Bruntsfield

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 ["fratrem dicti 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 is 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 [http://www.morningsideunitedchurch.org.uk 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).

References

* "The Grange of St. Giles", by J.Stewart-Smith, Edinburgh, 1898.
* "The Buildings of Scotland - Edinburgh", by John Gifford, Colin McWilliam and David Walker, Penguin Books Ltd., London, 1984, p.496-7. ISBN 0-14-071068-X

External links

* [http://heritage.scotsman.com/myths.cfm?id=15172006 Scotsman newspaper: historical article on the use of Bruntsfield Links for plague victims]