Marchmont
Encyclopedia
Marchmont is a mainly residential affluent area of Edinburgh
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...

. It lies roughly a mile to the south of the Old Town
Old Town, Edinburgh
The Old Town of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is the medieval part of the city. Together with the 18th-century New Town, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has preserved its medieval plan and many Reformation-era buildings....

, separated from it by The Meadows
The Meadows (park)
The Meadows is a large public park in Edinburgh, Scotland, just to the south of the city centre. Largely consisting of wide open grassland crossed by tree-lined paths, the park also has a children's playground, a croquet club, tennis courts and cricket pitches...

 and Bruntsfield Links
Bruntsfield Links
Bruntsfield Links is of park in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh, immediately to the south-west of The Meadows, which it adjoins.Unlike The Meadows, which is a former loch, Bruntsfield Links was always dry...

. To the west it is bounded by Bruntsfield
Bruntsfield
Bruntsfield is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, about twenty minutes walk south-west of the city centre. In feudal times it fell within the barony of Colinton.-Location:...

; to the south-southwest by Greenhill
Greenhill, Edinburgh
Greenhill is a small area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.South-west of the city centre, Greenhill is normally taken to be part of Bruntsfield, which continues to the north. Greenhill borders Marchmont and The Grange to the east, Morningside to the south, and Merchiston is west, beyond Holy...

 and then Morningside
Morningside, Edinburgh
Morningside is a district in the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is south of the areas of Bruntsfield, Burghmuirhead ; south-west of Marchmont, and south-east of Merchiston...

; to the south-southeast by The Grange; and to the east by Sciennes
Sciennes
Sciennes is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, just outside the city centre to the south of the Meadows, with Newington to the east. Sciennes shares a Community Council with Marchmont, to the west....

.

History

The whole area was a planned development, some of it being on what was previously agricultural land known as the Warrender Park, that name now being retained in such areas as Warrender Park Crescent, Road and Terrace. The name Marchmont was originally only used to refer to Marchmont Crescent, Road and Street, but is now used for the whole area. The buildings are almost exclusively four-storey tenements, although the earliest plans and some of the first building works anticipated the area would contain almost exclusively townhouses. The earlier Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 buildings are mostly pink sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 in a form of Scottish baronial style
Scottish baronial style
The Scottish Baronial style is part of the Gothic Revival architecture style, using stylistic elements and forms from castles, tower houses and mansions of the Gothic architecture period in Scotland, such as Craigievar Castle and Newark Castle, Port Glasgow. The revival style was popular from the...

, by architects such as Edward Calvert
Edward Calvert (architect)
Edward Calvert was a Scottish domestic architect.Calvert's work appears to have been exclusively confined to Edinburgh, and was mostly concerned with the creation of Baronial tenements and villas in the Second Empire and Jacobean styles...

, while the later Victorian and Edwardian buildings are often in blonde sandstone, and in a plainer, more uniform style.

Originally, the area was not allowed to have any premises selling alcohol, and although that is no longer the case, there are only a small number of licensed premises. As of mid 2008, the Earl of Marchmont was refurbished and reopened. Other licensed premises include the Argyle Bar, The Hide and the Links Hotel. There are also a number of off-licensed shops.

Today

Due to its proximity to the city centre, the presence of local amenities, and generally being considered a pleasant area, it is considered a fairly desirable location to live in. This is reflected in high house prices, though these are now typical of most of Edinburgh. It is highly popular with students, with both Edinburgh University and Napier University
Napier University
Edinburgh Napier is one of the largest higher education institutions in Scotland with over 17,000 students, including nearly 5,000 international students, from more than 100 nations worldwide.-History:...

 within easy walking distance. There is a certain friction between permanent residents and temporary ones (many of whom are students), with the Marchmont Action Group Promoting Initiatives for the Environment (MAGPIE) unsuccessfully petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....

ing the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...

 to impose quotas on shared accommodation by restricting the number of Houses of Multiple Occupation Licences (HMO’s) granted for the area.

The area is home to the mosaic-tiled B-listed Warrender Swimming Baths
Warrender Baths
Warrender Swim Centre – traditionally known as Warrender Baths – is a swimming pool and fitness complex in Marchmont, Edinburgh....

, opened in 1887 and recently restored.

James Gillespie's High School
James Gillespie's High School
James Gillespie's High School is a state secondary school in Marchmont, Edinburgh. The school is a comprehensive High School, educating pupils aged 11 to 18 years of age. It has recently celebrated its 200th anniversary, and its campus consists of primarily 1960s buildings alongside the 16th...

 has been in its present building in Marchmont since the 1960s. Local churches include St. Catherine's-Argyle and Marchmont St. Giles — both Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

. Both host various community activities including a playgroup
Pre-school playgroup
A pre-school playgroup, or in everyday usage just a playgroup, is an organised group providing care and socialisation for children under five. The term is widely used in the United Kingdom. Playgroups are less formal than the pre-school education of nursery schools...

.

Marchmont in fiction

Arden Street is home to Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin, OBE, DL , is a Scottish crime writer. His best known books are the Inspector Rebus novels. He has also written several pieces of literary criticism.-Background:He attended Beath High School, Cowdenbeath...

's fictional Detective Inspector John Rebus
Detective Inspector John Rebus
Detective Inspector John Rebus is the protagonist in the Inspector Rebus series of detective novels by the Scottish writer Ian Rankin, ten of which have so far been televised as Rebus...

. (The author himself lives in nearby Merchiston
Merchiston
Merchiston is a prosperous, mainly residential area in the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. The housing is primarily a mixture of large, late Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian villas – several of the latter by Edward Calvert – together with a smaller number of Victorian tenements and...

, although he did reside on Arden Street at one point.)

The once James Gillespie's High School for Girls on Warrender Park Crescent was the school attended by Muriel Spark
Muriel Spark
Dame Muriel Spark, DBE was an award-winning Scottish novelist. In 2008 The Times newspaper named Spark in its list of "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945".-Early life:...

, and the lead character (and school) in her book, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie are said to be very closely based on her experiences there.

Pat McGregor from the 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith, CBE, FRSE, is a Rhodesian-born Scottish writer and Emeritus Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. In the late 20th century, McCall Smith became a respected expert on medical law and bioethics and served on British and international committees...

 also lives in Spottiswoode Street for a time in Love Over Scotland.
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