Accessibility Links
Apart from the tightly packed community of the Old Town, and the ordered lay out of the New Town on the northern side of Princes Street, Edinburgh is made up of a series of villages that have been engulfed by the city over the centuries.
The community known as the Dean Village is one of most interesting of these. It lies under the span of the 100 foot tall Dean Bridge which was designed and built by Thomas Telford in 1831. In its shadow, and within a five minute walk of Princes Street, is the Village which has been recorded in history for nearly 900 years.
The Water of Leith runs through it and on its banks a thriving milling and baking industry began in the 11th century, providing milled grain and bread for the community of Edinburgh. The ?Baxters?, or bakers, of Dean Village were famous till the 19th century when huge new flourmills at Leith usurped their pre-eminence.
Today Dean Village is popular with discerning tourists because it contains many unspoiled old buildings decorated with ancient inscriptions and carvings. One of the most interesting is Kirkbrae House at the top of Bell?s Brae. Incorporated into its fabric are many of the stone panels that adorned an ancient granary called Jericho. One panel is carved with cherubs and the motto ?In the sweat if thy face shalt thou eat bread.?
In the heart of the Village is an attractive community of houses called Well Court built in 1884 as housing for workers with money provided by the philanthropist J.R. Findlay, proprietor of the Scotsman newspaper.
Historians will also relish a visit to the Dean Cemetery which was opened in 1831 and contains some lovely sculpted monuments marking the graves of many distinguished people, including Sir Thomas Bough, the railway engineer who built the ill fated Tay Bridge and was knighted for his efforts by Queen Victoria shortly before the bridge collapsed in a storm in December 1879. Discredited and broken hearted, Bough died the following year aged only 58 in the middle of the official enquiry into the disaster. He is buried in Dean Cemetery though he died at Moffat.
Other famous people interred in the Dean Cemetery include the artist Sam Bough, died 1878; Elsie Inglis, 1864-1917, one of the first women physicians after whom the Elsie Inglis Maternity Pavilion in Edinburgh was named; and David Octavius Hill, the photography pioneer along with his colleague Robert Adamson. Hill was buried there in 1870. His grave is marked by a fine bust of himself sculpted by his second wife Amelia Paxton, a distinguished sculptress who also worked on the Scott Monument in Princes Street.
For more information on Edinburgh and self catering accommodation, please see www.unique-edinburgh.com
Sleeps: 5, Bedrooms: 3
Just 10 minutes walk from Princes Street, and situated in a quiet, landscaped cul-de sac, Silvermills Apartment is a bright, modern and extremely comfortable pied-a-terre for up to five people wishing to explore the many delights of Scotland's elegant capital city.
Sleeps: 5 (7) , Bedrooms: 2
Is an elegant fortified stone tower-house standing quietly at the end of a private drive just 10 mins. drive from The Royal Mile, The Castle, Holyrood Palace - and on a good bus route. The well-furnished ground-floor apt has immediate access to (and views of) the acres of gardens and grounds which tenants are welcome to use.
