- Morningside, Edinburgh
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Coordinates: 55°55′30″N 3°12′34″W / 55.925061°N 3.209411°W
Morningside 
Morningside clock (Christmas 2007)
Morningside
Morningside shown within EdinburghPopulation Unknown OS grid reference NT244708 Council area City of Edinburgh Country Scotland Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town Edinburgh Postcode district EH10 Dialling code 0131 (446, 447, 452) Police Lothian and Borders Fire Lothian and Borders Ambulance Scottish EU Parliament Scotland UK Parliament Edinburgh South (UK Parliament constituency) Scottish Parliament Edinburgh South (Scottish Parliament constituency) List of places: UK • Scotland • Edinburgh Morningside is a district in the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is south of the areas of Bruntsfield, Burghmuirhead (including Holy Corner, Church Hill, and Greenhill); south-west of Marchmont, and south-east of Merchiston. It is to the north of Comiston and the Braid Hills.
Contents
Landmark structures
Morningside landmarks include the Morningside Clock, originally in the middle of the roadway as the clock for Morningside Station (part of the suburban railway line); the elaborately decorated Canny Man's pub (formerly The Volunteer's Arms) on the corner of Canaan Lane; and the Bore Stane, an ancient monument adjacent to the former Parish Church.
Also of note is the Streamline Moderne Dominion Cinema on Newbattle Terrace.
Historic planning
The area centres around Morningside Road — an ancient route from Edinburgh to the south-west.
Street naming and local history
The names of several streets in the area follow a biblical theme, such as Nile Grove, Canaan Lane, Eden Lane and Jordan Lane. Jordan Burn which trickles out of sight under Morningside Road similarly adopts this same naming theme. Several theories exist for the origins of these names, and Charles Smith, in his noted history of the area, indicates that the historical evidence does not support a favourite theory. Theories include the presence of a large number of Gypsies at the time the land was feud out; the immigration shortly afterwards of a number of notable Jewish people; a connection to the army of Oliver Cromwell and simply the presence of Egypt Farm, nearby.
Another early street name of note is Cuddy Lane ("cuddy" is an old Scots term for horse).
Residents
By some definitions, in Morningside was a former Edinburgh home of the author J. K. Rowling, writer of the Harry Potter series of books; however by some definitions her house on Abbotsford Crescent was within the Merchiston area. It stands close to the homes of fellow authors Alexander McCall Smith and Ian Rankin.
In fiction, Morningside is the home of Muriel Spark's Miss Jean Brodie, and in children's literature it is the home of "Maisie from Morningside", a kitten in books by Aileen Paterson. Prior to his death, the Labour leader John Smith lived locally and his funeral, attended by much of the British Establishment, was held at Morningside Parish Church, which has the longest aisle of any parish church in the UK. Fred Goodwin, former chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, has a residence in nearby Marchmont. The Engineer John Begg was born in Morningside.
Housing
Queen Victoria tablet on a Morningside tenement
Most of the housing on Morningside Road is of tenement style, with surrounding streets housing mostly Victorian villas (detached or semi-detached houses), plus a number of notable older buildings. Exceptions are the streets around Falcon Avenue and Falcon Road West which are also tenemented. The names of these streets recall one of the largest local mansion houses, Falcon Hall, now gone.
Amenities
Civic amenities include South Morningside Primary School; Saint Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School; Blackford Pond; and Morningside Library. There are a wide range of small, traditional shops, cafés and restaurants as well as some more mainstream shops and supermarkets such as Waitrose and Marks & Spencer; and there is an independent, family-run cinema, The Dominion.
Churches in the area include Morningside United Church (Church of Scotland and United Reformed Church) at Holy Corner; Morningside Parish Church in Cluny Gardens; Morningside Baptist Church (Baptist Union of Scotland), St Peter's Church (Roman Catholic) and the Old Schoolhouse Christian Fellowship (independent). Morningside Baptist Church purchased Central Hall, Tollcross in June 2011. MBC are retaining their Holy Corner building but are leasing it out to the Rock Elim Church. The former North Morningside Parish church was converted for community use in 1980 and is now called the Eric Liddell Centre after the Olympic athlete who lived locally and attended Morningside United Church.
Transport
The area is served by a number of bus routes operated by Lothian Buses including the 5, 11, 15, 16, 23, 38 & 41.
The disused Morningside Road railway station was closed to passenger service in 1962 when the circular Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Railway service was withdrawn. A local pressure group is campaigning for the station to be re-opened, possibly as an extension to the forthcoming Edinburgh tram system.[1]
Gallery
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Morningside Clock
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Morningside Library
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Old School House, Morningside Road
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Dominion Cinema
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Former Morningside Parish Church
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Victorian shops in Morningside Road
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Morningside Road, approaching Church Hill from the south
References
- Smith, Charles J., "Morningside", John Donald Publishers Ltd., Edinburgh, 1992. ISBN 0-85976-354-4
- Cant, Michael, "Villages of Edinburgh" volumes 1 & 2, John Donald Publishers Ltd., Edinburgh, 1986-1987. ISBN 0-85976-131-2 & ISBN 0-85976-186-X
- Grant, James, "Old and new Edinburgh" volumes 1–3 (or 1–6, edition dependent), Cassell, 1880s (published as a periodical): Online edition
- ^ "Reopening the South Sub". Transform Scotland. March 2007. http://archive.transformscotland.org.uk/info/docs/2007-03-30_ESSR.pdf. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
External links
- Morningside Community Council
- Morningside Traders Association
- Morningside photo group on Flickr
- Morningside United Church
- Morningside Parish Church
- Morningside Baptist Church
- Eric Liddell Centre, Morningside
- The Dominion Cinema, Edinburgh
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