Bonaly
Bonaly is an area on the south-western outskirts of Edinburgh and the northern slopes of the Pentland Hills, lying within the Parish of Colinton. It is a mix of mainly post-war housing, woodland, pasture-land and heather moorland. Bonaly Burn has its sources in the hills above Bonaly and flows towards Oxgangs, where it becomes the Braid Burn. The Edinburgh City Bypass passes through Bonaly.
Name
The name Bonaly may be derived from the Scottish Gaelic Bonn àth Linne or from Bàn àth Linne. An alternative suggestion is that the derivation is from the Gaelic Bonn-aill.The placename has appeared in many different forms and spellings. Early variations include Banale in 1438, Bonala in 1538 and Bonally in 1531. Other variations include Bonala, Bonalay, Boneyley, Bonnalay, Bonailie and Bonaley.
In Timothy Pont's detailed 1654 map of Scotland, it appears as a small settlement close to the Pentland Hills, labelled Bonely, and also appears on the Map of the Three Lothians in 1773 as Bonilie.
Harrison Gardens and Harrison Place, in the Edinburgh district of Merchiston, were originally named Bonaly Road and Bonaly Place. They were renamed in 1965 to avoid confusion with similar addresses in Colinton.
History
Early history
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, close to the present-day site of Bonaly Tower, until its destruction after 1811. There is no evidence to indicate when Bonaly was first settled, but the area has a long history of human occupation and the remains of an Iron Age hillfort may be seen at Clubbiedean, 2 km to the south-west.In the 12th century, Norman barons began to arrive in Scotland and establish feudal estates. The lands of Bonaly formed part of the Barony of Redhall which also included Redhall itself, Oxgangs, Comiston, Swanston, Dreghorn, Pilmuir, Woodhall and Colinton. The earliest mention of Bonaly may be from 1280, when it appears in an account of legal proceedings concerning straying livestock.
In 1400, the Barony – and the ownership of Bonaly – was granted to Sir William Cunningham of Kilmaurs, by Robert III. Some time after 1538, ownership passed to James Foulis, who became Baron Colinton.
The Foulis family were supporters of the Royalist cause during the Civil War. Their fortunes suffered badly after Cromwell's victorious campaign in Scotland and they were forced to sell off much of their lands. In the aftermath of Cromwell's campaign, English troops were billeted at Bonaly.
Bonaly Village
The village of Bonaly is likely to have been home to a modest population of tenant farmers, living in cot-houses, raising livestock and practising the open field system of rig and furrow agriculture. They may have supplemented their income with weaving. It is difficult to estimate the size of the settlement at this time but the area under cultivation was extensive. Traces of rig and furrow cultivation strips can be seen in the hills high above Bonaly, on land that has now reverted to rough-grazing.By the 17th century, Bonaly appears to have been thriving and is mentioned frequently in the Kirk Session records. In addition to the dwellings of the tenant farmers, there was a substantial farmhouse, several waulk mills, a skinnery, a distillery, a magnesia factory and a flax mill. These industries stood on the banks of the Bonaly Burn, which was used as a power-source, a supply of water and for carrying away waste. Prior to the damming of its tributaries, the Lady Burn and the Dean Burn, Bonaly Burn would have provided a more powerful flow of water for milling. The community never had its own kirk, and parishioners travelled to the kirk in Colinton to attend services.
After several changes of ownership in the 17th century, Bonaly was eventually bought in 1700 by Sir John Foulis of Woodhall. Sir John's Account Book contains frequent mentions of Bonaly, of the business he did there and of the rents he received from his tenants in the village.
The 17th and 18th centuries were a time of radical change in the Scottish agricultural landscape, Bonaly included. The process of enclosure resulted in the disappearance of the small strips of land cultivated by tenant farmers as these were re-arranged into larger and more productive fields, surrounded by newly planted hedgerows. Bonaly Road – linking the village of Bonaly with Woodhall Road and Colinton – is likely to have been formed on its current line during this period and the hedgerows along the road may be the remnants of those planted at this time. Sir John Foulis was keen to improve his lands and, as well as enclosing existing farmland, brought areas of moorland under cultivation. Whilst the new farming methods were more productive, they required less labour and the village of Bonaly is likely to have declined as farmers left to seek other employment.
