Everything about Bruntsfield totally explained
Bruntsfield is an area of
Edinburgh,
Scotland, about twenty minutes walk south-west of the
city centre. In feudal times it fell within the barony of
Colinton.
Location
Bruntsfield adjoins
Marchmont to the east,
Merchiston to the west,
Tollcross to the north and
the Meadows to the northeast. To the south and east lies the former estate of
Greenhill, and then south is
Morningside. Greenhill bordered the old
Burgh Muir, and the area of the
Burghmuirhead recalls that connection. The remaining land before Morningside was also part of Burghmuirhead, but the road junction with Colinton Road is most commonly known as
Holy Corner because close to each of its four corners is a church. Just beyond this, the most southerly part of Burghmuirhead is
Church Hill.
Bruntsfield Links, all that remains of the old Burgh Muir, is now effectively an extension of
The Meadows, and a sign erected there by the
City of Edinburgh Council claims that it was the first place where
golf was played.
History
The original name for the area had been "Brounysfelde" or Brown's Fields, after an early proprietor. A note in appendix 2 (number 1878) of the
Great Seal of Scotland, 1306 -1424, records a 1381 charter from the reign of
Robert II which grants to William Lauder the lands of "Burrowmure in Edinburghshire", which had previously belonged to Richard Broun of Boroumore (
sic). He was the elder brother of Alan de Lawedre of the
Haltoun House family, and in a further charter of the
Great Seal of June 4, 1382, Alan succeeded his brother ["fratremdicti Alani"] William de Lawedre in the lands of "Boroughmuir". It appears from subsequent charters that the Lauders acquired "Bruntisfield" at about the same time, unless it was all part and parcel of the 1381 acquisition. Sir
Alexander Lauder of Blyth, Provost of Edinburgh, acquired from his father, Sir Alexander Lauder of Haltoun, Knt., in August 1497 "the lands of Brounisfeld, with the manor-house and gardens, park, herbarium, etc., except for one perticate of land at the east end, adjoining the ditch therefo, in the common muir of Edinburgh."
J.Stewart-Smith states that "Bruntsfield Manor", or as it's known today,
Bruntsfield House, had been the
dower house of each successive bride of the Lauders of Haltoun for 226 years.
Sir William Lauder of Haltoun (d. Nov 1596) invested his son, Sir Alexander Lauder, Knt., younger of Haltoun and
Sheriff Principal of Edinburgh, and his mother in life-rent in Bruntsfield in 1587, and they resided in Bruntsfield Manor, being then estranged from the laird of Haltoun, and significantly rebuilding the mansion house. In 1603 Sir Alexander Lauder sold it to John Fairlie, of the family of Braid. Fairlie carried out extensive work to the original building, which is incorporated in the present mansion. His great-grandson, William Fairlie of Brounsfield, was still in possession after the reign of
Mary Queen of Scots. He sold Brounisfield to George Warrender of Lochend – then Baillie and afterwards
Lord Provost of Edinburgh – in July 1695, and that family were still in possession in 1900, having laid out much of their Bruntsfield estate for tenements, from the late 1850s. Bruntsfield House was categorised as a
Listed Building by
Historic Scotland in the early days of that agency.
Demographics and facilities
The area is relatively affluent, with several restaurants and various shops which tend to sell luxury goods rather than practical items (a good example being the
Pooh Bear shop). The housing is mostly in the form of relatively high-quality tenements, interspersed with some large villas. There is a
Bruntsfield Primary School, with a closely linked secondary school,
Boroughmuir High School, nearby. The area is also quite popular with students, partly due to its proximity to a major campus of
Napier University.
A column in the
Edinburgh Evening News calls itself
Bitching from Bruntsfield.
Bruntsfield falls in the Church of Scotland parishes of
Barclay Church, Viewforth Church and
Morningside United Church
.
In 2006 Bruntsfield was brought into the "S2" (southern zone 2) controlled parking zone, making much of the available roadside parking available only to residents paying
Council Tax and purchasing a permit. Other bays are pay-and-display.
Communications
Bruntsfield falls primarily within the EH10
postcode district, and most of the area's telephone
dialling codes (within the Edinburgh 0131 area code) are 228, 447 or the newer 452 (introduced in the 1980s).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Bruntsfield'.
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