The Colonies of Stockbridge, Edinburgh.
Photo taken from the Water of Leith Walkway.
"The group of stone terraced houses known as The Colonies of Stockbridge was the first of several ‘colonies’ to be built in Edinburgh during the second half of the nineteenth century. All but one of these colonies were built by the same company – The Edinburgh Co-operative Building Company – which was formed in 1861.
Shares in the ECBC cost £1 each, and the houses cost between £100 and £130 to buy, depending on whether they were low or high doors. Potential buyers were asked to put down £5 deposit for a house, and Property Investment companies were persuaded to lend the balance of £95-£125 on security of the title deeds. This sum could be paid off in instalments over 15-20 years, thus making it possible for anyone with a modest but regular income to afford to buy a house. The houses began as an experiment, the success of which far exceeded anything the pioneer builders could have dreamt of.
In the early years, the houses were all lit by gas, as were the street lights, and cooking and heating of water was done on an iron range in the kitchen. The double sinks could be used for washing people as well as clothes, and coal was kept either under the external stair, in a coal cupboard off the hall, or under the kitchen floor (in the lower houses).
Older Colonies residents can still recall the days when the streets were full of children, and when rival groups from either end built and lit bonfires. At the end of the Second World War, parties were held in some streets in celebration, and for many years a garden fete was held on the drying green beside Reid Terrace. The tradition of holding local events continues to this day, with local quizzes, a garden competitions, street sales, carol singing and river clean up days being fixed features of the annual Colonies calendar."
The Colonies of Stockbridge, Edinburgh.
Photo taken from the Water of Leith Walkway.
"The group of stone terraced houses known as The Colonies of Stockbridge was the first of several ‘colonies’ to be built in Edinburgh during the second half of the nineteenth century. All but one of these colonies were built by the same company – The Edinburgh Co-operative Building Company – which was formed in 1861.
Shares in the ECBC cost £1 each, and the houses cost between £100 and £130 to buy, depending on whether they were low or high doors. Potential buyers were asked to put down £5 deposit for a house, and Property Investment companies were persuaded to lend the balance of £95-£125 on security of the title deeds. This sum could be paid off in instalments over 15-20 years, thus making it possible for anyone with a modest but regular income to afford to buy a house. The houses began as an experiment, the success of which far exceeded anything the pioneer builders could have dreamt of.
In the early years, the houses were all lit by gas, as were the street lights, and cooking and heating of water was done on an iron range in the kitchen. The double sinks could be used for washing people as well as clothes, and coal was kept either under the external stair, in a coal cupboard off the hall, or under the kitchen floor (in the lower houses).
Older Colonies residents can still recall the days when the streets were full of children, and when rival groups from either end built and lit bonfires. At the end of the Second World War, parties were held in some streets in celebration, and for many years a garden fete was held on the drying green beside Reid Terrace. The tradition of holding local events continues to this day, with local quizzes, a garden competitions, street sales, carol singing and river clean up days being fixed features of the annual Colonies calendar."