Tollcross, Edinburgh
Encyclopedia
Crossroads (culture)
In folk magic and mythology, crossroads may represent a location "between the worlds" and, as such, a site where supernatural spirits can be contacted and paranormal events can take place...
in the South-West of the City Centre 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...
, and also the surrounding area which derives its name from the junction.
Physical description
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...
), Home Street to the south (which leads to 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:...
), and West Tollcross to the west. In the middle of the junction is a distinctive ironwork pillar clock which has been there since 1910.
The southern edge of the area merges with Bruntsfield while to the north and west Tollcross meets Fountainbridge
Fountainbridge
Fountainbridge is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, a short distance west of the city centre, adjoining Tollcross to the east, Bruntsfield to the south, Dalry to the west and Haymarket to the north....
, Lauriston and the rest of the Old Town part of the City Centre lies to the East.
Facilities
The Parish Churches for Tollcross are Barclay Church at the southern edge and St Cuthbert's Church at the northern end of Lothian Road. Central Hall, a listed building (category B) owned by the Methodist Church since 1901, was purchased by Morningside Baptist ChurchMorningside Baptist Church
Morningside Baptist Church is a Baptist church originally located in Morningside, Edinburgh.The church was built as a Free church in 1872. It proved to be too small so they built what is now the Churchhill Theatre and moved there. As the Holy Corner church was vacant it was bought in 1894/95 for...
in June 2011. The church uses it for worship services, offices and other activities.
The area is diverse, containing Tollcross Primary School
Tollcross Primary School
Tollcross Primary School is a mixed non-denominational primary school on Fountainbridge near Tollcross in Edinburgh, which is notable for offering the only Gaelic medium primary education in Edinburgh and the Lothians....
, which includes the city's Scottish Gaelic-Medium Unit, a wide range of nationalities of restaurants, and both an Italian and Polish bakery. There is a cluster of services here for the city's Chinese community including a Chinese-language church, two Chinese supermarkets, a travel agent, and an old people's advice centre.
The Cameo
The Cameo, Edinburgh
The Cameo is an Edinburgh cinema which started life as the King's Cinema on 8 January 1914 and is one of the oldest cinemas in Scotland still in use. Since becoming the Cameo in 1949, it has been an independent cinema with a tradition of showing art house films. From 1949 onward it has been an...
cinema and the King's Theatre
King's Theatre, Edinburgh
The King's Theatre was opened in 1906 and stands on a prominent site on Leven Street in Edinburgh. It is one of Scotland's historic and most important theatres...
are located nearby, on Home Street and Leven Street respectively. The area has a considerable number of eateries. It also has many local provision shops, including a butcher, baker, greengrocer, mini supermarket, two clothing alteration shops, deli, cake shop, electrical goods shop and a video rental shop.
There is a modern health centre and a fire station opened in 1988, and Princes Exchange, a large new office development (circa 2000), home to the Corporate arm of the Bank of Scotland
Bank of Scotland
The Bank of Scotland plc is a commercial and clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. With a history dating to the 17th century, it is the second oldest surviving bank in what is now the United Kingdom, and is the only commercial institution created by the Parliament of Scotland to...
, in a central position on Earl Grey Street. The Meadows 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...
are nearby parks to the east and south.
Housing
Housing is mostly four-storey VictorianVictorian 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...
tenement
Tenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
flats, with a few blocks listed as being of significant local architectural or historical interest. Some were put up in the 1860s and 1870s by James Steel, an entrepreneurial Edinburgh builder who was responsible for many "working-class tenement developments" in various parts of the city; others were the work of small local building associations. Earlier buildings include a few tenements, originally designed to provide "room-and-kitchen" accommodation for poorer families, in Home Street, as well as residential property (and a guest house) opposite Lochrin Buildings on Gilmore Place, named after Samuel Gilmour, a ropemaker whose factory was originally on the site.
Many students live in the area, with 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:...
having three separate halls of residence in the vicinity.
Transport and industry
Tollcross, like neighbouring Fountainbridge, was important to the city's industry in the 19th century, and the Union CanalUnion Canal (Scotland)
The Union Canal is a 31.5-mile canal in Scotland, from Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh to Falkirk, where it meets the Forth and Clyde Canal.-Location and features:...
, which started from the area, opened up new transport possibilities. The current Lochrin Buildings continue the Lochrin
Lochrin
Lochrin is a small area in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is in the south-west corner of the city centre, part of the Tollcross area, and beside Fountainbridge. Lochrin contains a wide mixture of retail shops, leisure facilities, other businesses and tenement housing...
name previously used for the Lochrin Distillery which was replaced in 1859 by the Lochrin Iron Works
Ironworks
An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...
. There were also a saw mill, paraffin
Paraffin
In chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the...
works, and slaughterhouse
Slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...
in West Tollcross, with a brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
on the site of the current theatre. In 1899 the tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
depot and power station for the southern part of Edinburgh's large cable tramway system (later electric) opened here. After the last tram ran in the 1950s it became a bus garage which was demolished in 1967 to make way for a new fire station.
The toll
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
part of Tollcross refers to its past as a place where payments were collected from travellers entering the city on a centuries-old route.
The area is now served by a number of bus routes operated by Lothian Buses
Lothian Buses
Lothian Buses Plc is the only municipal bus company in Scotland and the largest provider of bus services in Edinburgh, Scotland. City of Edinburgh Council own 91.01% of the company with the remainder being owned by East Lothian and Midlothian councils. As well as serving Edinburgh, Lothian Buses...
including the 10, 11, 15, 16, 23, 24, 27 & 45.
Further reading
- John G Bartholomew, Chronological map of Edinburgh (1919)
- Scottish Ironwork Foundation, Edinburgh clocktower 2
- Lochrin Bain company history, Lochrin Iron Works
- City of Edinburgh Council, Gaelic Education at Tollcross Primary
- Scran Trust database