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Edinburgh, Camus Avenue, Comiston House, Dovecot

Dovecot (Post Medieval), Tower (16th Century)

Site Name Edinburgh, Camus Avenue, Comiston House, Dovecot

Classification Dovecot (Post Medieval), Tower (16th Century)

Alternative Name(s) Camus Park; Old Comiston House

Canmore ID 51751

Site Number NT26NW 1

NGR NT 24004 68604

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/51751

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
Canmore Disclaimer. © Copyright and database right 2024.

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Administrative Areas

  • Council Edinburgh, City Of
  • Parish Edinburgh (Edinburgh, City Of)
  • Former Region Lothian
  • Former District City Of Edinburgh
  • Former County Midlothian

Archaeology Notes

NT26NW 41.00 24088 68744 Comiston House

NT26NW 41.01 2453 6886 Lodge

NT26NW 41.02 23936 68599 Gate Piers

NT26NW 42 23996 68618 Stables

An old round tower-dovecot is attached by an old wall to the outhouses of the present Comiston House (NT 239 689). It is regarded as an old defence tower of the previous castle, relating to which there is a charter in the Register of the Great Seal, dated 11th June 1608, when the lands of Colmastoun were given to Andrew Creich and his wife Margaret Dick. Geddie (1911) describes a stone on the back wall of the entrance lodge to Comiston on which were the initials AC and MD: 1610 (which he asserts may have come from the old house of Comiston, demolished when the present one was built). The initials W D are cut on the lintel of the entrance to the tower, which is described by Fothergill (1910) as "very ruinous and the top covered with ivy". It is still in the same condition, and the walls are cracking. Only two shot holes are now visible, though Fothergill notes three. Ten stone corbels are seen encircling the upper part of the tower and others are hidden by ivy. The rubble wall joining it to the stables is part of the old castle wall and is 4' thick. The tower walls are only 2'4" thick. There are about 161 nest holes, irregularly placed all round the inside walls.

A N Robertson 1945

There is no trace of this dovecot, the area surrounding the house having undergone modern development.

Visited by OS (BS) 4 December 1975

This tower does exist at NT 2400 6859 attached to old coach house - now 'club'.

Information from C J Aliaga-Kelly, December 1981.

Stables contemporary with Comiston House (1815). At SE corner is a remnant of Old Comiston House, a circular angle-turret with gunloops and corbelled upper stage, 16th or 17th century, later used as a dovecot.

G A Fothergill 1910-12; A N Robertson 1945; RCAHMS 1951; J Gifford, C McWilliam and D Walker 1984

Site Management (8 June 2012)

Circular tower dovecot, originally angle turret of former Comiston House. Approximately 3.5m diameter and 6m high. Coursed rubble with sandstone dressings. Upper stage projects on sandstone corbels; splayed oval sandstone gun loops to NE and SE below. Low narrow entrance with sandstone surround to NW. Small remaining portion of wall of original dwelling adjoins to N. Top sections of masonry partially missing.

An early dovecot, originally part of the former Comiston House. The date of construction of the house is unknown, although it is mentioned in a disposition of the lands of Colmanstoun by John Fairlie in 1608. A building and gardens are shown on the site on William Roy's survey. (Historic Environment Scotland)

Activities

Publication Account (1951)

188. Comiston House, Camus Avenue.

[NT26NW 1] All that survives of the old house of Comiston is a late 16th-century angle-tower of rubble, which has been incorporated in the S.E. corner of the modern stables. This fragment has an external diameter of about 12ft. and stands to a height of nearly 20 ft. The upper part is set out on corbelling, below which may be seen two oval gun-loops facing respectively N.E. and S.E. An inscribed pediment of 1610, noted in the Inventory of Midlothian (No. 23) has disappeared (see Fig. 422 [SC 1469566]). The modern house [NT26NW 41], which only dates from 1815,is a neat country villa typical of its time, consisting of an oblong main block with a circular bay projecting from its N. side and a service wing from the E. The main block has a basement and two upper floors, while the wing has a storey less. The front, which faces S., is pedimented and has Ionic pilasters at the corners. In the centre is a flat Ionic porch, surmounted by a Venetian window and flanked by an oblong window on each side. The ground-floor windows have moulded architraves and cornices; those on the first floor have moulded architraves, and the remainder are plain. The entrance opens into a vestibule on the ground floor, flanked on the E. by the dining-room and on the W. by the library. The vestibule opens into a central transverse passage leading E. to the wing and containing the stair at its W. end. On the N. of the passage is the drawing room, which includes the circular N. bay and has recently been subdivided. Beside it are two bedrooms. There are seven bedrooms on the first floor, but none of the rooms is of special interest.

RCAHMS 1951, visited c.1941

Standing Building Recording (15 February 2016 - 13 April 2016)

NT 23996 68618 (NT26NW 42 and NT26NW 1) A programme of archaeological work was undertaken, 15 February – 13 April 2016, at Comiston House Stables prior to its conversion into a house with garage. The stables served the nearby Comiston House which was built in 1815. The survey established that the stables’ interior mostly related to its recent use as a social club. However, the E end of the main block was

largely untouched and retained the original cobbled floor and evidence of the timber stalls. On the S elevation an armorial panel was found, thought to be of 17th-century date, probably relating to the earlier Comiston House, shown on Roy’s Military Survey. The remains of a 16th-century tower,

later converted to a dovecot, survive in the corner of the site. The monitoring of ground-breaking work did not uncoverany archaeological remains or artefacts.

Archive: NRHE (intended)

Funder: Mr D Tedesco

Jenni Morrison – Addyman Archaeology

(Source: DES, Volume 17)

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