place

Hermits and Termits

1734 establishments in ScotlandCategory B listed buildings in EdinburghHouses completed in 1734Listed houses in Scotland
Hermits and Termits
Hermits and Termits

Hermits and Termits is a Georgian house in St Leonard's, Edinburgh, Scotland. Named for the lands of St Leonard's Hospital, it was completed around 1734 and restored from 1982 after a period of dereliction. The name Hermits and Termits most likely derives from the crofts of the nearby St Leonard's Hospital. Although the hospital closed some time after the Reformation, the name continued to be applied to its lands and was given to the current house, constructed for William Clifton around 1734. In the early 19th century, the house was the boyhood home of the artists William Bell Scott and David Scott. In 1826, its lands were sold to the Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway and it remained in railway use until the closure of the surrounding depot in 1968. In this period, it was known as The Coalyard House. After a period of dereliction and threatened demolition, the house was restored in 1982 by Benjamin Tindall. It is currently a private residence. The house has been described as an outstanding example of vernacular architecture in Edinburgh. Its harled exterior is distinguished by a gablet and a plaque with the Cliftons' crest. The interior retains much original woodwork and plasterwork. It has been a Category B listed building since 1974.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Hermits and Termits (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Hermits and Termits
St Leonard's Street, City of Edinburgh Southside

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Hermits and TermitsContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 55.942166666667 ° E -3.1787305555556 °
placeShow on map

Address

St Leonard's Street 64
EH8 9QY City of Edinburgh, Southside
Scotland, United Kingdom
mapOpen on Google Maps

Hermits and Termits
Hermits and Termits
Share experience

Nearby Places

Greyfriars Charteris Centre
Greyfriars Charteris Centre

The Greyfriars Charteris Centre is a community centre in the Southside, Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the mission of Greyfriars Kirk. The centre opened in 2016 and occupies the 20th century church buildings which became Kirk o' Field Parish Church in 1969. The church originated in the St Ninian's Mission, founded in 1891 at the instigation of Archibald Charteris to minister in the area of the Pleasance. The mission was staffed by the Church of Scotland's recently founded order of Deaconesses, who also ran the neighbouring Deaconess Hospital. An attached church, named Charteris Memorial Church, was founded in 1912. As the Southside's population and church congregations declined in the wake of the Second World War, neighbouring churches united with Charteris Memorial: first Pleasance in 1953, forming Charteris-Pleasance Church; then Buccleuch and Nicolson Street in 1969, when the name Kirk o' Field Parish Church was adopted; then St Paul's Newington in 1983. Kirk o' Field itself united with Greyfriars, Tolbooth and Highland Kirk in 2013. The united congregation retained the buildings for use as a community centre named in memory of Charteris, which opened in 2016. The former Kirk o' Field church building was completed in 1912 to a design by James Bow Dunn in the late Scottish Gothic style. Robert Wilson designed the neighbouring St Ninian's buildings, which opened in 1891. Between 2019 and 2022, the buildings underwent a major programme of refurbishment and alternations under Konishi Gaffney Architects.

St Leonard's, Edinburgh
St Leonard's, Edinburgh

St Leonard's is a neighbourhood of south-central Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. Once notable as a centre of industry, it is now primarily residential. The area takes its name from the mediaeval hospital of St Leonard, which stood on St Leonard's Hill on the edge of Holyrood Park. The hospital had fallen out of use by the mid-17th century but, by the middle of the following century, a small village had developed on the east side of the road between Edinburgh and Dalkeith. One prominent house built in this time, Hermits and Termits, survives. In 1831, the Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway opened its northern terminus at St Leonard's. Later in the 19th century, businesses including Thomas Nelson & Sons publishers and J. & G. Stewart distillers established manufacturing operations in St Leonard's. Industry declined throughout the 20th century with the station and Nelson's Parkside Works closing in 1968. In this period, abortive plans to demolish much of the area in favour of a ring road led to "planning blight" and the destruction of many older properties. Since the 1970s, however, St Leonard's has been redeveloped as a residential neighbourhood. St Leonard's is the site of the University of Edinburgh's Pollock Halls of Residence, including the Confucius Institute of Scotland. The Royal Commonwealth Pool – used in the 1970, 1986 and 2014 Commonwealth Games – is located here, as is St Leonard's Police Station. Until 2020, Scottish Widows was headquartered in St Leonard's.