Heriot-Watt University

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

This edition is copyright © The Editors of the Gazetteer for Scotland, 2002-2011.

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R

iccarton, a mansion, with a fine park, in Currie parish, Edinburghshire, 1½ mile NNW of Currie villa e, and 6 miles SW of Edinburgh. Its oldest part, a square tower at the W end, is supposed to have been given by King Robert Bruce as part of the dowry of his daughter, Marjory, on her marriage to Walter, High Steward of Scotland; but the main body of the house was built in 1621; and a large addition in the Elizabethan style was completed in 1827. Sir Thomas Craig of Riccarton (1548-1608) was a distinguished writer on the feudal law; and the estate remained with his descendants till 1823, when it passed to a kinsman, James Gibson, W.S. (1765-18 0), who in 1831 was created a baronet as Sir James Gibson-Craig of Riccarton. He was a Liberal in politics, as likewise was his son, the Rt. Hon. Sir William Gibson-Craig, M.P. (1797-1878), whose son, Sir James Henry, third Bart. (b. 1841), holds 1882 acres in Midlothian, valued at £6037 per annum.—Ord. Sur., sh. 32, 1857. See John Small's Castles and Mansions of the Lothians (Edinb. 1883).

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer.