Bonaly: Difference between revisions

Although now considered to be part of the [[Edinburgh]] suburb of [[Colinton]], Bonaly was originally a small settlement in its own right. This existed on the banks of the Bonaly Burn, west of the present-day site of [[Bonaly#Bonaly Tower|Bonaly Tower]], until its [[Bonaly#History#Destruction of the village|destruction]] after 1811. There is no evidence to indicate when Bonaly was first settled, but area has a long history of human occupation and the remains of an Iron Age hillfort may be seen at Clubbiedean, 2km to the south-west. <ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cyberscotia.com/ancient-lothian/leaves/places/clubbiedean-hillfort.html|title=Clubbiedean Hillfort |access date=8 March 2010 |publisher=Cyberscotia.com}}</ref>

Bonaly Tower is located on the site of the 17^th century farmhouse that once stood at the centre of the village of [[Bonaly#History#Bonaly Village|Bonaly]]. On the directions of [[Lord Cockburn]], the farmhouse was extended, and the village [[Bonaly#History#Destruction of the Village|cleared]] to create his country residence. In 1839, the architect [[William Henry Playfair]] added an imitation [[peel tower]] to the building. It was further extended by David Bruce in 1870, who added a western wing. The original farmhouse was visible until 1886, when the library wing was constructed in 1888, by architects Sydney, Mitchell and Wilson.