Corstorphine
Encyclopedia
Corstorphine was originally a village to the west of—and separate from—Edinburgh
, Scotland
, and is now a suburb of that city.
Corstorphine retains a busy main street with many independent small shops, although a number have closed in recent years since the opening of several retail parks to the west of Edinburgh, especially the Gyle Centre
. Traffic on the main street, St John's Road, is often heavy, as it forms part of the A8 main road between Edinburgh and Glasgow
. The actual "High Street" itself is no longer the main street, a distinction shared with Edinburgh.
Famous residents include Helen Cruickshank
, an author. Corstorphine is also mentioned in the novels of Robert Louis Stevenson
, and is the birthplace of Alexander Thomson
, a writer and publisher on Bible translation.
The area was once served by Corstorphine railway station which provided direct trains to Edinburgh Waverley
. It closed on Saturday 30th December 1962.
is situated to the east of Corstorphine, and is the area's largest and most popular tourist attraction.
Corstorphine has one of Scotland's best-preserved late medieval parish churches, the Collegiate Church of St. John the Baptist, with a short tower and spire and several well-preserved stone effigies of the local noble family, the Forresters of Corstorphine.
Corstorphine Hill
is one of the so-called "Seven Hills of Edinburgh
", with Queen Margaret University having a main campus located here from 1970 until 2007 when the university moved to Musselburgh
.
, or from Torphin, an archdeacon of Lothian
, said to have built a cross at this spot. Folk etymology connected it to Croix d’or fin, and tradition has it that a cross of fine gold was presented to the church by a Norman
baron
.
Probably the earliest surviving version of its name is Crostorfin, which dates from around 1128. Torfinn sometimes appears in Scottish records as Turpin, for example Turpin, Bishop of Brechin
, 1178–98. In the medieval Liber Ecclesie de Scon it is written as Turphin and Turfin.
, and Thomas le Mareschall and William de la Roche, whose names occur in Ragman Rolls
of 1296. That estate stayed in the possession of the families of Thomas le Mareschall and William de la Roche until the reign of David II
, when it was forfeited by David le Mareschall, and given by the King to Malcolm Ramsay. It was next held by William More of Abercorne, who left it to his brother, Gilchrist More, by whom it was sold to Adam Forester.
A principal family in the area were the Lords Forresters
, whose name has been given to several streets, and whose large house can still be seen on Corstorphine High Street. Their main home, Corstorphine Castle, a 14th century stronghold, was in ruins by the end of the 18th century and does not exist today. The only remnant of the castle is the 16th century doocot
(55°56′20.52"N 3°16′53.35"W) which stands alongside Dovecot Road.
The lands and Barony of Corstorphine have long been associated with the Forrester family. The earliest known individual of that name in the neighbourhood was a William Forrester, Esquire, who appears on the muster roll of the Peel of Linlithgow
in 1311. However, the first firm link with Corstorphine comes with Adam Forrester a wealthy burgess of Edinburgh in the 1360s when he begins to acquire land in the vicinity.
Between 1374 and 1377 King Robert II
confirmed Adam Forester, a burgess of Edinburgh, in the lands of the Lordship of Corstorphine, which had previously been owned by William More of Abercorn
. Forrester founded a chapel dedicated to St. John the Baptist, connected to the parish church of Corstorphine.
Sir John Forrester of Corstorphine, who succeeded his father upon his death, was granted various lands, mostly in West Lothian
, in 1426 which were united into the barony of Liberton. In Perth
on 4 February 1431 James I
confirmed him in the house and lands of Corstorphine which would be thereafter known as the Barony of Corstorphine. He likely founded the collegiate church of Corstorphine in 1429, which forms part of today's parish kirk. Sir John is thought to have died in 1448 and was buried in Corstorphine church where recumbent effigies of him and one of his wives survive. He had four children: John, Henry, Elizabeth, and Janet.
William Dunbar
mentions a poet Roull of Corstorphin in his Lament for the Makaris
c.1505. Little else is known of this poet, though one poem by him may be extant. Stewart Conn
, Edinburgh's first appointed Makar
, has celebrated Roull's memory in his volume Ghosts at Cockcrow.
The title then fell to his eldest son John, who is believed to have been more of a soldier than a civil servant. In 1443 he was with the Earl of Douglas when he destroyed Barnton castle, a stronghold of the Crichtons. As a direct consequence Forrester's house at Corstorphine was razed. He died in 1454 and was buried in Corstorphine church where his tomb can still be seen.
