DUDDINGSTON, a parish, in the county of Edinburgh;
including the villages of Joppa and Easter and
Wester Duddingston, and the late quoad sacra parish of
Portobello; and containing 4366 inhabitants, of whom
156 are in Easter and 200 in Wester Duddingston, the
former Si miles (E. by S.) and the latter 1^ mile (E. S. E.)
from Edinburgh. This place derived its name, anciently
Dodinestun, from the family of Dodin, to whom it
belonged in the reign of David I., and of whom Hugo,
flius Dodini de Dodinestun, appears as witness to a grant
of lands to the canons of Holyrood. The manor was
subsequently the property of the Thompson family, of
whom Sir Thomas was created a baronet by Charles I.
in 1637. It afterwards formed part of the possessions
of the Duke of Lauderdale, who gave it with his daughter
in marriage to the first Duke of Argyll, from whose
successor, the fifth duke, it was purchased in 1745 by
the Earl of Abercorn, whose descendant, the Marquess
of Abercorn, is the present proprietor. The site on
which the town of Portobello has been built, formerly
that portion of the forest of Duddingston called the
Figget Whins, afforded shelter to Sir William Wallace
and his troops on their march to attack the town of
Berwick; and during the parliamentary war, the Scottish
leaders held a conference with Cromwell within this
parish, previously to the battle of Dunbar. In 1745,
the forces of the Pretender lay encamped on a plain near
the village of Wester Duddingston, now within the demesnes
of Duddingston House, for nearly a month before
and after their defeat of General Cope at Preston; and
the house in which Prince Charles Edward slept on the
night previous to the battle is still remaining.
The parish is bounded on the west and north-west
by the parishes of St. Cuthbert, the Canongate, and South
Leith; on the north-east by the Firth of Forth; and on
the south by the parishes of Inveresk and Libberton.
It extends from the eastern base of Arthur's Seat to the
Firth, for nearly four miles in length, and increases
gradually towards the east from less than one mile to
about two miles in breadth, comprising 1812 acres, of
which, with the exception of a few acres of woodland
and pasture, the whole is arable. The surface is generally
a level plain, sloping by degrees from the base of
Arthur's Seat to the Firth of Forth. The streams of the
Powburn and the Braid intersect the parish, flowing
through the pleasure-grounds of Duddingston House to
the hannlet of Duddingston-Mills, whence, pursuing their
course through a narrow and romantic dell, they fall
into the Firth to the west of Portobello. There is also
a stream called Brunstane, which separates the parish
from Libberton, and joins the Firth near Magdalene
Bridge. Duddingston loch, a fine sheet of water about
a mile in circumference, at the base of Arthur's Seat,
adds much to the beauty of the scenery, and, by means
of a small canal, supplies the rivulets that flow through
the park. The greater portion of the parish was for a
long time a barren moor, overgrown with furze, and
partly covered with sand. From this unprofitable state,
the lands of Prestonfield were first recovered and brought
into cultivation by their proprietor Mr. Dick, at that
time lord provost of Edinburgh, who, removing at his
own expense the accumulated refuse of the streets of the
city, employed it as manure for the improvement of his
land. Not long afterwards, the whole of the moorlands
in the parish were reclaimed, and brought into profitable
cultivation.
The SOIL is generally clay, alternated with sand, and
by judicious management has been rendered extremely
fertile; the arable lands produce abundant crops of all
kinds of grain, turnips, and potatoes, and the grass in
the parks is luxuriantly rich. The system of agriculture
is in the highest state of advancement, and all the more
recent improvements in husbandry, and in the construction
of implements, have been fully adopted. One or
two cows of the Ayrshire or the Teesnater breed are
kept on each farm for the use of the family; but scarcely
any live stock is reared in the parish. The annual value
of real property in Duddingston is £21,896. The principal
substrata are coal, sandstone, and freestone. The
coal, which is very abundant, was formerly wrought, but
from the difficulty of clearing the mines from water, the
working was discontinued; the mines, however, have
been lately leased to an English gentleman, who has
erected a powerful steam-engine, and there is every
prospect of their being wrought with success. There are
some extensive quarries of good freestone, from which
materials have been raised for the erection of the houses
of Portobello and Joppa; and in the bed of one of the
burns is a stratum of black-coloured stone, of smooth
and unctuous appearance, which, from its susceptibility
of a high polish, is well adapted for mantel-pieces and
other ornamental purposes. Strata of limestone and
ironstone have been also found on some of the lands.
