Abbeyhill - Izeria

Abbeyhill is an area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Abbeyhill is one of the oldest parts of the city, taking its name from Holyrood Abbey, a major historic religious site. The main east-west thoroughfare through the area is London Road, laid in the 1820s as part of the Calton development of the New Town. This superseded an older road to Haddington which still skirts the north side of the Holyrood Park. As with many other parts of the city, the area has varying definitions. Generally it may be taken to mean the part of town lying between Holyrood Park (and perhaps The Palace of Holyroodhouse itself) to the south; London Road and adjoining streets to the north; Calton Hill and the yards of Waverley Station to the west; and Meadowbank to the east. It is in the locale of the Scottish Parliament building, contains several old churches and other historic sites, and looks onto the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

1. Geography

The suburb is largely composed of streets of tenement housing, such as Waverley Park and Milton Street, built in the mid-1890s on the grounds of Comely Gardens, a pleasure garden belonging to a local mansion, which operated along the same lines as London's Vauxhall Gardens. It was from here that James Tytler made Britain's first hot-air balloon flight in 1784, landing about half a mile away in Restalrig. Another area of distinctive and beautiful character is "the rows", several streets of colony houses on the north side of London Road. The south side of Lower London Road, sloping down to Meadowbank, is a mix of earlier small-scale industrial premises and newer residential housing. In recent years, Abbeyhill has seen more independent shops, bars and cafés, as well as significant residential investment, with new modern flats being built alongside the existing Victorian and Edwardian tenement flats. There are numerous dedicated residential and business forums for the area and also opportunities to connect including the well-established Abbeyhill Colony of Artists.

1. Culture and community


1. = Educational establishments =

Abbeyhill Primary School is located on Abbey Street to the south of London Road. The Category-B listed Abbeymount Techbase building sits at the top of Easter Road, and was initially built as a primary school in 1874 is now used as artists studios.

1. Transport

Abbeyhill station was opened in 1869 and closed in 1964 as a result of the Beeching cuts. Abbeyhill is conveniently linked to the city centre by Regent Road and Calton Road, allowing quick access to the city centre and Edinburgh Waverley railway station. Many Lothian Buses routes serve the area and provide easy access to the city and to East Lothian.

1. See also

Holyrood Palace Scottish Parliament Building Calton Hill Old Royal High School

1. References


1. External links

Bartholomew's Chronological map of Edinburgh (1919) Bellfield Brewery Scotland's Insider Guide Abbeyhill Meadowbank Sportscentre Colony of Artists Abbey Lane OOTB Abbey Mount studios Meadowbank Shopping Centre Edinburgh's abandoned restaurant erratic opening Edinburgh woman opens her own cafe after quitting job and learning to bake in Paris

Nearby Places View Menu

Abbeyhill railway station

Abbeyhill railway station was a railway station located in the Abbeyhill area of Edinburgh. It was served by trains on several Edinburgh local rail services. The station was on the line that branched off the East Coast Main Line at Abbeyhill Junction.

Landmark Train

Carlton Terrace, Edinburgh

Carlton Terrace (known as Carlton Place from around 1830 until 1842) is a residential street in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on the east side of Calton Hill, at the eastern extremity of the New Town, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1995. The street is in the form of an inverted crescent, a long, hairpin curved terrace of 19 classical town houses, linking together with Regent Terrace and Royal Terrace in a 'necklace' around the hill. Built on the west side of a setted street, the terrace faces sloping gardens descending down to Abbeyhill, across to Holyrood, and over to the heights of Arthur's Seat. Residents enjoy access to Regent Gardens.

Historic Site Landmark

Meadowbank and Willowbrae Church

Meadowbank and Willowbrae Church (known until 2017 as Holyrood Abbey Church, and then until 2025 as Meadowbank Church) is a congregation of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is based in a late-Victorian church building on London Road, Abbeyhill, around 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north of Holyrood Abbey. The church building was opened in December 1900 as Abbeyhill United Free Church. The 12th-century Holyrood Abbey served as the parish church of the Canongate until the construction of the Kirk of the Canongate in 1688. Following the Disruption of 1843 in the Church of Scotland, part of the congregation of the Kirk of the Canongate left to form Holyrood Free Church. A new building was constructed by them on Abbey Strand, in front of the Palace of Holyroodhouse. In 1915 this congregation united with Abbeyhill United Free Church, henceforth using the church buildings at 83 London Road. When the United Free Church of Scotland united with the Church of Scotland in 1929, the congregation became known as Holyrood Abbey Church. The former Holyrood United Free Church building adjacent to the Palace was used for many years as a storeroom, but in 2002 was extensively renovated and reopened as The Queen's Gallery, for art exhibitions from the Royal Collection. The building at 83 London Road was designed by R M Cameron, and is protected as a category B listed building. It was extensively upgraded in 2006–2007. The name Meadowbank and Willowbrae Church was adopted following a union between the congregations of Meadowbank Church of Scotland and Willowbrae Parish Church in September 2023. A closing service was held in the Willowbrae building (formerly known as New Restalrig) in June 2025 and that building is expected to be put up for sale by the end of 2025. In 2014 the minister of Holyrood Abbey Church resigned over his disagreement with the Kirk's decision to accept homosexual ministers in marriages and civil partnerships. He led many of the congregation to set up Holyrood Evangelical Church, an independent congregation. Due to the shortage of Church of Scotland ministers, and following the schisms within Holyrood Abbey and the nearby New Restalrig Parish Church, the Presbytery of Edinburgh decided to close the building on the corner of London Road and Easter Road used by London Road Church and unite that congregation with the remaining members of the Holyrood Abbey congregation. The union took place in February 2017 and the combined congregation was known as Meadowbank Church.

Church Landmark

349 m

Hibernian Park

Hibernian Park was the home ground of the Scottish football club Hibernian from 1880 until the club's dissolution in 1891. When the club was reformed in 1892, the club took out on a lease on a site which became known as Easter Road. Hibernian Park was also located in the Easter Road area; in fact, it was closer to Easter Road itself than the present stadium because it was on the site of what is now Bothwell Street.

Landmark Soccer