Alexander Forrester, John Forrester's great-grandson, was confirmed by James V
in the lands and Barony of Corstorphine including Clerkington, Nether Liberton, Drilaw and Meadowfield. In 1539 he resigned Corstorphine in favour of James Forrester of Meadowfield, the husband of Alexander's granddaughter Agnes. This James ultimately succeeded Alexander and became James Forrester of Corstorphine.
James Forrester of Corstorphine (son of the previously mentioned James Forrester), husband of Janet Lauder, was confirmed by Mary, Queen of Scots, on 5 February 1556 in the Barony of Corstorphine. In 1577 Sir James presented the parish kirk with a bell for its steeple. This bell still survives, although it was renewed in 1728. James died on 4 June 1589 and his brother Henry was declared to be his heir.
On 22 October 1599 Henry Forrester of Corstorphine sold various lands within the parishes of Corstorphine and St Cuthbert's. Henry died sometime around 1615 and his eldest son George became laird. James VI had already confirmed George Forrester, son and heir apparent of Henry Forrester of Corstorphine and his wife Christine Livingstone in various properties in the barony of Corstorphine, on 15 November 1607.
At Holyrood House on 30 July 1618 James VI & I
confirmed Sir George Forrester of Corstorphine in the lands and barony of Corstorphine. George had already had some land disjoined from the barony of Corstorphine which he had sold. On 22 July 1633 he was created Lord Forrester of Corstorphine by Charles I
. Having no son to succeed him Lord Forrester resigned most of his properties, including Corstorphine, in favour of James Baillie. Baillie was the eldest son of Major General William Baillie of Lethame, who had married his fourth daughter Johanna around 1649.
During the mid-seventeenth century the family seems to have experienced some financial problems which resulted in lands being temporarily out of their control. On 3 August 1663 the lands and Barony of Corstorphine, except for the castle of Corstorphine and the town of Corstorphine, was granted to Sir John Gilmour. Oliver Cromwell
had granted Laurence Scott of Bavelaw and his wife Katherine Binning, the lands, Lordship and Barony of Corstorphine, tower, manor-place, mills, mill-lands, parsonage etc., in lieu of the money due by James, Lord Forrester, to Beatrix Ramsay in Corstorphine who had assigned the debt to the said Laurence Scott, 1654. On the 5 August 1664 the lands, Lordship and Barony of Corstorphine formerly belonging to James, Lord Forrester, and his brother German William Baillie which had been taken in lieu of debt, were granted to Florentius Gardner, baillie
of Grangepans. (Similarly lands in Stirlingshire
owned by Lord Forrester were taken to pay his debts to Richard Murray and Margaret Gairdner, in 1655.)
On 10 May 1666, land was similarly granted to John Boyd, merchant burgess of Edinburgh. A number of similar land grants also happened during this time. However, the family seems to have sorted out their financial problems as the lands were back in the hands of the Forresters within a short period.
James Baillie's first wife Johanna died early. He then married Janet Ruthven, daughter of the Earl of Forth. This latest Lord Forrester was a man of dubious morals and seduced his niece, the wife of an Edinburgh burgess James Nimmo. She, however, later quarrelled with Forrester and stabbed him to death in his garden at Corstorphine on 26 August 1679. Mrs. Nimmo was later executed at the Cross of Edinburgh for the murder. The titles then fell to William, the son of his brother William Baillie and his wife Lillias, daughter of the first Lord Forrester.
William the fourth, as Lord Forrester, married Margaret, daughter of Sir Andrew Birnie, a Judge of the Court of Session. They had several children including George who succeeded to the title on the death of his father in 1705. During this period, in 1698, the estate of Corstorphine was sold to Hugh Wallace of Ingliston
, a Writer to the Signet. He later, in 1713, sold it to Sir James Dick of Prestonfield
, in whose family it remained until 1869. (The Dicks were a prominent family of lawyers and merchants in Edinburgh. Sir James Dick (1643–1728) was a merchant and baillie of Edinburgh and also served as Dean of Guild
and later Lord Provost
.)
The Register of the Great Seal
records the transfer of the lands and Barony of Corstorphine to Sir James on 2 June 1713. On 17 May 1729 Dame Janet Dick, wife of Sir William Cunningham of Caprington, was served heir to her father Sir James Dick. On her death she was succeeded by Sir Alexander Dick of Prestonfield, who in 1754 was served heir to his grandfather Sir James Dick of Prestonfield. Sir Alexander died on 10 November 1785 and was succeeded in the baronies of Corstorphine and Prestonfield by his son Sir William Dick.
