Cramond
Encyclopedia
Cramond is a seaside village now part of suburban Edinburgh
, Scotland, located in the north-west corner of the city at the mouth of the River Almond
where it enters the Firth of Forth
.
The Cramond area has a long history, with evidence of Mesolithic
, Bronze Age
and Roman
activity. In modern times, it was the birthplace of the Scottish economist John Law
.
was known to the Romans as Alaterva. A stone altar was dug up in the grounds of Cramond House dedicated "To the Alatervan Mothers and the Mothers of the Parade-ground." Early antiquarian
s interpreted the inscription as referring to the place where the stone was found, but this idea is no longer accepted among scholars, and "Alatervae" is presumably a native name for the Matronae, perhaps originating with the Tungri
an cohort who erected the altar.
In the centuries that followed the end of the Roman occupation, Cramond passed into the hands of the Votadini
, who spoke Cumbric
, a Brythonic
Celtic language
, and gave the settlement its name. Cramond is derived from the compound Caer Amon, meaning 'fort on the river', referring to the Roman fort that lay on the River Almond
.
, making it the earliest known site of human settlement in Scotland. The inhabitants of the Mesolithic camp-site were nomadic hunter-gatherers who moved around their territories according to the season of the year. Although no bones survived the acid soil, waste pits and stakeholes that would have supported shelters or windbreaks were excavated. Numerous discarded hazelnut shells were found in the pits and used to carbon-date the site, the waste product of the inhabitants' staple food. It is thought the site was chosen for its location near the junction of the River Forth and the River Almond, where the rich oyster and mussel beds proved a reliable natural resource. Many microlith
stone tools manufactured at the site were found, and predate finds of similar style in England.
forces arrived at Cramond by order of Emperor Antoninus Pius
, who had given them the task of establishing a fort at the mouth of the River Almond. This fort would guard the eastern flank of the frontier that the Romans had established across Scotland. Nearly five hundred men worked on the site, building a fort that covered nearly six acres and a harbour for communication. However, the fort was only inhabited for a short time, perhaps fifteen years, before it was abandoned by the troops who were ordered to retreat south to Hadrian's Wall
. Pottery and coins of later date indicate that the fort and harbour were reinhabited and used as a base for the army and navy of the Emperor Septimus Severus, sometime between 208 and 211.
The medieval parish church of Cramond parish (which retains its late medieval western tower in altered form), was built within the Roman fort.
Though knowledge of the Roman presence at Cramond was recorded afterwards, the remains of the fort itself were only rediscovered in 1954. Substantial archaeological research was carried out upon its discovery to build up a reasonably accurate picture of the site in Roman times. The fort was rectangular in shape, with walls fifteen feet high on all sides. A gatehouse
was set in every wall, allowing access in all four directions. Inside, there were barracks, workshops, granaries, headquarters and the commander's house. Later excavations revealed other constructions outside the boundary of the fort, including a bath-house
, further industrial workshops and a native settlement.
In 1997 the Cramond Lioness
was uncovered in the harbour mud by a local boatman (who received a substantial monetary reward for finding this major antiquity), and was identified as a sandstone statue of a lioness devouring a hapless male figure, probably one of a pair at the tomb of a military commander. After conservation, the statue was displayed in the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. It is one of the most ambitious pieces of Roman sculpture to have survived in Scotland.
After the departure of the Romans, little is known about the state of Cramond for several centuries. The historiography of the period is perhaps best summed up by the historian J. Wood, who wrote 'a dark cloud of obscurity again settled over the parish of Cramond, of which I cannot find the smallest memorial in any historian till the year 995.'
A tower house
, Cramond Tower
, probably built in the early 15th century, and part of a now-demolished larger establishment, was once a manor house of the Bishops of Dunkeld
, of whose diocese Cramond was a part. It was made structurally sound and converted to a private dwelling in the 1980s.
Cramond developed slowly over the centuries, with Cramond Kirk being founded in 1656. After a brief period spent as an industrial village in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, by the late 19th century it became a desirable suburb of Edinburgh, which it remains to this day.
, about 5 miles (8 km) from the city centre, at the mouth of the River Almond
where it enters the Firth of Forth
.
Historically, the parish of Cramond extended from the shore of the Firth of Forth in the north to the parish of Corstorphine
in the south, and was bounded on the west by the parishes of Dalmeny
and Kirkliston
and on the east by the parish of St Cuthbert's. It covered an area of fifteen square miles, and encompassed the villages of Granton
, Pilton
, Muirhouse
, Davidson's Mains
, Blackhall
, Ravelston
, Craigcrook
, Turnhouse
and Craigiehall
.
