As a child who grow up in Edinburgh, I often passed by Waverley House, 82 Colinton Road, when on the bus going into Edinburgh city centre. To me it looked a rather foreboding building, masculine and lacking in gentle design. At the time I was aware that it was a home for children who had faced terrible hardship.
Waverley house was built for Duncan Cameron (1825-1901). The Cameron family had patented a new and improved fountain pen nib which was christened The Waverley. For his architect, Duncan Cameron chose James Gowans, one of the most creative and distinctive architects of the day. To learn more about James Gowans please click here.
Whilst I was an observant child, I never noticed that the chimney pots on Waverley house took the form of pen nibs.
Threadinburgh provides a wonderful account of Waverley House.
A timeline [incomplete] for Waverley House, 82 Colinton Road:
1893 Ordnance Survey map:
20 February 1901, Edinburgh Evening News:
27 January 1909, Scotsman:
4 July 1939, Edinburgh Evening News:
1946, Scotsman:
21 June 1949, Edinburgh Evening News:
1956:
8 May 1957, Scotsman:
9 May 1957, Edinburgh Evening News:
31 March 1961, Scotsman:
16 April 1965, Scotsman:
1966, Wardens for Waverley House:
19 August 1969, Scotsman:
19 December 1983, Edinburgh Evening News:
5 December 1991, Scotsman:
27 May 1992, Edinburgh Evening News:
2008:
