Hermitage of Braid
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{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
File:Hermitage House - geograph.org.uk - 142667.jpg
The Hermitage of Braid is an area between the Braid Hills and Blackford Hill. The Braid Burn runs through it. It comprises part of the {{convert|60.3|ha|adj=on}} Hermitage of Braid and Blackford Hill Local Nature Reserve.{{cite web |title=Hermitage of Braid Local Nature Reserve |url=http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/directory_record/164098/hermitage_of_braid_local_nature_reserve |publisher=City of Edinburgh Council |accessdate=11 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811185331/http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/directory_record/164098/hermitage_of_braid_local_nature_reserve |archive-date=11 August 2014 |url-status=dead }}
History
The Braid estate was the property of the de Brad family one of whom, Henri de Brad, was Sheriff of Edinburgh in the 12th century. A castle stood on the estate until the 18th century. In the 18th century the estate was purchased by the lawyer Charles Gordon of Cluny (died 1814), who commissioned the present house, known as Hermitage of Braid or Hermitage House, which stands on the north side of the Braid Burn. The house was built in 1785 by the Edinburgh architect Robert Burn. The castellated style may have been influenced by the work of Robert Adam.{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB27407|desc=Hermitage of Braid, off Braid Road|cat=A|access-date=26 March 2019}} Charles Gordon's son was the soldier and MP Colonel John Gordon (c.1776–1858).{{cite book |url=http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/dtog/gordonsofclunyfr00bull.pdf |title=The Gordons of Cluny |last=Bulloch |first=J. M. |authorlink=John Malcolm Bulloch |pages=19–33 |year=1911}} The house is a category A listed building.
In 1937 the then owner of the Hermitage, John McDougal, gifted the land to the city for use as a public park. A pillar in the grounds records the gift, and the subsequent opening of the park on 10 June 1938 by Lord Provost Sir Louis Gumley.{{cite web |url=http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/52394/details/edinburgh+morningside+hermitage+of+braid/&biblio=more#books |title=Hermitage of Braid |publisher=RCAHMS |work=Canmore | accessdate=6 November 2013}} The house is now a visitor centre for the nature reserve, and offices of the City of Edinburgh Council's Countryside Natural Heritage Service.
References
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External links
- {{commonscatinline}}
- [http://www.fohb.org/ Friends of Hermitage of Braid & Blackford Hill]
{{Parks and gardens in Edinburgh|state=collapsed}}
{{coord|55.9199|N|3.2009|W|region:GB|display=title}}
Category:Parks and commons in Edinburgh
Category:Local nature reserves in Scotland