On the death of Sir William in 1796 the said baronies passed to his brother Sir John Dick, and in 1812 on his death they passed to his brother Sir Robert Keith Dick. In 1869 the barony of Corstorphine was sold to a John Dickson, then residing at Saughton Mains, which was confirmed on 4 May 1871. The barony remained with the Dickson family, who were for the most part Edinburgh lawyers, until 1986 when the last remaining interests in the barony, for by this time almost all of the land had been sold, was given to The Corstorphine Trust.
Title passed from The Corstorphine Trust to the present and 34th Baron of Corstorphine, Michael John Milne in November 2005. The title was recorded in the Scottish Barony Register on 21 December 2005.
and Forrester RFC
.
There are also a number of football grounds in the area, and a tennis centre at St.Margaret's Park.
RH Corstorphine Cricket Club play home games at the Royal High School
in Davidson's Mains.
Henry Stevenson
, Scottish international cricketer and rugby player died in Corstorphine.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and is now a suburb of that city.
Corstorphine retains a busy main street with many independent small shops, although a number have closed in recent years since the opening of several retail parks to the west of Edinburgh, especially the Gyle Centre
South Gyle
South Gyle is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying on the western edge of the city and to the south and west of an area of former marshland once known as the Gogarloch, on the edge of Corstorphine. To the north, some streets in the area have names including the words "North Gyle" but North Gyle...
. Traffic on the main street, St John's Road, is often heavy, as it forms part of the A8 main road between Edinburgh and Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. The actual "High Street" itself is no longer the main street, a distinction shared with Edinburgh.
Famous residents include Helen Cruickshank
Helen Cruickshank
Helen Burness Cruickshank was a minor Scottish poet and suffragette, better known for being a focal point of the Scottish Renaissance. At her home in Corstorphine, various Scottish writers of note would meet....
, an author. Corstorphine is also mentioned in the novels of Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
, and is the birthplace of Alexander Thomson
Alexander Thomson (writer)
Alexander Thomson, , born in Corstorphine, Scotland, was a religious writer involved in the work of the Concordant Publishing Concern , publishers of the Concordant Literal Version of the Bible....
, a writer and publisher on Bible translation.
The area was once served by Corstorphine railway station which provided direct trains to Edinburgh Waverley
Edinburgh Waverley railway station
Edinburgh Waverley railway station is the main railway station in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Covering an area of over 25 acres in the centre of the city, it is the second-largest main line railway station in the United Kingdom in terms of area, the largest being...
. It closed on Saturday 30th December 1962.
Landmarks and attractions
Edinburgh ZooEdinburgh Zoo
Edinburgh Zoo, formally the Scottish National Zoological Park, is a non-profit zoological park located in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland...
is situated to the east of Corstorphine, and is the area's largest and most popular tourist attraction.
Corstorphine has one of Scotland's best-preserved late medieval parish churches, the Collegiate Church of St. John the Baptist, with a short tower and spire and several well-preserved stone effigies of the local noble family, the Forresters of Corstorphine.
Corstorphine Hill
Corstorphine Hill
Corstorphine Hill is one of the hills of Edinburgh, Scotland, named for nearby Corstorphine. There are traditionally said to be seven hills in Edinburgh in reference to the Seven hills of Rome, but this figure is debatable, and as the city has expanded, even more so...
is one of the so-called "Seven Hills of Edinburgh
Hills in Edinburgh
Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland is traditionally said to have been "built on Seven Hills", presumably in an attempt to liken the city with other cities supposedly built on seven hills such as Rome and Lisbon...
", with Queen Margaret University having a main campus located here from 1970 until 2007 when the university moved to Musselburgh
Musselburgh
Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, six miles east of Edinburgh city centre.-History:...
.
Etymology of name
Corstorphine as a place-name has always been something of a mystery. Of three derivations advanced, the one most generally accepted is "Cross of Torphin" (an older rendering of the name Corstorphine being Crostorfyn), from Torfin grandson of Malcolm IIMalcolm II of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Cináeda , was King of the Scots from 1005 until his death...
, or from Torphin, an archdeacon of Lothian
Lothian
Lothian forms a traditional region of Scotland, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills....
, said to have built a cross at this spot. Folk etymology connected it to Croix d’or fin, and tradition has it that a cross of fine gold was presented to the church by a Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
.