The area has a low, gently undulating topography
that drops down from the top of Corstorphine hill to the shore in three gradual stages and is intersected by the River Almond
which flows northward into the Forth. During the last ice age the area was heavily glaciated, and the main direction of the ice flow was west to east. Consequently, there are rock deposits on the east side of landforms such as the Almond river valley, and until the Cramond promenade was built in the 1930s large glacial boulders were strewn along the shore. The geology
of Cramond consists of calciferous sandstone
, which mixed with two later sills
to give the area its characteristic chocolate-brown soil.
in 2002.
Cramond Kirk Church Hall also displays the smaller Cramond Fish.
, constructed in stone with harl
ing white lime render
finish, with facing stone window and door surrounds and crow-step gables, roofed with orangey-red clay pantiles imported from the Netherlands. A ruined water mill lies further up the Almond along a quiet walk past a yacht club and sailing boats moored in the river. To the east a sand beach and waterfront esplanade provides a popular walk to Silverknowes and Granton. On the other side of the Almond, (once accessible by a rowing-boat ferry) the Dalmeny Estate has a pleasant walk through Dalmeny Woods along the shore of the Firth of Forth.
Near the kirk stands the imposing Cramond House. Its central part is late 17th century, with classical front added in 1778 and back in 1820. Queen Victoria visited while residing at Holyrood. It has been claimed as a possible original of R. L. Stevenson’s “House of Shaws” in Kidnapped
. It is now owned by Cramond Kirk and used as the headquarters of the Scottish Wildlife Trust
. The manse dates originally from the mid-17th century and was rebuilt in the mid-18th century. The north wing was added about 1770 and a south wing in 1857. Reverend Walker, the skating minister in Raeburn
's famous portrait, lived here from 1776 to 1784.
Offshore, Cramond Island
has WW II
fortifications and is linked to land by a causeway
with a line of concrete pylons on one side, constructed as a submarine defence boom. At certain low tides sand extends to the island, tempting visitors to visit the island, though occasionally some are stranded by the incoming tide.
, where Mr. Lowther has his home and Miss Brodie spends much of her time.
Cramond is also where the House of Shaws is located in Robert Louis Stevenson
's Kidnapped
.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland, located in the north-west corner of the city at the mouth of the River Almond
River Almond, Lothian
The River Almond is a river in east-central Scotland. It is 28 miles long, rising in North Lanarkshire near Shotts and runs through West Lothian, draining into the Firth of Forth at Cramond near Edinburgh....
where it enters the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
.
The Cramond area has a long history, with evidence of Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
, Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
and Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
activity. In modern times, it was the birthplace of the Scottish economist John Law
John Law (economist)
John Law was a Scottish economist who believed that money was only a means of exchange that did not constitute wealth in itself and that national wealth depended on trade...
.
Etymology
It was once believed that Cramond Roman FortCramond Roman Fort
Cramond Roman Fort is a Roman-Era archaeological site at Cramond, Edinburgh, Scotland. In the Ravenna Cosmography this settlement is called "Caromago". The fort was established around 140 AD and occupied until around 170, with a further period of occupation from around 208 to 211...
was known to the Romans as Alaterva. A stone altar was dug up in the grounds of Cramond House dedicated "To the Alatervan Mothers and the Mothers of the Parade-ground." Early antiquarian
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
s interpreted the inscription as referring to the place where the stone was found, but this idea is no longer accepted among scholars, and "Alatervae" is presumably a native name for the Matronae, perhaps originating with the Tungri
Tungri
The Tungri were a tribe, or group of tribes, who lived in the Belgic part Gaul, during the times of the Roman empire. They were described by Tacitus as being the same people who were first called "Germani" , meaning that all other tribes who were later referred to this way, including those in...
an cohort who erected the altar.
In the centuries that followed the end of the Roman occupation, Cramond passed into the hands of the Votadini
Votadini
The Votadini were a people of the Iron Age in Great Britain, and their territory was briefly part of the Roman province Britannia...
, who spoke Cumbric
Cumbric language
Cumbric was a variety of the Celtic British language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the Hen Ogledd or "Old North", or what is now northern England and southern Lowland Scotland, the area anciently known as Cumbria. It was closely related to Old Welsh and the other Brythonic languages...
, a Brythonic
Brythonic languages
The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...
