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Gilmerton Cove

DerekH16

Gone But Not Forgotten
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'Hellfire' tunnels...

'Hellfire' tunnels open to public

Underground tunnels used as an 18th-century illegal drinking den are being opened to visitors for the first time in three centuries.

Gilmerton Cove, in Edinburgh, was chiselled into existence by blacksmith George Paterson over five years in the early 1700s, according to legend.

Paterson is said to have lived in the subterranean apartment, which features three bedrooms, a sitting room and a forge, for 11 years until his death in 1735.

The hideaway, which is located three metres beneath what is now a betting shop, then became a tourist attraction, drinking den and smugglers' lair before being abandoned later in the century.

It has also been linked to the legendary Hellfire Club, which met in similar caves near High Wycombe, in Buckinghamshire.

Edinburgh City Council are now to reopen the cove as a destination for sightseers, complete with a state-of-the-art heritage centre.

The network of caves and tunnels includes carved and domed ceilings, benches and tables cut into the rock and graffiti etched into the surfaces.

Speaking ahead of the opening, the chairman of VisitScotland, Peter Lederer, said: "It is a privilege to open this unique national monument which local people have worked hard to present to the public in an educational way.

"I have no doubt that many will gain in knowledge and an appreciation of Gilmerton's rich history as a result."

About 100 yards from where I'm sitting now.....

Local legend says that the blacksmith, George Paterson, refused to pay window tax, and carved the cave and tunnel complex as a windowless home. Any suggestion that one man couldn't have done it in just a few years are vehemently denied....
....Although I suspect that he actually extended an existing cave/tunnel complex, possibly dug by limestone miners, possibly even older....

Local legend also suggests the existence of a tunnel to Craigmillar Castle (about a couple of miles away), one-time home of Mary, Queen of Scots.

The Hellfire Club link seems to be of the "Well, they could have" variety, bolstered by the 'punch bowl' carved into the stone table.

Must go visit, when I get the time....

(The Gilmerton area is riddled with old limestone mineworkings, to the extent that, following heavy rain a few years ago that appears to have washed out rock supports, houses started to vanish underground....
See here (Gilmour should read Gilmerton!), here and here for details)

(And a brief description of Gilmerton )
 
Resurrecting an old thread since there's a new article on the EEN website about this, probably because there's a new book out.

A NETWORK of secret underground tunnels is one of the last things you’d expect to find lurking beneath the streets of a typical suburb, but Edinburgh isn’t your typical city.


Drum Street in Gilmerton is home to the ‘subterranean chambers of a remarkable cave’ thought to have been inhabited up to 300 years ago.

...

Gilmerton Cove is now among Edinburgh’s most highly rated tourist attractions since it reopened in 2003. Some even claim the passages to be haunted.


http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/lost-edinburgh-troglodytes-of-gilmerton-cove-1-4092354

And the Cove is indeed open for tours.

http://www.gilmertoncove.org.uk/tour-information
 
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