Craigmillar (from Scottish Gaelic Crag Maol Ard meaning 'High Bare Rock') is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, about 3 miles south-east of the city centre, with Duddingston to the north and Newcraighall to the east.
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History
The area consists mainly of inter-war and post-war public housing schemes, ranging from private bungalows to Edinburgh Council-owned high rise tower blocks. The housing schemes were created through the Housing (Scotland) Act of 1924, with lands bought from the Wauchope Estate. Despite the relative modernity of most of the housing in the area, the settlement of Craigmillar itself is very old, and contains Craigmillar Castle, which was begun in the late 14th or early 15th century, and occupied until the early 18th century. In 1660, the Craigmillar estate was bought by Sir John Gilmour, and Inch House remains the property of the Gilmour family.
Craigmillar recently ranked the 4th most deprived area of Scotland and along with neighbouring Niddrie has a reputation as a no go area for outsiders. The area has though improved greatly since the 80s and 90s.
Historical maps
In 2009 The National Library of Scotland released maps for the Craigmillar Area
- Ordnance Survey 1:10,560 Sheet IV SW, 1909 Shows detail of Niddrie House, Waterfall, Icehouse, Niddrie Stone 1909.
- Ordnance Survey 1:10,560 Sheet IV SW, 1938 Shows the development of Niddrie Main 1938.
- Ordnance Survey 1:10,560 - Air Photos - Sheet NT 27 SE and NT 37 SW, 1946 Shows the Arial Photos from 1946
- Ordnance Survey 1:10,560 Sheet NT 27 SE and NT 37 SW, 1955 Shows the Greendykes development. 1955
Present day maps
Openstreetmap volunteers completed Openstreetmap Craigmillarin January 2009
Facilities
Craigmillar saw riots in the 1980s, amid complaints about the lack of facilities in the area. Both the library and Arts Centre were won by grassroots-based community action trying to tackle the area's social problems. One such venture was the Craigmillar Festival Society, which was active from 1962 until 2002.
The area also has a large concrete sculpture/play-structure, created by artist Jimmy Boyle called Gulliver, The Gentle Giant that cares and shares. It was built for the Craigmillar Festival Society in 1976. The University of Edinburgh has playing fields in this area, including one of the oldest modern-style shinty fields in Scotland.
Notable people
- Helen Duncan (1897-1956), the last woman to be imprisoned under the 1735 Witchcraft Act, lived in Craigmillar.
- Filmmaker Bill Douglas was born and raised in nearby Newcraighall.
- The former Craigmillar Primary School building houses a mural by the painter John Maxwell, who was trained by Fernand Léger and was a fellow student of Marc Chagall in Paris.
- There is a fine example of 20th century stained glass by Sadie Maclellan in Robin Chapel, in the Thistle Foundation, a housing complex for disabled people in the centre of Craigmillar.
- Local mother Helen Crummy was instrumental in the founding of the Craigmillar Festival Society in 1962.
External links
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