Celtic language
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
, and gave the settlement its name. Cramond is derived from the compound Caer Amon, meaning 'fort on the river', referring to the Roman fort that lay on the River Almond
River Almond, Lothian
The River Almond is a river in east-central Scotland. It is 28 miles long, rising in North Lanarkshire near Shotts and runs through West Lothian, draining into the Firth of Forth at Cramond near Edinburgh....
.
History
Pre-Roman
Archaeological excavations at Cramond have uncovered evidence of habitation dating to around 8500 BC9th millennium BC
The 9th millennium BC marks the beginning of the Neolithic period.Agriculture spread throughout the Fertile Crescent and use of pottery became more widespread. Larger settlements like Jericho arose along salt and flint trade routes. Northern Eurasia was resettled as the glaciers of the last glacial...
, making it the earliest known site of human settlement in Scotland. The inhabitants of the Mesolithic camp-site were nomadic hunter-gatherers who moved around their territories according to the season of the year. Although no bones survived the acid soil, waste pits and stakeholes that would have supported shelters or windbreaks were excavated. Numerous discarded hazelnut shells were found in the pits and used to carbon-date the site, the waste product of the inhabitants' staple food. It is thought the site was chosen for its location near the junction of the River Forth and the River Almond, where the rich oyster and mussel beds proved a reliable natural resource. Many microlith
Microlith
A microlith is a small stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. It is produced from either a small blade or a larger blade-like piece of flint by abrupt or truncated retouching, which leaves a very typical piece of waste,...
stone tools manufactured at the site were found, and predate finds of similar style in England.
Roman period
Around 142, RomanRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
forces arrived at Cramond by order of Emperor Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius , also known as Antoninus, was Roman Emperor from 138 to 161. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne...
, who had given them the task of establishing a fort at the mouth of the River Almond. This fort would guard the eastern flank of the frontier that the Romans had established across Scotland. Nearly five hundred men worked on the site, building a fort that covered nearly six acres and a harbour for communication. However, the fort was only inhabited for a short time, perhaps fifteen years, before it was abandoned by the troops who were ordered to retreat south to Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall was a defensive fortification in Roman Britain. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall, lesser known of the two because its physical remains are less evident today.The...
. Pottery and coins of later date indicate that the fort and harbour were reinhabited and used as a base for the army and navy of the Emperor Septimus Severus, sometime between 208 and 211.
The medieval parish church of Cramond parish (which retains its late medieval western tower in altered form), was built within the Roman fort.
Though knowledge of the Roman presence at Cramond was recorded afterwards, the remains of the fort itself were only rediscovered in 1954. Substantial archaeological research was carried out upon its discovery to build up a reasonably accurate picture of the site in Roman times. The fort was rectangular in shape, with walls fifteen feet high on all sides. A gatehouse
Gatehouse
A gatehouse, in architectural terminology, is a building enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a castle, manor house, fort, town or similar buildings of importance.-History:...
was set in every wall, allowing access in all four directions. Inside, there were barracks, workshops, granaries, headquarters and the commander's house. Later excavations revealed other constructions outside the boundary of the fort, including a bath-house
Thermae
In ancient Rome, thermae and balnea were facilities for bathing...
, further industrial workshops and a native settlement.
In 1997 the Cramond Lioness
Cramond Lioness
The Cramond lioness is a Roman-era sculpture recovered in 1997 from the mouth of the River Almond at Cramond, Edinburgh, Scotland.It depicts a bound male prisoner being killed by a lioness...
was uncovered in the harbour mud by a local boatman (who received a substantial monetary reward for finding this major antiquity), and was identified as a sandstone statue of a lioness devouring a hapless male figure, probably one of a pair at the tomb of a military commander. After conservation, the statue was displayed in the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. It is one of the most ambitious pieces of Roman sculpture to have survived in Scotland.
Medieval period
A tower house
Tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation.-History:Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountain or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strategic points with reduced forces...
, Cramond Tower
Cramond Tower
Cramond Tower is a fifteenth century tower house in the village of Cramond to the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland.-History:The castle was at one stage part of the bishop of Dunkeld’s residence. It became the property of John Inglis, an English merchant, in 1662. His grandson moved to the...
, probably built in the early 15th century, and part of a now-demolished larger establishment, was once a manor house of the Bishops of Dunkeld
Bishop of Dunkeld
The Bishop of Dunkeld is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunkeld, one of the largest and more important of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th century cleric named Cormac...
, of whose diocese Cramond was a part. It was made structurally sound and converted to a private dwelling in the 1980s.
