02-23T13:50:00.000-08:00

We went to view a property at 16 Nether Craigwell, Edinburgh in mid January 2007. It was on the market at an "offers over" price, but quickly went to a "fixed price" as the owners neared the date when they had to move out. We felt we knew how much we wanted to pay, but having made our offer the owners were not prepared to accept it. It took a few weeks of going back and forth, and many long discussions between Sandy and I and our proposed lenders, but eventually on Thursday 22 February 2007 we made a conditional offer which was accepted.

Now all we've got to do is sell Sandcastle-in-the-City! It's a great apartment and we've owned it since August 2001. We've kept it really well maintained and have done lots to it to keep it functional and attractive to our guests. So we're sure that we'll find a buyer quickly and we'll be all set to start our business afresh in our new property. We're very excited about it.