Probably the earliest surviving version of its name is Crostorfin, which dates from around 1128. Torfinn sometimes appears in Scottish records as Turpin, for example Turpin, Bishop of Brechin
Brechin
Brechin is a former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin is often described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese , but that status has not been officially recognised in the modern era...
, 1178–98. In the medieval Liber Ecclesie de Scon it is written as Turphin and Turfin.
History
The first noticed proprietors of Corstorphine were David le Mareschall, in the reign of Alexander IIAlexander II of Scotland
Alexander II was King of Scots from1214 to his death.-Early life:...
, and Thomas le Mareschall and William de la Roche, whose names occur in Ragman Rolls
Ragman Rolls
Ragman Rolls refers to the collection of instruments by which the nobility and gentry of Scotland subscribed allegiance to King Edward I of England, during the time between the Conference of Norham in May 1291 and the final award in favor of Baliol in November 1292; and again in 1296...
of 1296. That estate stayed in the possession of the families of Thomas le Mareschall and William de la Roche until the reign of David II
David II of Scotland
David II was King of Scots from 7 June 1329 until his death.-Early life:...
, when it was forfeited by David le Mareschall, and given by the King to Malcolm Ramsay. It was next held by William More of Abercorne, who left it to his brother, Gilchrist More, by whom it was sold to Adam Forester.
A principal family in the area were the Lords Forresters
Lord Forrester
The title Lord Forrester was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1633 for Sir George Forrester, Bt who had already been created a baronet in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia in 1625...
, whose name has been given to several streets, and whose large house can still be seen on Corstorphine High Street. Their main home, Corstorphine Castle, a 14th century stronghold, was in ruins by the end of the 18th century and does not exist today. The only remnant of the castle is the 16th century doocot
Dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in...
(55°56′20.52"N 3°16′53.35"W) which stands alongside Dovecot Road.
The lands and Barony of Corstorphine have long been associated with the Forrester family. The earliest known individual of that name in the neighbourhood was a William Forrester, Esquire, who appears on the muster roll of the Peel of Linlithgow
Linlithgow
Linlithgow is a Royal Burgh in West Lothian, Scotland. An ancient town, it lies south of its two most prominent landmarks: Linlithgow Palace and Linlithgow Loch, and north of the Union Canal....
in 1311. However, the first firm link with Corstorphine comes with Adam Forrester a wealthy burgess of Edinburgh in the 1360s when he begins to acquire land in the vicinity.
Between 1374 and 1377 King Robert II
Robert II of Scotland
Robert II became King of Scots in 1371 as the first monarch of the House of Stewart. He was the son of Walter Stewart, hereditary High Steward of Scotland and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I and of his first wife Isabella of Mar...
confirmed Adam Forester, a burgess of Edinburgh, in the lands of the Lordship of Corstorphine, which had previously been owned by William More of Abercorn
Abercorn
Abercorn is a village and parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around west of South Queensferry.-History:...
. Forrester founded a chapel dedicated to St. John the Baptist, connected to the parish church of Corstorphine.
Sir John Forrester of Corstorphine, who succeeded his father upon his death, was granted various lands, mostly in West Lothian
West Lothian
West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....
, in 1426 which were united into the barony of Liberton. In Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
on 4 February 1431 James I
James I of Scotland
James I, King of Scots , was the son of Robert III and Annabella Drummond. He was probably born in late July 1394 in Dunfermline as youngest of three sons...
confirmed him in the house and lands of Corstorphine which would be thereafter known as the Barony of Corstorphine. He likely founded the collegiate church of Corstorphine in 1429, which forms part of today's parish kirk. Sir John is thought to have died in 1448 and was buried in Corstorphine church where recumbent effigies of him and one of his wives survive. He had four children: John, Henry, Elizabeth, and Janet.
William Dunbar
William Dunbar
William Dunbar was a Scottish poet. He was probably a native of East Lothian, as assumed from a satirical reference in the Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedie , where, too, it is hinted that he was a member of the noble house of Dunbar....
mentions a poet Roull of Corstorphin in his Lament for the Makaris
Lament for the Makaris
I that in Heill wes and Gladnes, also known as The Lament for the Makaris, is a poem in the form of a danse macabre by the Scottish poet William Dunbar...
c.1505. Little else is known of this poet, though one poem by him may be extant. Stewart Conn
Stewart Conn
Stewart Conn is a Scottish poet and playwright, born in Hillhead, Glasgow . His father was a minister Kelvinside Church but the family moved to Kilmarnock, Ayrshire in 1941 when he was five. During the 60s and 70s he worked for the BBC at their offices off Queen Margaret Drive and moved to...