Modern history
Geography
Cramond is located at 55°58′N 3°18′W in northwest EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, about 5 miles (8 km) from the city centre, at the mouth of the River Almond
River Almond, Lothian
The River Almond is a river in east-central Scotland. It is 28 miles long, rising in North Lanarkshire near Shotts and runs through West Lothian, draining into the Firth of Forth at Cramond near Edinburgh....
where it enters the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
.
Historically, the parish of Cramond extended from the shore of the Firth of Forth in the north to the parish of Corstorphine
Corstorphine
Corstorphine was originally a village to the west of—and separate from—Edinburgh, Scotland, and is now a suburb of that city.Corstorphine retains a busy main street with many independent small shops, although a number have closed in recent years since the opening of several retail parks...
in the south, and was bounded on the west by the parishes of Dalmeny
Dalmeny
Dalmeny is a suburban village and civil parish in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on the south side of the Firth of Forth, east-southeast of South Queensferry and west-northwest of central Edinburgh; it falls under the local governance of the City of Edinburgh Council.The name Dalmeny is...
and Kirkliston
Kirkliston
Kirkliston is a village and civil parish within the City of Edinburgh in Scotland. It sits on the historic route between Edinburgh and Queensferry, the gateway to Fife and the north. Today, it is bypassed by the A90...
and on the east by the parish of St Cuthbert's. It covered an area of fifteen square miles, and encompassed the villages of Granton
Granton, Edinburgh
Granton is a district in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland. Granton forms part of Edinburgh's waterfront along the Firth of Forth and is, historically, an industrial area having a large harbour. Granton is part of Edinburgh's large scale waterfront regeneration programme.-Name:Granton first appears...
, Pilton
Pilton, Edinburgh
Pilton is a residential district of northern Edinburgh, Scotland. It is to the north of Ferry Road and west of Granton....
, Muirhouse
Muirhouse
Muirhouse is a district in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is west of Granton and the housing estates of East Pilton and West Pilton, and East of Davidsons Mains...
, Davidson's Mains
Davidson's Mains
Davidsons Mains is a former village which is now a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is adjacent to the areas of Barnton, Cramond, Silverknowes, Blackhall and Corbiehill/House O'Hill...
, Blackhall
Blackhall, Edinburgh
Blackhall is a suburb in the north west of the Scottish capital city Edinburgh.Blackhall according to Stuart Harris in "The Place Names Of Edinburgh" states that the "Black" could derive either from the Anglican blaec or Scots blac meaning simply black, and the "Hall" ending is the Anglican "Halh"...
, Ravelston
Ravelston
Ravelston is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, to the south of Queensferry Road .The area is primarily made up of detached and semi-detached housing, as well as modern apartments and many bungalows...
, Craigcrook
Craigcrook
Craigcrook is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland, best known for Craigcrook Castle. It is fairly affluent, and lies on the north east slopes of Corstorphine Hill. It is near Clerwood, and Blackhall. It is near the newly built Hillpark area of Blackhall....
, Turnhouse
Turnhouse
Turnhouse is a suburb in the west of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.The area is east of Edinburgh International Airport, and Turnhouse is also the name for the former Royal Air Force base, now closed, which dates back to the First World War and was the origin of the current civilian airport...
and Craigiehall
Craigiehall
Craigiehall is a late-17th-century country house, which now serves as the Headquarters of the 2nd Division of the British Army. It is located close to Cramond, around west of central Edinburgh, Scotland....
.
The area has a low, gently undulating topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
that drops down from the top of Corstorphine hill to the shore in three gradual stages and is intersected by the River Almond
River Almond, Lothian
The River Almond is a river in east-central Scotland. It is 28 miles long, rising in North Lanarkshire near Shotts and runs through West Lothian, draining into the Firth of Forth at Cramond near Edinburgh....
which flows northward into the Forth. During the last ice age the area was heavily glaciated, and the main direction of the ice flow was west to east. Consequently, there are rock deposits on the east side of landforms such as the Almond river valley, and until the Cramond promenade was built in the 1930s large glacial boulders were strewn along the shore. The geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
of Cramond consists of calciferous sandstone
Calciferous sandstone
Calciferous sandstone is a geological term relating to strata at the base of the Carboniferous formation, below the entire sequence of coal measures...
, which mixed with two later sills
Sill (geology)
In geology, a sill is a tabular sheet intrusion that has intruded between older layers of sedimentary rock, beds of volcanic lava or tuff, or even along the direction of foliation in metamorphic rock. The term sill is synonymous with concordant intrusive sheet...
to give the area its characteristic chocolate-brown soil.
