Davidson's Mains

Davidson's Mains is a former village and now a district in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland.[1] It is adjacent to the districts of Barnton, Cramond, Silverknowes, Blackhall and Corbiehill/House O'Hill. Locals sometimes abbreviate the name to D'Mains.

Cottages

Etymology

The placen is named after William Davidson, a wealthy merchant who bought Muirhouse, east of the district, in 1776.[2] A mains is Lowland Scots for a farm estate or home farm.

Prior to the 19th century, it was known as Muttonhole.[1] The origin of this name is unknown, though it perhaps refers to the local sheep farming industry.[3] Muttonhole could also be derived from mort-toun-hole, another name for a "murder hole" (drowning pit).[4]

Description

Within the district there is a variety of shops and businesses, ranging from cobblers to large supermarkets, as well as food outlets of various kinds. The district is also served by four churches, a Tesco, 2 veterinary surgery, a doctor's surgery, two dental surgeries, the Corbie and other takeaways, a primary school and a Greggs.[5] The state secondary school that serves the area is the Royal High School. Davidson's Mains Park is near the high school which has a play park and a football pitch.

The district is currently served by two bus routes run by Lothian Buses: the 21, which travels to the Gyle Centre via Clermiston and to Leith in the other direction; and the 41, which travels from Cramond to Morningside.

References
  1. "Davidson's Mains (Muttonhole)". Gazetteer for Scotland.
  2. http://www.grantonhistory.org/buildings/muirhouse.htm
  3. "A Brief History of Davidson's Mains". Archived from the original on 4 September 2014.
  4. Cameron, Archibald Cowie (1899). The History of Fettercairn. J. and R. Parlane. p. 142. "Gallowhills," and the women by drowning in the Mort-toun-holes, or "Muttonholes" as these are now called.
  5. "home". Davidson's Mains Primary School. Retrieved 2 January 2016.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.