, Edinburgh's first appointed Makar
Makar
A makar is a term from Scottish literature for a poet or bard, often thought of as royal court poet, although the term can be more generally applied. The word functions in a manner similar to the Greek term which means both maker and poet...
, has celebrated Roull's memory in his volume Ghosts at Cockcrow.
The title then fell to his eldest son John, who is believed to have been more of a soldier than a civil servant. In 1443 he was with the Earl of Douglas when he destroyed Barnton castle, a stronghold of the Crichtons. As a direct consequence Forrester's house at Corstorphine was razed. He died in 1454 and was buried in Corstorphine church where his tomb can still be seen.
Alexander Forrester, John Forrester's great-grandson, was confirmed by James V
James V of Scotland
James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...
in the lands and Barony of Corstorphine including Clerkington, Nether Liberton, Drilaw and Meadowfield. In 1539 he resigned Corstorphine in favour of James Forrester of Meadowfield, the husband of Alexander's granddaughter Agnes. This James ultimately succeeded Alexander and became James Forrester of Corstorphine.
James Forrester of Corstorphine (son of the previously mentioned James Forrester), husband of Janet Lauder, was confirmed by Mary, Queen of Scots, on 5 February 1556 in the Barony of Corstorphine. In 1577 Sir James presented the parish kirk with a bell for its steeple. This bell still survives, although it was renewed in 1728. James died on 4 June 1589 and his brother Henry was declared to be his heir.
On 22 October 1599 Henry Forrester of Corstorphine sold various lands within the parishes of Corstorphine and St Cuthbert's. Henry died sometime around 1615 and his eldest son George became laird. James VI had already confirmed George Forrester, son and heir apparent of Henry Forrester of Corstorphine and his wife Christine Livingstone in various properties in the barony of Corstorphine, on 15 November 1607.
At Holyrood House on 30 July 1618 James VI & I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
confirmed Sir George Forrester of Corstorphine in the lands and barony of Corstorphine. George had already had some land disjoined from the barony of Corstorphine which he had sold. On 22 July 1633 he was created Lord Forrester of Corstorphine by Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. Having no son to succeed him Lord Forrester resigned most of his properties, including Corstorphine, in favour of James Baillie. Baillie was the eldest son of Major General William Baillie of Lethame, who had married his fourth daughter Johanna around 1649.
During the mid-seventeenth century the family seems to have experienced some financial problems which resulted in lands being temporarily out of their control. On 3 August 1663 the lands and Barony of Corstorphine, except for the castle of Corstorphine and the town of Corstorphine, was granted to Sir John Gilmour. Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
had granted Laurence Scott of Bavelaw and his wife Katherine Binning, the lands, Lordship and Barony of Corstorphine, tower, manor-place, mills, mill-lands, parsonage etc., in lieu of the money due by James, Lord Forrester, to Beatrix Ramsay in Corstorphine who had assigned the debt to the said Laurence Scott, 1654. On the 5 August 1664 the lands, Lordship and Barony of Corstorphine formerly belonging to James, Lord Forrester, and his brother German William Baillie which had been taken in lieu of debt, were granted to Florentius Gardner, baillie
Baillie
A baillie or bailie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where baillies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate...
of Grangepans. (Similarly lands in Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county...
owned by Lord Forrester were taken to pay his debts to Richard Murray and Margaret Gairdner, in 1655.)
On 10 May 1666, land was similarly granted to John Boyd, merchant burgess of Edinburgh. A number of similar land grants also happened during this time. However, the family seems to have sorted out their financial problems as the lands were back in the hands of the Forresters within a short period.
James Baillie's first wife Johanna died early. He then married Janet Ruthven, daughter of the Earl of Forth. This latest Lord Forrester was a man of dubious morals and seduced his niece, the wife of an Edinburgh burgess James Nimmo. She, however, later quarrelled with Forrester and stabbed him to death in his garden at Corstorphine on 26 August 1679. Mrs. Nimmo was later executed at the Cross of Edinburgh for the murder. The titles then fell to William, the son of his brother William Baillie and his wife Lillias, daughter of the first Lord Forrester.
