Edinburgh has a fascinating history dating back thousands of years, with evidence of a settlement in the Cramond area from around 8500 BC.
The city’s name comes from ‘Eidyn’, the name for the region in Cumbric – the Brittonic language spoken in the Northern England and Lowland Scotland in the Middle Ages.
At this time a stronghold on Castle Rock was called Din Eidyn, literally meaning ‘the hillfort of Eidyn’. As the Scots language evolve d, the Din was replaced by ‘burh’, creating Edinburgh.
And there are plenty more clues to the Capital’s complex past in the names of the streets, roads, and lanes that make up the city, all of which come from a multitude of languages, backgrounds and people.
Previously called Figgate Muir, Portobello got its name thanks to a seaman called George Hamilton who built a cottage on what is now the High Street in 1742.
Hamilton had served under Admiral Edward Vernon when a British fleet of boats attacked and captured the Panamanian port of Porto Bello from the Spanish in 1739.
He named the cottage Portobello Hut in honour of the victory and the name was used for the growing number of homes that began to spring up around it.
Here are the stories behind 10 of the road names in Portobello.
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At this time a stronghold on Castle Rock was called Din Eidyn, literally meaning ‘the hillfort of Eidyn’. As the Scots language evolve d, the Din was replaced by ‘burh’, creating Edinburgh.
5. Baileyfield Road
Baileyfield Road was built in 1883 and it named after a house previously built on the site by William Bailey, the first Provost of Portobello. He lived in Bailyfield after taking over the local chemical works in 1829, before also setting up a flint glass factory. Photo: Google Maps
6. Hillcoat Place
Hillcoat Place (and Hillcoat Lane) are named after bricklayer Anthony Hillcoat. Hillcoat, from Newcastle, leased a plot of land in the area in the late 18th century in order to exploit the brick clays contained undeground. Photo: Google Maps
7. Electra Place
Electra Place is named after the Westbank Power Station, later to become the Portobello Power Station, that wa founded in 1923, whose site was redeveloped for housing in 1983. Photo: Google Maps
8. Spa Place
Spa Place is a recent development completed in 1981, named after a nearby mineral spring that made Portobello a popular tourist spa town in the 19th century. Photo: Google Maps