Bridgend Farmhouse

Bridgend Farmhouse and its historical setting on Old Dalkeith Road near Craigmillar Castle inspired a small group of enthusiasts in 2010 to form a charity (Bridgend Inspiring Growth) to save the building from dereliction and restore it for the benefit of the local community. In March 2018 the beautifully restored farmhouse opened as a community hub.

In the autumn of 2017, Bridgend Inspiring Growth launched a project - Place, Work and Folk - to capture the living memories of the Bridgend community and the Bridgend Farm at its heart. With support from the Heritage Lottery Fund they were able to record the first-hand accounts of two generations of farmers – Harry and Doris Darling who farmed at Bridgend until 2000 and David and Chris Binnie the sons of the farmer prior to the Darlings who had grown up nearby in the 1940s and 1950s.

The project team of volunteers led by Carol Stobie, produced a whole series of invaluable audio recordings, film and photographs of the memories of individuals growing up and living on the farm and in the Bridgend area during the second half of the 20th century.

Harry and Doris Darling and the Binnie Family kindly donated family photographs from their time at Bridgend Farm as did several residents, past and present, from the surrounding area.

At the end of the project a comprehensive booklet was published and an exhibition of photographs and memorabilia staged at Bridgend Farmhouse.

This exhibition contains a selection of old photographs and also films produced by John Nowak which give the history of the farmhouse and area and document the Bridgend Inspiring Growth redevelopment of the Farmhouse to a community centre.

You can enjoy a virtual local history tour of Bridgend produced by Julia Nowak to find out more about the area's rich and interesting history.