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Edinburgh, Cammo House Walled Garden
Bee Bole(S) (18th Century), Gate Pier(S) (18th Century), Outbuilding(S) (18th Century), Walled Garden (18th Century)
Site Name Edinburgh, Cammo House Walled Garden
Classification Bee Bole(S) (18th Century), Gate Pier(S) (18th Century), Outbuilding(S) (18th Century), Walled Garden (18th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Cammo Walk; Cammo Estate; Cammo House Policies; Cammo Park
Canmore ID 115196
Site Number NT17SE 62.02
NGR NT 17348 74416
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/115196
- Council Edinburgh, City Of
- Parish Edinburgh (Edinburgh, City Of)
- Former Region Lothian
- Former District City Of Edinburgh
- Former County Midlothian
Walled garden to S of Cammo House; 2 ' acres; brick and rubble walls. The walled garden was built by Charles Watson over a ten-year period. It was a large garden covering 2 acres. It was divided into two parts, one part was probably a hot house as the remains of a fireplace can be seen.
The construction of the wall, although predating Nicol's SCOTCH FORMING GARDNER, is a good example of the instructions set by Nicol: 'where the wall is not composed entirely of brick, it should at least be lined'. Using different material in the construction of a walled garden was quite common as it resulted in different conditions thus determined the types of plants that would be planted. (Historic Environment Scotland)
Excavation (1 November 2021 - 25 October 2022)
NT 17348 74416 In April 2021 Edinburgh Archaeological Field Society started to investigate the walled garden. This 2.5 acre site was built over a 12 year period from 1780–1792. From 1895 map evidence, we could see outbuildings attached to the S and N walls as well as a potential glasshouse against the inside of the N wall.
A small building attached to the back of the S wall of the garden with a flagged floor containing a number of slots in the flags and in the wall of the garden, possibly for shelving. A fireplace had been inserted across the NE corner. On the 1895 map this building was shown roofed and a second glass-roofed building sat to the W of it. Very little of this other building remained. The possible gardener’s bothy was photographed and drawn.
An almost intact building with the remains of a pantile roof (2.35m N–S x 4.78m E–W) on the outer face of the N Wall at the E end was cleared. There was a doorway halfway along the outer S wall of the building with the remains of a two-course stairway down to the floor level. We found a flagged floor from the entrance, which stopped at a brick wall 0.92m from the back wall. This wall stood two courses high at the N and rising to five courses where it met the back wall. This brick wall had three channels inserted going from the brick wall to the back wall. These coincided with flue openings above them on the back wall
The second, westerly, building on the outside of the N wall was cut deeper into the ground. There were five steps up into the garden on the S side. The steps on the N side had been robbed away. A flue opening was extant to the W of the doorway into the garden. The doorway had been inserted into the N wall of the garden later and
was of the same style of brick as the surround of the boiler that was in the E wall. The building measured 3.9m (E–W) x 1.9m (N–S). Research has led us to Mackenzie and Moncur company established in Edinburgh in 1869 whose patrons included Alex Campbell of Cammo. He owned the Estate from 1873–1887. This gives us a narrow period when the boiler could have been bought and installed.
Work to clear the site of the large glasshouse is steadily progressing. Estate records give the length of the building as 29 yards (c26.5m). We have found the width of the glasshouse complex at c9m where it is marked by a line of ornamental ceramic tiles. The building was laid on a flat surface with regular drainage pipes lying N–S leading to a further pipe at right angles. Medium sized stones were laid across the site and covered with c600mm topsoil with large charcoal and animal bone inclusions. The remains of brick walls and supports have yet to be surveyed.
Archive: NRHE and City of Edinburgh HER (intended) Funder: Edinburgh Archaeological Field Society and City of Edinburgh Council
Christine McPherson – Edinburgh Archaeological Field Society
(Source: DES Volume 23)
