The Inch, Edinburgh

The word "Inch" derives from the Scots Gaelic innis which can mean either "island" or a dry area within marshland or a river meadow.[3][4] This suggests that the land on which it stands was originally dry land in the flood plain of the nearby Braid Burn.[5]

The housing development is bounded by Old Dalkeith Road to the east, Liberton Road to the west, Kingston Avenue to the south and Glenallan Drive and Inch Park to the north.[1]

The housing development began in 1949. The City of Edinburgh Council had departed from the usual practice of using in-house architects for the design and arranged for a competition open to private firms of architects. The judges were George Macniven, formerly chief architect at the Department of Health for Scotland[6] assisted by the City Architect, Ebenezer MacRae, and Lady Gilmour, a previous resident of the adjacent Inch House. Sixty eight designs were considered and David Stratton Davis of the family firm Stratton Davis & Yates based in Gloucester, England was judged the winner.[7] He was 29 years old.[8]

Stratton based his design on Garden City guidelines, popular at the time. This envisaged a self contained community adjacent to large green spaces, in this case Inch Park. As well as preserving as many existing trees as possible many new trees were planted. Vistas were also important in the design so that from the site there are views to the east of Craigmillar Castle and to the south and west views of Blackford Hill and the Pentland Hills. The design included local amenities like schools and churches and shops.[7]

Housing was designed to accommodate families, older people and single people and so contained houses of differing sizes and small flatted-blocks. All housing was low rise. Roofs were finished with slate, pantiles or copper, and the walls were rendered to give a cream finish. Flats were to account for no more than 10% of the housing and each house was to have a garden and drying area, with houses at least 20 feet (6.1 m) back from the pavement.[8] By 1953 the houses were all occupied.[8]

In 1955 the Saltire Society considered it to be "the best designed local authority housing in Scotland" and presented an award. Many houses in the estate have now passed into private ownership.[7]

Many of the streets are named for characters and places in the novels and poems of Sir Walter Scott.[9] A later development to the north-west has street names associated with the poet Robert Burns.[1]

A parade of shops was built on the main thoroughfare Walter Scott Avenue. The primary schools serving the area are Liberton Primary School and St. John Vianney Roman Catholic Primary School.[1]

A pillar box placed in November 1952 on Gilmerton Road was the first in Scotland to carry the insignia E II R. There was opposition to this on the grounds that Queen Elizabeth was the first of that name to rule over Scotland. The pillar box became the target of attacks and was destroyed by a gelignite bomb on 12 February 1953. The replacement pillar box carried an image of the Crown of Scotland.[10]

Inch House in Edinburgh

The area grew around Inch House, a Scottish vernacular tower house dating from 1617. It is a category A listed building.[11]

The house was sold to the City of Edinburgh Council in 1946 and served as a primary school before the building was turned into a community centre.[2]

Inch Park sports pitches with Arthur's Seat in the background

Inch Park was formerly the estate around Inch House. It is now a public park which incorporates sports pitches, used for rugby and football in winter and cricket in summer. There is a children's play area to the south of the park. It is bounded on the north east by Old Dalkeith Road (A7) and on the northwest by Gilmerton Road (A772).[7] The Braid Burn, which runs west to east within the northern boundary was the subject of a flood prevention scheme begun in 2010.[12] Ownership passed from the Gilmour family to the City of Edinburgh Council in 1946. In 2009 Inch Park Community Sports Club took over the management of the park from the city Council. The Sports club is a charity registered in Scotland ( SC040057), formed to provide sporting and leisure activities for local sports clubs and the local community. Integral to the plan was the partnership between three sports clubs based at the park, Lismore Rugby Football Club, Edinburgh South Community Football Club and Edinburgh South Cricket Club.[13]

The community Sports Club was given an 80-year lease to manage the park. They received initial financial support from the City of Edinburgh Council, The Robertson Trust, Sportscotland and from the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund administered by WREN.[14]

The sports facilities include two rugby pitches, two football pitches and a cricket oval. There is a sports pavilion which has changing accommodation, licensed bar, kitchen and meeting room. The Sports Club was given recognition as a Community Sports Hub by Sportscotland, the first such in Scotland.[15]

The club is governed by a board of trustees.[13]

The Inch Nursery occupies a 10-acre site to the east of the park. It was formerly the walled garden of Inch House. Owned by the City of Edinburgh Council, it is used to grow most of the plants for the city's municipal gardens and green spaces. It is a training centre for horticulture[21] and operates a shop that sells plants to the public[22]

The Inch Doocot

This is the largest remaining doocot (or dovecot) in Edinburgh. It is sited on Gilmerton Road and is a category A listed building. Dating from the 17th century, it has 2 chambers built of sandstone, each with a boarded door and 16 flight holes. Above the chambers is a rat course, designed to stop rats climbing in. The roof is finished with pantiles. It is estimated that there are around 2000 stone nesting boxes.[23]