West Coates - Izeria

West Coates or Wester Coates is a residential district of central Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is on the A8, in proximity to Haymarket railway station and Roseburn, west of the city centre, bounded by the Water of Leith on its north side. As well as numerous small hotels and bed and breakfast lodges, the area was home to Donaldson's College, a former school for the deaf. The name derives from Coates Hall on Rosebery Crescent to the east. The focal point in urban design terms is Roseburn Free Church on Hampton Terrace by Robert Reid Raeburn (1867) but this its impact is only appreciated from Wester Coates Road as (on the main road) it is visually overwhelmed by Donaldson's School. The character is very different north and south of the main road. To the north the area is laid out as large villas on spacious avenues. South of the main road (and the modest houses of Osborne Terrace and Hampton Terrace, lies Devon Place, single storey cottages dating from 1864 and built by the coal merchant James McKelvie, originally connected to the rail marshalling yards to the south. In the main road the Jacobean style villas at 1 to 6 West Coates are by Alexander Black. No 7 is by John Chesser. In the luxurious hinterland 1 Wester Coates Gardens is by Thomas Duncan Rhind.

1. Notable residents

Trix Kipling, aka Alice Kipling Fleming, writer and the sister of Rudyard Kipling. George F. Merson FRSE lived at 9 Hampton Terrace Andrew Edward Scougal FRSE lived at 1 Wester Coates Avenue Prof James Walker FRSE lived at 5 Wester Coates Road

1. References

Bell, Raymond MacKean (2017). Literary Corstorphine: A reader's guide to West Edinburgh. Edinburgh: Leamington Books. ISBN 9780244644406. (Google Maps) Donaldson's College

Nearby Places View Menu

Donaldson's School

Donaldson's School is Scotland's national school for the deaf. Originally situated in Edinburgh, it moved to a new location in Linlithgow in 2008. It is a residential and day school that provides education, therapy and care for pupils who are deaf or who have communication difficulties.

School

The Dunstane

The Roseate Edinburgh is a boutique hotel located in the west of Edinburgh on West Coates. The hotel, earlier known as the Dunstane Houses.

Hotel

Edinburgh Theological College

The Edinburgh Theological College was founded in 1810 to train Anglican clergy to serve in the Scottish Episcopal Church. In 1891 the college moved to Coates Hall in Rosebery Avenue where it gradually expanded to include residential accommodation and a library. The college’s academic hood was black lined with thistle green. The college closed in 1994 and the site is now used by St Mary's Music School. The Edinburgh Theological College was succeeded by the Theological Institute of the Scottish Episcopal Church (TISEC) in 1995, which was itself succeeded by the Scottish Episcopal Institute (SEI) in 2015.

Church School

St Mary's Music School

St Mary's Music School is a music school in Scotland in the West End of Edinburgh, for children aged 9 to 19 and is also the Choir School of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral. The school, which is non-denominational, provides education for children with a special talent in music, and is Scotland's only full-time independent specialist music school. In 2023, the school had 64 pupils from many different backgrounds coming from all parts of Scotland, the rest of the UK and abroad.

Music School