Everything about Morningside Edinburgh totally explained
Morningside is a famously genteel area 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.
Morningside is popular with students, being near
Napier University's Merchiston and
Craighouse campuses (in addition to other Napier University buildings including the former
Morningside Parish Church on the corner of Newbattle Terrace), and is also within easy distance of the University of Edinburgh's campuses both at George Square and King's Buildings.
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.
Residents
Morningside is commonly thought of as the Edinburgh home of the author
J. K. Rowling, writer of the
Harry Potter series of books, though by some definitions her house is within the
Merchiston area, close to 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's 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.
Housing
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's 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); and the Old Schoolhouse Christian Fellowship (independent).
Street naming and local history
The names of several streets in the area follow an Egyptian theme, such as Nile Grove and Canaan Lane. Jordan Lane is named after the small but persistent Jordan
Burn which trickles out of sight under Morningside Road. Several theories exist for the origins of these names, and Charles Smith, in his noted history of the area, indicates that the historical evidence doesn't 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.
Communications
Morningside falls within the EH10
postcode district, and most of the area's telephone
dialling codes are either 446, 447 or the newer 452 (introduced in the 1980s), with an 0131 prefix from outside Edinburgh. (
for example leading to numbers of the form (0131) 447 xxxx.)
Further Information
Get more info on 'Morningside Edinburgh'.
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