Dean Mills, Water of Leith

Category

Library Item

Item no

731

Title

Dean Mills, Water of Leith

Description

The mills in Dean Village, Edinburgh, are placed by the fast-flowing Water of Leith which is spanned by a bridge. Buildings line the banks of the river.

Artist / maker

Skene, James

Date

1833

Size

21 x 41 cm.

Type

Watercolour

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Picture painted 7th May 1833.

Dean Village is a riverside community in the west of Edinburgh, roughly half a mile from the West End of Princes Street. It has a long history as a grain milling hamlet stretching back at least as far as the early 12th Century. The increasing strength of the Leith flour mills in the 19th Century led to a period of economic decline in the village, but it is now an affluent and desirable place to live. Despite its close proximity to the centre of Edinburgh, Dean Village retains a quiet atmosphere in keeping with its rural heritage.

The Water of Leith runs for roughly 18 miles from the Pentland Hills through the villages of Balerno, Currie, Juniper Green and Colinton, then through Edinburgh to the Firth of Forth at Leith. The twelve mile stretch of river from Balerno to Leith covered by the Water of Leith walkway is accessible to pedestrians and bikes.

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Related subjects

Homes > Residential buildings > Cottages

Homes > Residential buildings > Houses

Landscape > Water > Rivers and streams

Landscape > Water > Waterfalls

Manufacturing Industry > Manufacturing facilities > Mills

Places > Edinburgh areas > Dean

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

(55°57′11″N, 3°12′56″W)

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