Oxgangs - Izeria

Oxgangs is a suburb in the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Surrounding districts include Caiystane, Dreghorn, Redford, Fairmilehead, Colinton and Swanston and Colinton Mains. The post code area for Oxgangs is EH13.

1. Etymology

The name derives from "oxgang", an old unit of land measurement. Skene in Celtic Scotland says:

"in the eastern district [of Scotland] there is a uniform system of land denomination consisting of 'dabhachs', 'ploughgates' and 'oxgangs', each 'dabhach' consisting of four 'ploughgates' and each 'ploughgate' containing eight 'oxgangs'."

1. History

The building of the area started in around 1953/54; before that (with the exception of Colinton Mains) there had only been a number of prefab houses and several farms but it had been mostly farmland and was basically considered to be part of the countryside. The area consists of large public housing schemes aimed at low to middle income groups, ranging from private bungalows to the City of Edinburgh Council-owned high rise tower blocks (although these have now been demolished). A significant majority of former council-owned properties in Oxgangs have been bought by tenants under the right to buy scheme leaving approximately 659 properties in council ownership thus making it extremely difficult to be allocated a council home in the area. Peter Hoffmann has written memoirs of growing up in Oxgangs between 1958 and 1972 which capture the era and its social and cultural history. He has also written Two Worlds: The Story Of An Edinburgh Doctor, a biography of Dr Motley, a Black American, and the first general practitioner to set up his practice in the area in the mid-1940s until his retirement in 1978.

1. Amenities

There were two small shopping areas at each end of Oxgangs known locally as the "top" and "bottom" shops. The top shops (Oxgangs Broadway) are larger. The bottom shops (Oxgangs Crescent) bottom right of photograph, were demolished along with the high flats, being replaced by housing. Located in and around Oxgangs and adjacent areas are a police station, a medical practice, a public library, a nursery, three primary schools and a high school, and a pub. There are three churches in the area: Church of Scotland, Scottish Episcopal Church and St Mark's Roman Catholic Church, opened by Archbishop Gordon Gray in 1962. Recently a Kingdom Hall was built in the Oxgangs Green area. Surrounding Oxgangs are three large supermarkets: a Tesco next to Firrhill High School, a Morrisons near the Swanston area and a Scotmid in Colinton Mains. In 2017, Aldi opened a store on the site where the social work building and St John's church previously stood.

1. AC Oxgangs

AC Oxgangs, a community football team, was founded in 2001. They currently operate 14 teams selected from a total player pool of around 200 youngsters which range in age from 7 to 18 years old. They play their 7-a-side and 11-a-side home games at Colinton Mains Park just beside Oxgangs Road North where a brand new clubhouse has just been erected. Younger members occasionally play 4-a-side games at the Saughton Sports Complex off Balgreen Road, but also play 7-a-side games at Colinton Mains Park.

1. Recent changes

In 2003, after years of campaigning by residents the council decided to demolish and redevelop Oxgangs high rise flats. In April 2005 longstanding tower block Capelaw Court was demolished to make way for new housing. Capelaw was one of three high rise flats built in Oxgangs Crescent in 1961 and 1962. The other two buildings (Caerketton Court and Allermuir Court) were demolished in November 2006. The demolition of Capelaw Court was filmed and featured on the National Geographic Channel, which interviewed residents of Oxgangs and community leader Heather Levy. Two neighbouring primary schools situated on Oxgangs Green (Comiston and Hunters Tryst) were recently merged and renamed Pentland Primary. At first the Comiston pupils moved into the building formerly known as Hunters Tryst alongside current Tryst pupils while Comiston was renovated and a year later all staff and children moved permanently into the refurbished Comiston building, now known as Pentland Primary.

1. Public transport

Public transport is frequent with Lothian Buses operating chartered services. Bus routes 4, 5, 16, airport service 18, 27, and night service N16, and an airport night service 18 (at 3am) Only to the Airport all serve the area.

1. See also

Oxgangs high rise flats Firrhill

1. Books

2020: OXGANGS A Capital Tale Volume 1 ISBN 979-8418781314 2020: OXGANGS A Capital Tale Volume 2 ISBN 979-8419178540 2019: Paradise Lost - The Edinburgh Oxgangs School Summer Holidays 1958-1972 ISBN 978-1089483045 2018: Oxgangs - A Pastime From Time Past: Spirits Across The Air ISBN 978-1725718630 2021: Two Worlds The Story Of An Edinburgh Doctor ISBN 979-8481599687

1. References


1. External links

Edinburgh Film focus

Nearby Places View Menu

347 m

Oxgangs high rise flats

The Oxgangs tower blocks (known locally as the Oxgangs high rise flats) were a group of 3 tower blocks which were built on Firrhill Drive/Oxgangs Crescent in 1961 and 1962. They each contained a mixture of flats and maisonettes with 2 bedrooms each, totalling up to 80 homes per block. The blocks were called "Allermuir Court" "Caerketton Court" and "Capelaw Court", and were named after three of the nearby Pentland Hills. The original name of the group of three blocks was "Comiston Luxury Flats". They boasted outstanding views across Edinburgh, and offered a much better place to live than the slums of the inner city. However, a short while after their completion several problems were drawn into attention such as dampness, and after the 1970s the original families were beginning to move out of the blocks in search of other housing. In 2003, Social Justice Minister Margaret Curran announced £10,000,000 in funding for demolition of the blocks and rebuilding of affordable housing on the site. Work began in 2003 with the decanting of Capelaw Court and by 2004 it was empty, finally being demolished (with the use of controlled explosives) on 17 April 2005. The demolition was screened live worldwide by the National Geographic Channel. Allermuir and Caerketton Court were next and they were both demolished within seconds of each other on 26 November 2006. On the site of Capelaw Court, 60 flats and 31 houses were built (managed by Dunedin Canmore Housing Association, Communities Scotland and the city council, in partnership). The first residents moved back to the new homes in early 2007. The site of the other two tower blocks is currently being developed into more housing. The whole project was due to be completed in around 2009/10.

Landmark Neighbourhood

Comiston

Comiston (Scottish Gaelic: Baile Chaluim, IPA:[ˈpaleˈxaɫ̪ɯim]) is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is south of Morningside and west of the Braid Hills, linking the suburbs of Oxgangs and Fairmilehead. The main road through the area, Comiston Road, is a continuation of Morningside Road, and further south becomes Biggar Road. It is classified as the A702 which runs eventually to Biggar. A part of Comiston Road has signage as Pentland Terrace, the name of a terrace of Victorian houses set back from, and above Comiston Road, with a roadway of its own immediately in front of the houses. Comiston House was owned by the Forrest baronets. Sir James Forrest, 1st Baronet, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, occupied it from 1837 to 1843. Its grounds now form Fairmilehead Public Park.

Neighbourhood Park

679 m

Hunter's Tryst

Hunter's Tryst () is the name of a long-established inn in Edinburgh, Scotland; it has lent its name to the surrounding area, near Fairmilehead. The inn, once well outside Edinburgh's built-up area, was a popular leisure destination and was a meeting place of the Six Foot Club. The area was written about by Robert Louis Stevenson who, along with Sir Walter Scott were honorary members of the Six Foot Club (being too short to be full members). Today the inn is surrounded by modern housing estates and is next to a Morrisons supermarket. It is served by several Lothian Buses routes - services 5 and 27 commence or terminate at Hunter's Tryst , with services 4, 16 and Skylink 400 passing nearby. Hunter's Tryst was also formerly served by service 16 (now serving Colinton, Bonaly and Terminating at Torphin), service 17 (terminus was later changed to Craighouse and Granton before later being withdrawn), service 18 (running from Fort Kinnaird to Gyle Centre, later extended to Edinburgh Airport and renumbered to Skylink 400), service 32 (inner circle) and service 52 (outer circle) (Oxgangs - Wester Hailes - Granton - Leith - Portobello - Niddrie - Kaimes) which were partially replaced by service 18.

Landmark Restaurant

Greenbank, Edinburgh

Greenbank is a residential district of south Edinburgh, Scotland. It is situated between the districts of Morningside and Oxgangs, i.e. slightly to the south-west of the heart of Morningside. The area was originally developed in the late 19th century, being completed in the early 1930s. The former City Hospital closed in 1999, after which modern flats and houses were constructed on Greenbank Drive, some of which incorporate parts of the Victorian contagious diseases isolation hospital. The area of the new development has become known as Greenbank Village.

Hospital Neighbourhood