Ratho

"Ratho, a village and a parish of Edinburghshire. The village stands 1250 to 320 feet above sea-level, near the South bank of the Union Canal, 1¼ mile South by East of Ratho station on the North British railway, this being 8¼ miles West South West of Edinburgh, and 9¼ East South East of Linlithgow. Its site is the slope or eastern declivity of gentle uplands; and it consists of a single street, coming down the declivity from West to East, and bending Northwars, near the end, to terminate on the canal. Most of its houses are neat whinstone cottages, lintelled with sandstone, and roofed with either tiles or slate. Anciently a place of considerable note, Ratho fell into great decay, but has in modern times been revived, extended and much improved. In a poem by Joseph Mitchell, who published two large octavo volumes of miscellaneous poetry in 1724, and who is known as 'the poet of Ratho', it figures as having at one time risen to spendour, and then at another time sunk to desolation, till 'Ratho looked like Troy, a field of corn'.

The parish is bounded West and North West by Kirkliston, North by Kirkliston and Corstorphine, South East by Currie, and South West by Kirknewton."

(Extract from Groomes Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland