Gorgie is a densely populated area of west Edinburgh, Scotland, located near Murrayfield, Ardmillan and Dalry.

Name

The name is thought to be Brythonic in origin. Early forms suggest it derives from gor gyn – upper wedge – which may refer to the tapering shape of the land between the Water of Leith and the Craiglockhart hills. An alternative derivation is 'big field' from Cumbric (Brythonic) gor cyn.^[1]

History

Gorgie is recorded in 12th century charters of Holyrood Abbey,^[2] when in 1236 it came into the possession of Sir William Livingston. In 1799, the Cox family who owned a mill bought most of the former estate from the residual Livingstone family. They devloped a glue factory o the site, which was redeveloped under a new Post Office Telecommunications telephone exchange in 1969. From 1527, the landowners lived in Gorgie House, situated on Alexander Drive. It remnants were demolished in 1937, to allow construction of a Roxy cinema and some housing.^[3]

Gorgie developed at a slower pace than nearby Dalry, allowing the continued operation of the 10 acres (4.0 ha) Gorgie pig farm until 1885. By 1800, only the area between Robertson Avenue and Saughton Park had any housing, served by a school and a church mission.^[3]

Late 1800s development

With grain whisky consumption growing in the industrialised and railway connected Victorian era, independent distillers needed access to a high quality and high volume producer of pure grain alcohol.^[4] In 1885, major shareholders Andrew Usher, William Sanderson and John M. Crabbie, with numerous other whisky-blenders as shareholders, established the North British Distillery Company, which bought the former pug farm, and began developing a distillery.^[5]

The distillery gained access to the Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Railway, which began developing a railway station in Gorgie. This brought about the 1888 development of Stewart Terrace, Wardlaw Place, Wardlaw Street, and the tenement flats of Tynecastle Terrace and Ardmillan Terrace; although Gorgie didn't lose it rural character until the early 1900s.^[3]

20th century industrialisation

In the early 20th century, factories began to dominate Gorgie, drawn by the plentiful water supply from the Water of Leith and the Union Canal.

Ferranti engineering developed in Robertson Avenue until 1980s.^[3] The famous McVitie and Price's biscuit opened in the same area in 1888, where the digestive biscuit was invented. The site was closed in 1969.^[3] The chemical plant of Cox's glue and gelatin works, and the Caledonian Brewery also developed at this time.^[3]

Present

Most of the large industrial works closed from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s, bringing high unemployment to the area. However, the recent refurbishment of many of the older buildings has brought a more cosmopolitan nature to the district.

The area contains Gorgie City Farm, and retains a number of smaller businesses. There is also a secondary school, Tynecastle High School.

Transport

The area was traversed by both the Caledonian Railway and the North British Railway.^[6] Both companies had stations in the vicinity:

• Gorgie East Railway Station: was on the Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Railway. It was opened on 1 December 1884. The station closed in 1962, when passenger rail services were withdrawn from the Edinburgh Suburban line as part of the British Railways rationalisation programme known as the Beeching Axe, although the line itself was retained for rail freight use. The route continues to be used for freight services to this day, so freight trains avoid Edinburgh's main stations of Edinburgh Waverley and Haymarket, and occasionally diverted passenger trains also pass along this line.
• Gorgie Railway Station: was on the Caledonian Railway Mani Line into Edinburgh Princes Street.

Future

A local campaigning group, the Capital Rail Action Group (CRAG), is running a campaign for the SSJR line to be re-opened to passenger services, and proposes that it should be operated either as a commuter rail service or as a light rail system to form an extension of the forthcoming Edinburgh Tram Network.^[7] Following a petition submitted to the Scottish Parliament in 2007, the proposal was rejected in 2009 by transport planners due to anticipated cost.^[8]

Hearts F.C.

After Heart of Midlothian F.C. was formed in 1874, the club played at sites in the Meadows, Powburn and Powderhall.^[9][10] Hearts first moved to the Gorgie in 1881. This pitch stood on the site of the present-day Wardlaw Street and Wardlaw Terrace.^[9][10] As this site was then regarded as being "out of town", Hearts would sometimes stage two matches for the price of one, or set an admission price much lower than Edinburgh derby rivals Hibs.^[9] In 1886, with the city continuing to expand, tenements replaced the old ground and Hearts moved across Gorgie Road to the present site,^[9] which was leased from Edinburgh Corporation.^[10] They still play today at Tynecastle Stadium, now in the Scottish Premier League.^[3]