Landmarks and sculpture
The 8 tonne work Fish has been permanently installed on the Waterfront at Cramond in 2009 after a successful campaign by the Cramond community, paying homage to the eight months of carving of the pink granite there by sculptor Ronald RaeRonald Rae
Ronald Rae is a British sculptor born in Ayr, Scotland, in 1946. Works, by hand, in granite. His largest work to date is the 20 tonne Lion of Scotland. Solo exhibitions include Regents Park, London and Holyrood Park, Edinburgh...
in 2002.
Cramond Kirk Church Hall also displays the smaller Cramond Fish.
Architecture
The older houses along the wharf are typical of traditional south-east Scottish vernacular architectureVernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
, constructed in stone with harl
Harl
Harling is a Scottish term describing an exterior building surfacing technique. The theory of harling is to produce a long-lasting weatherproof shield for a stone building. A pigment can be embedded in the harled material, thus obviating the need for repainting...
ing white lime render
Lime Render
Lime render is a lime-based cementitious mix applied to the external surfaces of traditionally-built stone buildings. It allows the building to 'breathe' - as lime is porous, it allows for the collection and evaporation of moisture...
finish, with facing stone window and door surrounds and crow-step gables, roofed with orangey-red clay pantiles imported from the Netherlands. A ruined water mill lies further up the Almond along a quiet walk past a yacht club and sailing boats moored in the river. To the east a sand beach and waterfront esplanade provides a popular walk to Silverknowes and Granton. On the other side of the Almond, (once accessible by a rowing-boat ferry) the Dalmeny Estate has a pleasant walk through Dalmeny Woods along the shore of the Firth of Forth.
Near the kirk stands the imposing Cramond House. Its central part is late 17th century, with classical front added in 1778 and back in 1820. Queen Victoria visited while residing at Holyrood. It has been claimed as a possible original of R. L. Stevenson’s “House of Shaws” in Kidnapped
Kidnapped (novel)
Kidnapped is a historical fiction adventure novel by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. Written as a "boys' novel" and first published in the magazine Young Folks from May to July 1886, the novel has attracted the praise and admiration of writers as diverse as Henry James, Jorge Luis...
. It is now owned by Cramond Kirk and used as the headquarters of the Scottish Wildlife Trust
Scottish Wildlife Trust
The Scottish Wildlife Trust is a registered charity dedicated to conserving the wildlife and natural environment of Scotland.-Description:The Scottish Wildlife Trust has over 32,800 members...
. The manse dates originally from the mid-17th century and was rebuilt in the mid-18th century. The north wing was added about 1770 and a south wing in 1857. Reverend Walker, the skating minister in Raeburn
Raeburn
Raeburn may refer to:* Anna Raeburn , British broadcaster and journalist* Boyd Raeburn U.S. jazz bandleader and bass saxophonist* Henry Raeburn , Scottish portrait painter* Harold Raeburn , British mountaineer...
's famous portrait, lived here from 1776 to 1784.
Offshore, Cramond Island
Cramond Island
Cramond Island is one of several islands that lie in the Firth of Forth in eastern Scotland, near Edinburgh. As its name implies, it lies off Cramond. It is long and covers , and is currently part of the Dalmeny Estate.Strictly speaking it is not a true island at all, but a tidal island being...
has WW II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
fortifications and is linked to land by a causeway
Causeway
In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...
with a line of concrete pylons on one side, constructed as a submarine defence boom. At certain low tides sand extends to the island, tempting visitors to visit the island, though occasionally some are stranded by the incoming tide.
Cramond in fiction
For many people Cramond is associated with The Prime of Miss Jean BrodieThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (film)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a 1969 drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Muriel Spark.The novel was turned into a play by Jay Presson Allen, which opened on Broadway in 1968, with Zoe Caldwell in the title role, a performance for which she won a Tony Award...
, where Mr. Lowther has his home and Miss Brodie spends much of her time.
Cramond is also where the House of Shaws is located in Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
's Kidnapped
Kidnapped (novel)
Kidnapped is a historical fiction adventure novel by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. Written as a "boys' novel" and first published in the magazine Young Folks from May to July 1886, the novel has attracted the praise and admiration of writers as diverse as Henry James, Jorge Luis...
.
External links
- Tide Times Note that these are the tide times of Leith, for Cramond simply add 4 Minutes. It is safe to cross over to Cramond Island between 2 hours before and 2 hours after low tide.
- Cramond Boat Club
- Cramond Angling Club
- Notes on Roman Cramond
- Pictures and Notes on Cramond history