Inverleith House lies within the Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh, less than a half-mile (1 km) north of the New Town. The house was built by mason David Henderson in 1774 for James Rocheid, his family having owned the Inverleith Estate since 1665. Part of the estate was purchased for the Botanic Garden c.1820. The house, and a further part of the original estate which surrounded it, were purchased by the government and the City in 1877 to extend the Garden and the house became home to its Regius Keeper.
Inverleith House became home to the National Gallery of Modern Art from 1960 until 1984, before it moved to its present location on Belford Road, 1¼ miles (2 km) to the southwest. Today the house provides the Botanic Garden with exhibition space.
