Peffermill House

Peffermill House is a remarkable A-listed survival located between a busy road and an industrial estate a half-mile (0.8 km) east northeast of Cameron Toll and just two miles (3 km) southeast of the centre of Edinburgh. Lying in 1.5 ha (3.5 acres) of gardens, this fine L-Plan tower house was built for Edward Edgar in 1636 on land bought from the Prestons of Craigmillar. It is of grey-harled rubble construction. Comprising three storeys and an attic, the entrance is at the base of the round stair tower located within the re-entrant angle, which rises to a conical slated cap. It also features wallhead dormer windows, crow-stepped gables, and a substantial hall with a stone fireplace and beamed ceiling.

Peffermill later became a property of the Gilmours of Craigmillar and was rented by the successive tenants, including the architect A. F. Balfour Paul, who died here in 1938. By the 1970s it was in a woeful state, with a leaking roof and rubbish-strewn garden. In 1980, it was bought by conservation architect Nicholas Groves-Raines for £5000, who embarked on a lengthy and exacting restoration. A later owner has modified the property to create self-contained areas that could be let out as separate flats. The seven-bedroom property was sold in 2017 for £1.1 million.

Peffermill House was used as a location in Sir Walter Scott's historical novel Heart of Midlothian and it was here that the notorious Maggie Dickson awoke from the dead.


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