Comely Bank
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Comely Bank (
History
The ground was originally part of
The
In 1894 the builder
Notable buildings
The area has a number of buildings of architectural or historical interest:
- Flora Stevenson School 1900 by John Alexander Carfrae
- St Stephen's Church 1901 by J.N. Scott & Alexander Lorne Campbell
- St Ninian's Episcopal Church 1921 by John More Dick Peddie & Walker Todd
Famous Residents
(taken from Grants Old and New Edinburgh[4])
- Thomas Carlyle
- Jane Welsh Carlyle
- Rev James Browne DD (1793–1841) author, lived at 11 Comely Bank
- John Wilson Ewbank RSA (1799–1847), artist, lived at 5 Comely Bank
- Thomas Faed and James Faed artist brothers lived at 16 Comely Bank[5]
Street Names
Nearly all of the street names in Comely Bank begin 'Comely Bank' or 'Learmonth'. The City of Edinburgh Council's current street naming policy no longer permits this type of naming strategy. Some of the street names have changed over the years, for example Learmonth Grove was known as Comely Bank Loan until the early 20th century.
Comely Bank Cemetery
The cemetery was begun in 1896 and laid out by George Washington Browne.
The cemetery has lost its original southern entrance and its ornate gate piers now lead only into a modern housing estate. It is now only accessible from its north-east corner, on Crewe Road. There has been much vandalism in the cemetery.
It is notable largely due to an abnormally high number of war graves, due to its juxtaposition to two of the city's hospitals in WW2. This includes Britain's youngest in-service death: Reginald Earnshaw only 14 years old.
There are relatively few graves of note:-
- Jeannie Cockburn (1898–1918) a rare female war grave from WW1 (Lady Driver)
- Clive Franklyn Collett MC and bar (1886–1917) WW1 flying ace
- Sir Patrick George Don-Wauchope Baronet (1898–1989)
- Reginald Earnshaw (1927–41) Merchant Navy. UK's youngest war grave
- William Miller Frazer RSA (1864–1961), landscape artist
- William Murray Frier (1911–2014) centenarian
- Alexander Gamley (died 1906) and Fanny Vince Gamley (died 1908) stone by Henry Snell Gamley (presumed to be his parents)
- House of Representatives of Ceylon
- John ("Jock") Adam Porter (1894–1952) Scotland's first Isle of Man TT winner
- Thomas Ross (1839–1930) architect and partner in MacGibbon & Ross (stone fallen and damaged)
- Dr Arthur Wilson (died 1925) sculpture by Henry Snell Gamley
References
- ^ "Dataset | City of Edinburgh Council Mapping Portal". data.edinburghcouncilmaps.info. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- ^ "Stockbridge and Inverleith Community Council". stockbridgeandinverleithcc.org.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- ^ Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh, by Gifford McWilliam and Walker
- ^ "Ch 8: Valley of the Water of Leith (concluded) - Old and New Edinburgh by James Grant - Volume V". oldandnewedinburgh.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- ^ Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1850