Gillespie's Hospital

Category

Library Item

Item no

29771

Title

Gillespie's Hospital

Artist / maker

Shepherd, Thomas Hosmer

Date

1830

Type

Engraving

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Gillespie's Hospital was built in 1802 on the site of Wrychtis House, an old baronial mansion belonging to the Napier family. The hospital was built as the result of a bequest by James Gillespie (1726-1797) who was a wealthy tobacco merchant who owned snuff mills at Spylaw in Colinton. Gillespie left £12000 for a hospital and £2000 for the establishment of a free school for poor boys. The hospital took in poor men and women over the age of fifty-five, and the nearby school educated boys between the ages of six and twelve. In 1870 the hospital shut down and the school transferred to the Hospital building, and became fee paying. In 1908 lack of space and money meant the running of the school was transferred to Edinburgh Town Council. In 1914 the School moved to a building on Bruntsfield Links which had formerly been used by Boroughmuir High School.

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