South Queensferry

(Queensferry)
City of Edinburgh

Queensferry Arms, South Queensferry
©2023 Gazetteer for Scotland

Queensferry Arms, South Queensferry

Formerly in the county of West Lothian, South Queensferry (often referred to as simply Queensferry) lies on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, 10 miles (16 km) west of Edinburgh. It has been an important crossing at least since 1071 when King Malcolm III granted free passage at the 'Queens Ferry' for pilgrims on their way to St. Andrews. A ferry service operated until 1964, the year the Forth Road Bridge was opened, landing at the middle of the town. The Forth Bridge, which carries trains between North Queensferry and Dalmeny Railway Station (which is the de facto halt for South Queensferry) forms the eastern end of the town. The Briggers Monument, located towards the eastern end of the Esplanade, records the names of those who died in its constuction.

South Queensferry was created a burgh of regality in the 13th century and made a Royal Burgh in 1636. It traded actively with Europe in the 17th century. Buildings dating from this period include Laburnum House, the Hawes Inn, the Tolbooth Tower, the Black Castle, the Old Parish Church and Plewlands House. St. Mary's Episcopal Church (from 1441) was a monastery and hospice before the Reformation. The Hawes Inn features in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel 'Kidnapped'. Today, South Queensferry is a dormitory settlement for Edinburgh and a yachting centre with oil storage and whisky industries. Cruise ships also regularly disembark their passengers here. The immense Hewlett Packard research facility and electronics manufacturing plant, which opened in 1966, closed in 2010 and was demolished to make way for further housing.


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