Tipperlinn Village

The address of the new house we are building is on Tipperlinn Road in the Morningside district of Edinburgh. Our clients told us that Tipperlinn in the 18th century had been a little village on the outskirts of the city situated roughly on the grounds now occupied by the Royal Edinburgh Hospital on Tipperlinn Road.

We did a little bit of research (googled) and put together here the few facts that we learnt.

First of all the name itself; Tipperlinn is from the Gaelic and it means 'the well beside the waterfall' The village was tiny, consisting of twelve, two storey houses. The village produced fine linen and the well was used in the dying process.

The village was said to be picturesque enjoying unbroken views to the Braids and The Pentlands and a nice destination for Edinburgh folk to go and enjoy afternoon teas, while purchasing their linen.

A hospital was first established there in 1813 and it was the growth of the hospital which led to the demise of the village. Weaving ceased in 1856.

The village has completely gone and it is only remembered now by its name. It is thought that some of the stone from the original houses was reused as the area transformed and someone found an inscribed stone lintel from 1789 built into a wall nearby (picture above). There is also a carving of a weavers shuttle commemorating the weaving community that lived there on one of the Church Hill Theatre Milestones on Morningside Road. (picture above)

Acknowledgements:

The Edinburgh South West Magazine http://www.edinburghsouthwest.com/ and in particular their article on The Lost Village http://www.edinburghsouthwest.com/the-lost-village/ where you will find a more detailed piece.

I couldn't find a source for the little map but the photo of the old lintel was by Kim Traynor.