Duddingston House, the seat of the Marquess of Abercorn,
is a spacious and elegant mansion in the Grecian style,
erected in 176S, after a design by Sir William Chambers,
at an expense of £30,000. It is beautifully situated in
an extensive park abounding with stately timber, and is
surrounded with pleasure-grounds tastefully laid out in
lawns, shrubberies, and walks; there are some temples
and other ornamental buildings, and the demesne is enlivened
by the windings of the rivulets, in which are
artificial islands of picturesque appearance. Prestonfield
House, the seat of Sir William Hanmer Dick Cunyngham,
Bart., is a handsome mansion situated near the loch, in
an ample demesne well laid out, and enriched with plantations:
it commands a fine view of the city of Edinburgh,
to the southern confines of which the park nearly
extends.
The village of Wester Duddingston, where the parish
church is situated, was formerly a large and populous
place, the inhabitants of which were chiefly employed in
weaving. It is at present a small but agreeable village,
and consists mostly of detached villas, surrounded with
gardens and pleasure-grounds, occupied as summer residences
by families of Edinburgh, and some neat cottages
inhabited by persons engaged in the works that are carried
on in the vicinity. Many of the females are employed
in washing linen, for which the situation of the
village near the loch and its convenience for bleaching
render it peculiarly adapted. The vicinity abounds with
beautiful scenery, and commands extensive and interesting
prospects, embracing Craig-Millar Castle, the Moorfoot,
Lammermoor, and Pentland hills, the city of Edinburgh,
and the Firth of Forth in the distance. Easter
Duddingston is situated on an eminence near the sea; it
consists only of small cottages inhabited chiefly by
labourers, and is apparently falling into decay. The
hamlet of Duddingston-Mills, near the junction of the
Duddingston and Portobello roads, has a pleasingly rural
aspect. Extensive mills for flour and barley were erected
here a few years since, at an expense of £6000; they are
driven by water and by steam, according to circumstances,
and contain machinery of the most improved construction.
In this hamlet are also situated the parochial
school, and the handsome buildings of Cauvin's Hospital.
Facility of communication is afforded by excellent roads,
by the main line of the North-British railway, and by
its Leith and Hawick branches.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs the parish is within the
bounds of the synod of Lothian and Tweeddale and presbytery
of Edinburgh. The minister's stipend, including
£10 for communion elements, is £300, with a manse,
and a glebe valued at £15 per annum; patron, the
Marquess of Abercorn. Duddingston church is a very
ancient structure in the Norman style, of which it contains
some interesting details, particularly a fine arch
separating the chancel from the nave. In 1631 an aisle
was added by the presbyterj' for the Hamilton family
and their tenants; the church was enlarged and repaired
in 1840, and now contains 400 sittings. In the churchyard
are some handsome monuments, and an obehsk of
marble to the memory of Patrick Haldane, Esq., of
Gleneagles. There are places of worship for the United
Presbyterian Synod and Independents, an episcopal, and
a Roman Catholic chapel. The parochial school is attended
by about ninety children; the master has a salary
of £34, with a house and garden, and the fees average
£40. There is a subscription library in Wester Duddingston,
containing about 400 volumes. Cauvin's Hospital
was founded by Mr. Louis Cauvin, a French teacher
in Edinburgh, and afterwards a farmer in this parish,
who in 1&'25 bequeathed the greater portion of his estates
to the lord provost, the principal of the university, the
rector of the high school, and the ministers of Duddingston,
Libberton, and Newton, in trust for the erection
and endowment of an hospital for the maintenance and
education of boys of not less than six, nor more than
eight, years of age. The scholars enjoying the benefit of
this institution are to be " the sons of respectable but
poor teachers", and "of poor but honest farmers";
these failing, " the sons of respectable master-printers
or booksellers ", and " of respectable servants in the
agricultural line." The buildings were erected in the
villa style, in 1833, and contain the requisite accommodations
for twenty-five boys, who are maintained in the
hospital for six years, and instructed in the French,
Latin, and Greek languages, the mathematics, and the
ordinary branches of a commercial education, by masters
appointed by the trustees, who were incorporated
by charter in 183~. The poor have a bequest of £100
left by Mr. Kay, of Edinburgh, architect.