Can anyone tell us about our garden wall?!

[bellybabe]

Me again - see, took me a few months to get started but now I'll be impossible to shut up ... I was wondering if anyone has information about the house that used to stand where Scotmid now stands. Not long after we moved in (to Mentone Avenue) a friend told me about the "big" house that used to be here. The reason my interest is growing is because of our garden wall - it's very unusual and people often ask us about it. We actually know nothing at all about it other than that our neighbour told us we're not allowed to do anything to it as it's protected. It's actually in very poor repair and our biggest concern is getting rid of the kids that climb on it as it's pretty dangerous. It has strange alcoves in it and someone recently commented that it looks like a church wall, leading us to wonder if the house on the Scotmid site had a chapel, and if ours was one of the walls of it - the wall we are now being questioned about and having to demonstrate complete ignorance! It forms the border between us and 12 Bath Street, and is 4m high in places. Can anyone tell us anything at all about our garden wall?!

[Susan]

Hi,

The house that stood on the Scotmid site was called Mount Charles.

I know latterly it was owned by St. John's Church but don't recall a chapel in the grounds but maybe one of the older Bath Street residents could provide further information.

Susan

[bellybabe]

Thanks Susan. It's actually in a pretty bad state of repair but we really know nothing about it other than what our neighbour could tell us, which went along the lines of "Well, you just can't touch it!". It's quite nice to look at on the Bath Street side, with large archways inlaid into it if I remember correctly, and if it could be repaired would probably look great on our side too, but that sounds like something very expensive!

[Susan]

[bellybabe]

[Guest]

Malfour & Manson have a list of FAQs that might be helpful: try /

[Epykat]

I was brought up at 12 Bath Street and I know exactly the wall you're talking about. It extends right along the back greens of the tenements and was part of the garden wall belonging to Mount Charles. I remember the house when I was a child but it was derelict then. Very like Norman Bates' house LOL We were always led to believe that it had been a convent but I don't know how accurate that was. There were also lovely iron railings and huge gates and what is now Scotmid carpark was a very overgrown garden which at one point housed the beach ponies! I remember the day it was knocked down by a huge ball and crane - I think half the street was out watching.

[bellybabe]

Well, some time later , I still know very little about our wall, but wondered if anyone can tell me what these are for?





There are seven (I think) in a row. And they once looked nice with potted trailing plants in them, but being a terrible gardener I forgot to water them, and have since given up that idea, because then they didn't look nice with trailing dead plants in them lol!

BB

[Poppy]

Just to look pretty?!

[bellybabe]

Oh yeah - never thought of that!

[mr magnolia]

Seven of them, you say?

I strongly suspect that if you were to (gently - mind the neighbours) excavate the centre section on a clear night with a full moon, you would find that they are in a perfect alignment between the Bass Rock and Roslin Chapel. Hidden there is undoubtedly an element of a clue towards the beginning of the trail to find the receptacle of the key to the enduring mystery of The Holy Grail.

[DG]

Either that or, as Mr DG thought, they could have been kilns for brick making or the likes.

DG

[wangi]

Very interesting, I'll do a search on the indexes once they're working again...

[Gemini]

Bellybabe

What a beautiful wall!

Some suggestions : Try Archie Foley - Porty Historic Society/

John Stewart PAS/CC - both know squillions of things about Porty

Good Luck

[Poppy]

What are your neighbours' back walls like? I assume this wall was to do with Mount Charles [?] which is what Scotmid is built upon?

[bellybabe]

[teddygirl]

[Epykat]

[Maria]

[Pal of Porty]

[bellybabe]

[CatzVP]

They could be markers where old man smithers buried the bodies

[Poppy]

Was browsing through the old maps of Portobello today in the library - demmed interesting, old bean!

Anyway, it appears from one of them that a greenhouse/glasshouse for Mount Charles was there after your house was built .... maybe this is a clue? Don't know date, but looked like OS map and was issued before Ramsay Place was built - in fact, Ramsay Lodge was still there then.