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CRAMOND - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

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The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer (1868)]
"CRAMOND, a parish in the district of West Edinburgh, in the counties of Edinburgh and Linlithgow, Scotland. It is bounded by the Frith of Forth on the N., by Dalmeny and Kirkliston on the W., by Corstorphine on the S., and St. Cuthbert on the E. Its length from E. to W. is 6 miles, with a breadth of 2 miles. The county is celebrated for the beauty of its scenery and the fertility of its soil. Almond Water divides the portion which is in the county of Linlithgow from the larger portion in the county of Edinburgh. The surface slopes upward and southward from the shores of the Frith, where it is flat, to Corstorphine Hill, which is partly in this parish.

The principal manufacture is that of iron, by the Cramond Iron Company, and there is a large paper mill called Peggy's mill. There is a purgative magnesian spring on the lands of Marchfield. In May, 1543, the English, under the Earl of Hertford, landed in this parish, near the spot now occupied by Granton Pier, the construction of which cost the Duke of Buccleuch above half a million. The village of Cramond is situated 5½ miles W. of Edinburgh, on the E. bank of the Almond, near its mouth. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in the neighbouring iron-works. The iron is almost entirely made from scrap, and bears a high character. Here the Romans had a station, and Constantine IV. is said to have been slain in battle by Kenneth, son of Malcolm I.

This parish is in the presbytery of Edinburgh, and in the gift of Ramsay of Barnton. The stipend of the minister is £295. There is also a Free church at Davidson's Mains. The principal landowners are the Duke of Buccleuch, C. H. C. Inglis of Cramond, and Ramsay of Barnton. The chief mansions are Cramond House, where H.R.H. the Duchess of Kent resided during her last stay in Scotland, Barnton House, Muir House, Caroline Park, Braehead, Lauriston Castle, and Craigcrook, the residence of the late Lord Jeffrey.

Among the eminent men born in this parish may be mentioned John, second Lord Balmerino, the friend of the Covenanters; Sir Thomas Hope, of Granton, the Scottish lawyer; Sir George Mackenzie, first Earl of Cromarty; and above all, the celebrated John Law, of Lauriston, who was born at Lauriston in 1671, and was raised in 1720 to be Comptroller General of the finances of France. He benefited that country by founding a national bank, but the Mississippi scheme, projected by him, proved as disastrous to France as the South Sea Company's scheme did to England. This extraordinary man died in poverty in Italy in 1729., after having astonished the world by his abilities, his projects, his success, and his ruin."

"DAVIDSON'S-MAINS, (or Muttonhole), a village in the parish of Cramond, in the county of Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on the road from Edinburgh to Cramond, 2½ miles S.W. of Granton.

"GRANTON, a post town and port in the parish of Cramond, county Edinburgh, Scotland, 3 miles N.W. of Edinburgh. It is a station on the Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee railway. It was founded by the Duke of Buccleuch in 1835, has an excellent pier 1,700 feet long, and four jetties. It contains a police station, and a good hotel with bathing accommodation. There is ready communication with Edinburgh, and a floating pier crosses over to Burntisland in Fifeshire at intervals. A lighthouse was put up in 1845, and all sorts of means and appliances for purposes of maritime trade are still in progress. Notwithstanding its comparatively small size as a port it is full of bustle and activity. As there are a great many commodious residences fit for occupation, and the scenery is picturesque, the place has a good number of visitors, and is increasing in extent daily."

"MUTTONHOLE, a village in the parish of Cramond, county Edinburgh, Scotland, 3 miles N.W. of Edinburgh. It is situated on the Frith of Forth, near Granton pier, and the river Almond."

"WARDIE, a village in the parish of Cramond, county Edinburgh, Scotland, half a mile E. of Granton. It is situated on the road from Granton to Newhaven. The Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee line of railway passes between it and the shore."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]


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