Ratho

Main Street in Ratho, Scotland

18th century house (c.1760) on Ratho Main St

Bridge Inn, Ratho

Ratho appears in written records from 1243 with various spellings such as Rath (ewe, eu, ew, ow, au) but most consistently, from 1292, with its present name Ratho. Other places nearby having "Ratho" in their names include Ratho Byres, Ratho Park and Ratho Bank (now named Ashley).

It is believed that the name Ratho comes from Rath, Scottish Gaelic, for a place where there are hill forts.[6] Both Kaimes and Dalmahoy hill forts are nearby.

To the southwest of the village, Tormain Hill is the site of Stone Age symbols carved into the rocks atop the hill and a 'witches' stone'.[7][8] When the witches' stone was moved by the land owner for farming, it was believed evil spirits were released into the village.

There are a number of old buildings in the area. The most prominent of these was Haltoun House or castle (pronounced, and sometimes spelt, Hatton), which was badly damaged by fire in the mid-1950s and subsequently taken down. This magnificent country house evolved from its central core, a Norman keep, or what Scots call a Pele Tower. In 1371 the manor and lands of Haltoun were resigned to the Crown by John de Haltoun, and were regranted to Alan de Lawedre [Lauder] of that Ilk who then resided mostly at Whitslaid Tower just outside Lauder. Haltoun Tower was damaged during the House of Douglas troubles of 1452, when a note in the Treasurers' Accounts show funds being provided for its repair. The Haltoun estates remained in the Lauder family until the latter half of the 17th century when they passed by marriage to Charles Maitland, 3rd Earl of Lauderdale, who enlarged and beautified Hatton House.

Coffin stone in Ratho churchyard

There is evidence of a pre-Norman, Celtic church on this site, and reference to St Mary's in Ratho date back to 1243.[9] Up until the Reformation, Ratho was part of the Bishopric of St Andrews but had been annexed to Corstorphine Church to the east.[10]

The east aisle is dated 1683. West of the south aisle (1830) half of an ornate 12th century doorway is still visible. Generally the church has never been grand, but it bears the hallmarks of centuries of evolutionary change. The interior was generally denuded in 1932 including loss of the 18th century gallery. A 13th-century memorial lies in the south porch.[11] One curious feature is the bell, which was rung by an external chain which has carved a groove into the stonework below the bell.

The churchyard is of equal antiquity and interest. Its greatest oddity is a gravestone to John Mitchell who died in 1749 aged 80 years. He was a mason by trade and the gravestone was cut out many years before he died in the form of a panelled coffin.[12][13] An identical coffin stone (dated 1751) exists in Currie churchyard 5 miles to the south-east. Richard Lauder, the last Lauder laird of Haltoun, was interred in the graveyard on 29 November 1675. Other graves of note are Thomas Wilkie (d.1679), William Anderson (d.1756) and the Rev Andrew Duncan (d.1827) (Moderator of the Church of Scotland in 1824).

The manse is a very fine two storey Georgian villa standing to the east on the opposite side of the main road. It dates from around 1790 and is constructed of whin stone. It faces southwards, away from the road. Its outbuildings have been converted into a separate house now slightly separating it from the church.

A new cemetery of far less character now lies on the NE outskirts of the village, slightly out of sight from the churchyard, just east of the manse.

Seagull Trust base at Ratho

Ratho is located close to both the M8 and the M9 motorways. The A8 and A71 run parallel to the north and the south of the village. These are two of the major roads running into Edinburgh. There is a network of paths around Ratho and the surrounding area, and you can also walk or cycle along the canal towpath.

Union Canal at Ratho

The Union Canal was built through the area from 1818 to 1822.[9]

Ratho is the location of Edinburgh Canal Centre, founded in 1989 by Ronnie Rusack. The Seagull Trust is a boating charity offering free cruises to disabled people since 1979. It also boasts the only dry dock on the Union Canal. On either side of Bridge 15 are a series of artworks relating to the canal's history. Many of these can be used as seating.

"Baird Road" commemorates Hugh Baird who designed the canal.

The Union Canal no longer operates as a transport link, but is now used for fishing, magnet fishing and some leisure boating. It has a towpath previously used by the horses which drew canal barges and which is now used as a footpath, the foot paths are popular places for dog walkers, bikers, runners and walkers.

• James Anderson of Hermiston
• Walter Leonard Bell
• Very Rev Andrew Duncan, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 1824
• James Duncan of Ratho, tailor to Anne of Denmark.[21]
• Sir John Gibson
• Thomas Grainger
• Alexander Lauder
• Alexander Lauder of Blyth
• John Maitland, 5th Earl of Lauderdale
• James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale
• William Serle
• William Grant Stevenson, sculptor
• David Watson Stevenson, sculptor
• Ebenezer James MacRae, architect
• Richard Turner (geologist)
• William Wilkie, poet

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ratho.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edinburgh International Climbing Arena.

• Seagull Trust, boating charity offering free boating for disabled people
• The Edinburgh International Climbing Arena: Ratho
• Ratho on Google Maps - The M8 is visible to the north and the Union Canal runs west to east. The Climbing Arena is clearly visible between the two, and Ratho itself is to the east.