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Grange House

No-one is sure exactly when the keep of the Grange of St. Giles was built, but it is thought to date back to the 12th century. Around 1112 Alexander I built a church to the south of the Burough Loch (now The Meadows) and dedicated it to St. Giles. At the time this area was a wild marshland isolated outside Edinburgh, and separated from it by the loch.

Associated with this church was a farmhouse, or grange, which consisted of a stone-built keep three storeys in height, with two turrets and a battlemented roof. And that is more or less all that is known about the original fortified building.

In 1335 The Grange passed from the church into private hands, and by the 16th century it had been bought by the Cant family, who kept the estate for 131 years.

The tower most probably formed the core of what became Grange House, which expanded over the years with extensions and improvements. A stone lintel over the original doorway is dated 1592, while coats of arms found in the outbuildings were dated 1613 and 1674.

In 1631 John Cant sold the estate to William Dick, the first in the line of the Dick-Lauder family who would own the property into the modern era. Major changes were made to the house by Sir Thomas Dick Lauder in the early 19th century, and the layout of the grounds was remodelled as can be seen from the Ordnance Survey maps and the Feuing Plan.

By the early 1930s Grange House was rather neglected and lay empty for a number of years. The cost of restoration (£20,000) was too high, and the house was demolished in 1936.

However, there are still many traces of the property visible today. The outer wall of the main estate can be seen in several places, running from the junction of Dick Place and Lauder Road down to the entrance to West Thorn (now flats), and around the corner into Grange Loan. Indeed the original entrance to Grange House can still be seen at Lauder Road’s corner with Dick Place, with the original gateway bricked up with a coal store and a small entrance gate.

In the early 1960s there were still two 17th century outbuildings remaining at the end of Lauder Loan, possibly estate offices and stables.

However these were demolished in the late 1960s or early 1970s, and the rubble is still visible in the garden of one of the new houses, as is a section of the original garden wall.

Along Grange Loan are two stone wyverns – mythical dragon-like beasts – which were taken from the house’s gateposts. One stands at the eastern corner of the Grange House plot, next to West Thorn, and the other stands at the western corner where Lovers’ Loan opens out onto Grange Loan.

The site of Grange House was at the top of what is now Grange Crescent, and the remains of some of the old house’s garden walls can be seen behind the new houses.

The wall on the east side of Lovers’ Loan appears to be the original boundary of the main plot.

While looking west from the lane over the cricket pitch it’s possible to see the boundary wall for the larger plot shown on the Feuing Plan.

As well as these features remaining in-situ, several artefacts still exist in other parts of the city. A stone bench known as the Monk’s Seat was removed from the gardens and now stands in the gardens of Huntly House on the Royal Mile. The seat back is made from a lintel which was part of a house in old Bank Close which was built in 1589 and demolished in 1834.

Also at Huntly House is one of two sundials removed from Grange House. The other sundial now stands in the garden of 8 Seton Place. The bowling green of Grange House had a small statue at each of its four corners, and one of these statuettes also made its way to Huntly House.

Over the centuries the house has been connected with some important names in history. Bonnie Prince Charlie and Sir Walter Scott were both visitors, while the estate was owned for a time in the 16th century by John Napier, the inventor of logarithms.

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Alternative names for Grange House

The Grange House; Grange Keep; Grange of St. Giles; Sanct Geilie-grange; Sanctgeligrange

Where is Grange House?

Grange House is in the parish of Edinburgh and the county of Midlothian.

Grid reference: NT 2596 7167

Lat / long: 55.93178669, -3.186171087

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OS Map for Grange House

OS map 350
Edinburgh (Musselburgh & Queensferry)
OS Explorer map 350


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Directions to Grange House

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Weather at Grange House

16°C
max 16°C / min 16°C
8km/h ENE
1024mb
71%
10%
03:54 20:23

Clear sky
Weather observed at Edinburgh at 11:24

References (websites)

Canmore

Castles near Grange House

Bruntsfield House

1.1km away

Greenhill (possible) (site of)

1.4km away

Valleyfield House (possible) (site of)

1.5km away

Burgh Muir Castle (site of)

1.5km away

Braid Castle (site of)

1.6km away

Merchiston Castle

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Inch House

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Liberton Tower

2.0km away

Edinburgh Castle

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Ancient sites near Grange House

Samson's Ribs fort

1.7km away

Arthur's Seat fort

2.1km away

Edinburgh Castle fort

2.1km away

Dunsapie fort

2.7km away

Buck Stane standing stone

2.8km away

Wester Craiglockhart Hill fort

3.5km away

Cat Stanes (site of) cairns

3.6km away

Caiy Stane standing stone and rock art

3.7km away

Camus Stone (site of) standing stone

3.7km away
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Pictish stones near Grange House

Abernethy No. 2 Class III symbol stone

1.7km away

Abernethy No. 4 Class III cross shaft

1.7km away

Princes Street Gardens Class I symbol stone

2.2km away

Court Cave Class I rock carving

26.6km away

Doo Cave Class I rock carving

26.7km away

Jonathan's Cave Class I rock carving

27.0km away

Sliding Cave Class I rock carving

27.1km away

Scoonie Class II cross slab

32.5km away

East Lomond Hill Class I symbol stone

34.6km away
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Pictish sites near Grange House

Haddington silver chain

25.5km away

Borland silver chain

32.2km away

Traprain Law silver chain

32.4km away

Whitlaw silver chain

33.6km away

Todholes (possible) silver chain

34.1km away

Norrie's Law hoard

38.7km away

Hoardweel silver chain

53.9km away

Whitecleugh silver chain

68.2km away

Dunnicaer fort

129.2km away
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Accommodation near Grange House

Alba Executive Apartments
self-catering apartmentsEdinburgh
0.2km away
Teviotdale House
hotelEdinburgh
0.4km away
Ashdene House
bed and breakfastEdinburgh
0.4km away
A Flat Apart
self-catering apartmentsEdinburgh
0.5km away
Glenallan Guest House
bed and breakfastEdinburgh
0.5km away
Classic House
hotelEdinburgh
0.6km away
Lauderville Guest House
hotelEdinburgh
0.6km away
Mayfield Lodge Guesthouse
hotelEdinburgh
0.7km away
Smiths Guest House
hotelEdinburgh
0.7km away
Stuart House
bed and breakfastEdinburgh
0.7km away

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Cafés, restaurants & bars near Grange House

Leslie's Bar
pubEdinburgh
0.6km away
Swany's Lounge Bar
barEdinburgh
0.6km away
Old Bell Inn
bar, restaurantEdinburgh
0.6km away
Earthy Causewayside
caféEdinburgh
0.6km away
The Minto Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barEdinburgh
0.8km away
Earl of Marchmont
barEdinburgh
0.8km away
Drouthy Neebors
barEdinburgh
0.9km away
Metropole
café, restaurantEdinburgh
0.9km away
Café Cassis
café, restaurantEdinburgh
0.9km away
The Southern
barEdinburgh
1.0km away
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Published on the 14th of May 2010 at 1:59 pm. Updated on the 26th of February 2021 at 9:43 am.

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Andy Sweet above Fast Castle

Stravaiging around Scotland is written, photographed and researched by Andy Sweet.
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