Destruction of the village
In the 18th century, the northern portion of Bonaly was acquired by James Gillespie, a Colinton merchant, mill-owner and philanthropist. In his will, Gillespie left a legacy to fund the establishment of a charitable school, which was known as Gillespie's Hospital. The Bonaly Farm premises were part of the legacy bequeathed to this school.A southern portion, including the village of Bonaly, was leased by Lord Cockburn. He developed the 17th century farmhouse into a country house and, in doing so, ordered the destruction of the village. In his own words he:
...began by an annual lease of a few square yards and a scarcely habitable farm-house but, realizing the profanations of Auburn, I have destroyed a village, and erected a tower, and reached the dignity of a twenty-acred laird.
The buildings in the village were demolished and the inhabitants presumably evicted. It is probable that the community had been in decline for some time. Enclosure had lessened the demand for agricultural labour and the small-scale industries on the Bonaly Burn would have been unable to compete with the larger and more efficient mills being established elsewhere, particularly on the Water of Leith.
After the destruction of the village, the population of Bonaly fell to its lowest level for centuries. Although extensive farm buildings, a large farmhouse and a row of farm labourers cottages were built at Bonaly Farm during the 19th century, few people were living in Bonaly at the close of the 19th century.
The house created by Lord Cockburn was named Bonaly Tower and still exists.
Bonaly Primary School was first established in a building built on Thorburn road in 1891, that is extant and Category C listed but the school moved to different sites in the 20th century.
20th century
This began to change during the early 20th century, due to the rapid expansion of Colinton as an Edinburgh commuter suburb. Several large villas were individually constructed on Bonaly Road in the 1920s and 1930s.Expansion accelerated after the Second World War. In 1959, house-builders Mactaggart and Mickel commenced large-scale housing development on the land adjacent to Bonaly Farm – formerly known as the East Field. Over the following 40 years over 500 houses were constructed and, by 2000, virtually all the land between Bonaly Farm and the Edinburgh City Bypass had been developed for housing. The Bonaly Farm buildings fell into disuse during this period. Bonaly Farmhouse was detached from the farm and became a private residence. The farm buildings themselves were gutted by fire in 1981. Most of the buildings on the site were demolished when it was subsequently developed for housing, but some were retained and incorporated into the new homes.
Bonaly Farm Dairy continued to supply dairy products from premises at nearby West Mill Road in Colinton and now operates from premises in Loanhead.
Bonaly Primary School
Bonaly Primary School is the main local provider of primary education, with a catchment taking in most of the Colinton area. It accommodates pupils from primaries one to seven and also has a nursery for children between three and five years of age. It is managed by the City of Edinburgh Council and is a feeder school for Firrhill High SchoolPupils wear a distinctive yellow and brown uniform, with a school badge depicting Bonaly Tower against the backdrop of the Pentland Hills. The badge was designed by a pupil, Sheron Watts when the school first opened in 1976.
The school opened on a greenfield site in 1976 and was intended to replace older school premises at Thorburn Road in Colinton, which had been unable to cope with the demand for school places. The new school at Bonaly was, however, never large enough to accommodate all the pupils and the Thorburn Road premises were re-opened as an annex for use by nursery and infant classes. Additional pre-fab classrooms were also used at the main school site.
In 2007, the school buildings were demolished and replaced with a larger building, opened in October 2008. All pupils are now accommodated on this site with the former premises in Thorburn Road later becoming a care home.
In 2023, the school was evacuated and the bomb squad attended after an antique military item was found on the site.
Bonaly Tower
Bonaly Tower is located on the site of the 17th century farmhouse that once stood at the centre of the village of Bonaly. On the directions of Lord Cockburn, the farmhouse was extended, and the village cleared to create his 18th century country residence. In 1836, the architect William Henry Playfair added an imitation peel tower as well as the east range to the building. It was further extended by David Bruce in 1874, who added a western wing and a third floor. The original farmhouse was visible until 1886, when the library wing was completed in 1899, by architects Sydney, Mitchell and Wilson. In 1946, Stewart Kaye and Partners, converted the building to 5 flats. The building is Category A listed.Bonaly Tower was the venue for frequent meetings of the 'Friday Club', a group of leading Edinburgh literati, which were hosted by Lord Cockburn.