Ravelston

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.

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Ravelston, a mansion in Corstorphine parish, Edinburghshire, near the E skirt of Corstorphine Hill, 1¼ mile WNW of Murrayfield station, and -2½ miles W of the centre of Edinburgh. The estate belonged about 1600 to George Foulis, whose son was created a baronet in 1661. Sir Archibald, second Bart., executed at Carlisle for his share in the '45, took the name of Primrose about 1700 on succeeding to the estate of Dunipace, and sold Ravelston in 1726 to Alexander Keith, W. S., a soidisant descendant of the third Earl Marischal. His son, Alexander (1705-92), built the present mansion, and here was often visited by his kinsman, Sir Walter Scott, who took from the formal old-fashioned gardens some of the features of ` Tully-Veolan ' in Waverley. His son received a baronetcy in 1822, when he acted as Knight-Marischal to George IV.; and after his death in 1832 Ravelston went to his son-in-law, Sir William Keith Murray, Bart. of Ochtertyre, whose son, Sir Patrick, sold it in 1872 to his uncle, John Murray-Gartshore, Esq. (b. 1804). The latter has made a handsome addition to the house, and holds 294 acres in Midlothian, valued at £1388 per annum.—Ord. Sur., sh. 32, 1857. See Jn. Small's Castles and Mansions of the Lothians (Edinb. 1883).

Balaklava, a village on the E border of Kilbarchan parish, Renfrewshire, 1 mile NNE of Johnstone. It was founded in 1856, on the lands of Clippens, for working extensive ironstone mines; and it is sometimes called Clippens Square. Pop. (1871) 339.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

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

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