Gilmerton
| Gilmerton | |
| Scottish Gaelic: Baile GhilleMhoire | |
 Gilmerton Post Office |
|
  Gilmerton |
|
| OS grid reference | NT2969 |
|---|---|
| – Edinburgh | 4 miles (6.4 km) |
| Council area | Edinburgh |
| Lieutenancy area | Edinburgh |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Edinburgh |
| Postcode district | EH17 |
| Dialling code | 0131 |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | Edinburgh South |
| Scottish Parliament | Edinburgh Eastern |
Coordinates: 55°54′25″N 3°08′04″W / 55.9069°N 3.1344°W
Gilmerton (Scottish Gaelic: Baile GhilleMhoire) is a suburb of Edinburgh, about 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of the city centre.
The toponym "Gilmerton" is derived from a combination of Scottish Gaelic: Gille-Moire – a personal name and later surname meaning "Servant of [the Virgin] Mary", from which comes the first element, "Gilmer", – and Old English: ton meaning "settlement" or "farmstead". Versions of the name are recorded from the middle of the 12th century.
Gilmerton used to be a coal mining village. Below its centre is a series of shallow linked caves collectively called Gilmerton Cove. Traditionally they were attributed to the work of a local blacksmith, George Paterson, who supposedly completed excavations in 1724 and lived in the caves for several years, although there may be reasons to doubt this.
Famous Residents
The Kinloch baronets lived in Gilmerton House to the south-west of the village. Infamously Sir Archibald Gordon Kinloch, 7th Baronet, murdered his half-brother Sir Francis Kinloch in Gilmerton House, in 1795 in part to inherit his baronetcy.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ The Trial of Sir Archibald Gordon Kinloch for the Murder of Sir Francis Kinloch his Brother-German, 1795