William the fourth, as Lord Forrester, married Margaret, daughter of Sir Andrew Birnie, a Judge of the Court of Session. They had several children including George who succeeded to the title on the death of his father in 1705. During this period, in 1698, the estate of Corstorphine was sold to Hugh Wallace of Ingliston
Ingliston
Ingliston is an area in the west of Edinburgh, Scotland.It is south of Edinburgh Airport and home to the Royal Highland Showground.From 1965 to 1992 motor racing took place at Ingliston Motor Racing circuit, which was located within the Royal Highland Showground.From 1973 to 2005, Ingliston held a...
, a Writer to the Signet. He later, in 1713, sold it to Sir James Dick of Prestonfield
Prestonfield
Prestonfield is a suburb in the south of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, which lies to the north of the A7 road. It is best known as being home to Prestonfield House, a renowned hotel.-External links:* *...
, in whose family it remained until 1869. (The Dicks were a prominent family of lawyers and merchants in Edinburgh. Sir James Dick (1643–1728) was a merchant and baillie of Edinburgh and also served as Dean of Guild
Dean of Guild
A Dean of Guild, under Scots law, was a burgh magistrate who, in later years, had the care of buildings.Originally, the post was held by the head of the Guild brethren of Scottish towns, and dates back to the 12th century. Later, the phrase Dean of Guild also described the courts set up in the 14th...
and later Lord Provost
Lord Provost
A Lord Provost is the figurative and ceremonial head of one of the principal cities of Scotland. Four cities, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, have the right to appoint a Lord Provost instead of a provost...
.)
The Register of the Great Seal
Great Seal of Scotland
The Great Seal of Scotland allows the monarch to authorise official documents without having to sign each document individually. Wax is melted in a metal mould or matrix and impressed into a wax figure that is attached by cord or ribbon to documents that the monarch wishes to make official...
records the transfer of the lands and Barony of Corstorphine to Sir James on 2 June 1713. On 17 May 1729 Dame Janet Dick, wife of Sir William Cunningham of Caprington, was served heir to her father Sir James Dick. On her death she was succeeded by Sir Alexander Dick of Prestonfield, who in 1754 was served heir to his grandfather Sir James Dick of Prestonfield. Sir Alexander died on 10 November 1785 and was succeeded in the baronies of Corstorphine and Prestonfield by his son Sir William Dick.
On the death of Sir William in 1796 the said baronies passed to his brother Sir John Dick, and in 1812 on his death they passed to his brother Sir Robert Keith Dick. In 1869 the barony of Corstorphine was sold to a John Dickson, then residing at Saughton Mains, which was confirmed on 4 May 1871. The barony remained with the Dickson family, who were for the most part Edinburgh lawyers, until 1986 when the last remaining interests in the barony, for by this time almost all of the land had been sold, was given to The Corstorphine Trust.
Title passed from The Corstorphine Trust to the present and 34th Baron of Corstorphine, Michael John Milne in November 2005. The title was recorded in the Scottish Barony Register on 21 December 2005.
Sport
There are two rugby clubs based in Corstophine: Royal High Corstorphine RFCRoyal High Corstorphine RFC
RHC Cougars are a rugby union side based in Edinburgh, Scotland.The team were established in 2003 from the merger of Corstorphine and Royal High rugby clubs, two separate clubs based in the west side of Edinburgh....
and Forrester RFC
Forrester RFC
Forrester RFC is a rugby union football club in the Scottish Rugby Union, located at Broomhouse Road in Edinburgh and play in the East Regional League Division 1.-History:...
.
There are also a number of football grounds in the area, and a tennis centre at St.Margaret's Park.
RH Corstorphine Cricket Club play home games at the Royal High School
Royal High School (Edinburgh)
The Royal High School of Edinburgh is a co-educational state school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland, and has, throughout its history, been high achieving, consistently attaining well above average exam results...
in Davidson's Mains.
Henry Stevenson
Henry Stevenson
Henry James Stevenson was a Scottish rugby union international and first-class cricketer.A fullback, Stevenson was capped 15 times for Scotland and took part in six Home Nations campaigns. This included being part of Scotland's 1891 Home Nations Triple Crown winning side as well as the team which...
, Scottish international cricketer and rugby player died in Corstorphine.
External links
- National Archives of Scotland (NAS) Website
- The Corstorphine Trust
- Corstorphine Round Table
- RH Corstorphine cricket club
- The Barony of Corstorphine
- Corstorphine Parish Church: http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst7821.html, http://www.scottish-places.info/features/moregpix7821.html, and http://www.headstones.fsnet.co.uk/oldcor.htm