Madelvic Motor Carriage Company

The Madelvic Motor Carriage Company of Granton, Scotland was an early car manufacturing company.

1. History

The company was founded by William Peck, Edinburgh's City Astronomer, to develop the emerging technology of electricity. Madelvic produced an 'electric brougham' at their factory in Granton, north Edinburgh, between 1898 and 1900. The vehicle was driven by a three-wheeled front axle unit, comprising motor, batteries and a small central wheel, set behind the axle, which propelled the car. This unit was mounted to the front of a chassis, creating a five-wheeled vehicle, but could also be attached to a horse-drawn carriage. Peck offered public transport using the car, between Granton and Leith as publicity. A more conventional front wheel drive electric vehicle was also briefly produced. However, electric cars were not to be the future, and Madelvic went bankrupt, being taken over by the Kingsburgh Motor Company in 1900. The original factory building still stands in Granton, and is currently being renovated for residential and office use. It is the oldest surviving car factory in Britain. After Madelvic ceased production, cars were built here by Kingsburgh, and then by the Stirlings Motor Carriages Ltd, who also built buses on the site, exporting some to Australia. In 1925 the buildings were bought by United Wire, and used by them until 2001. In 2001, the buildings were purchased by the development company Waterfront Edinburgh Limited, a joint venture between City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Enterprise. Buredi, a joint venture between The Burrell Company and the City of Edinburgh Council, had hoped to redevelop the factory to create a range of residential apartments, townhouses and commercial office space. The renovation was designed by Malcolm Fraser Architects. The building is on the Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland. In July 2024, the Lar Housing Trust submitted plans for the conversion of the production block into 28 townhouses.

1. Gallery


1. See also

List of car manufacturers of the United Kingdom

1. References

History of Electric Vehicles Edinburgh Architecture British Motor Manufacturers Granton History Group

1. External links

Edinburgh, Granton, 87 Granton Park Avenue, Madelvic Car Factory, Administration Block on the Canmore database Edinburgh, Granton, 87 Granton Park Avenue, Madelvic Car Factory, Production Block on the Canmore database Madelvic Motor Factory at the National Transport Trust website

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Granton Lighthouse

Granton Lighthouse is a former depot on West Harbour Road in Granton, Edinburgh, Scotland, now used as business accommodation. Originally known as the Northern Lighthouse Board Engineering, Storage and Testing Facility, it was formerly used by the Northern Lighthouse Board to store and distribute supplies, test and service equipment, and train employees.

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Granton Garden

The Granton Garden is an organic wildlife garden in the Granton area of Edinburgh, at the home of the musician and gardener Fraser Drummond. There are over 200 species in one small walled garden. Drummond has recorded 29 bird species in the garden as well as fox, hedgehog, squirrel and a colony of frogs. It has appeared in the BBC television programme The Beechgrove Garden and in The Scotsman. and has regularly been open to the public as part of Scotland's Garden Scheme.

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Granton Waterfront regeneration

The Granton Waterfront regeneration is a redevelopment of parts of Edinburgh along the shores of the Firth of Forth in Granton. There are three main landowners: Arcus (formerly Forth Ports), National Grid plc and City of Edinburgh Council. Since the area was masterplanned in the early 2000s it has undergone significant change with approximately 1,400 new homes in the Granton area, new food retail stores, the new Telford College at Granton, and approximately 16,000 square metres (170,000 sq ft) of commercial office space. A new road, Waterfront Avenue, has been constructed at Granton along with a 110 acres (45 ha) public park as part of National Grid's Forthquarter development. Following the recession of 2008, a new Area Development Framework has been prepared by the planning authority reflecting a flexible approach to future development. A new waterside promenade has started which will link the river Almond at Cramond to the Esk at Joppa allowing access to 18 kilometres of walkway/cycleway.

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Caroline Park

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