Description

Corniced gatepiers and gates to West Gate, circa 1876; gatepiers and gates to East Gate; boundary wall and railings around garden. The Head Gardener's Cottage at the East Gate is listed separately.

WEST GATE: semicircular entrance forecourt (see Notes); 4 ashlar gatepiers with corniced caps, base course and string course; 2-leaf spear-headed cast-iron gates to carriage entrance; single gates to flanking pedestrian entrances.

BOUNDARY WALLS: spear-headed cast-iron railings on dwarf boundary wall to Arboretum Place, Inverleith Terrace and part of Inverleith Place. Round-coped random rubble boundary wall to the back gardens of Inverleith Row.

EAST GATE: Outer Gate: 1934, stop-chamfered ashlar gatepiers with corniced caps and acanthus leaf carved detail; flanking coped wall; 2-leaf wrought-iron gates (probably by Thomas Hadden & Co) with rhododendron flower and foliage details; decorative wrought-iron railings above flanking wall with leaf details. Inner Gate: gatepiers circa 1925 with 2-leaf carriage entrance and flanking footgates; coped ashlar with stepped-detail over footgates; decorative electroplated stainless steel gates composed of Rhododendron calopytum flowers, by Ben Tindall (architect) and Alan Dawnson (blacksmith), 1996.

Statement of Interest

A-Group with the Gatepiers to Inverleith Park, Head Gardener's Cottage, Inverleith House, 1858 Palm House and 1834 Palm Stove, Linnaeus Monument, 1967 Greenhouse, Caledonian Horticultural Society Hall, and the Laboratory and Lecture Hall Buildings at 20a Inverleith Row. The Royal Botanic Garden is included in the Inventory Of Gardens And Designed Landscapes In Scotland, Site Number 216.

The Royal Botanic Garden moved to Inverleith from its previous location on Leith Walk in 1820. At that date it only occupied the North quarter of the present site, with South Western half forming the garden of Inverleith House and the Eastern quarter belonging to the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society. Part of the wall that divided the Botanical Garden from the Horticultural Society garden is still standing, and is to be found between the East Gate and the pond. The Horticultural Society garden was purchased by the Botanical garden in 1863, and the Western half of the garden, containing Inverleith House, was purchased in 1876. It is presumed that the West gate, railings and dwarf boundary wall date from this time, or soon after. The original entrance gates to Inverleith House and park still stand in their original position at the junction of Arboretum Place and St Bernard's Row. They are listed separately. The West Entrance forms is directly opposite the East Gate of Inverleith Park (1890), and together they form a rond-point on Arboretum Road. (Gatepiers to Inverleith Park listed separately). According to a brief article in the Edinburgh Evening News, the East gates were erected in 1934.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q77779209

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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