Recollections

Jeanie Deans' Cottage

   Patrick Thomson postcard  -  Jeanie Deans' Cottage ©

and the

'Slidey Stane'

   Holyrood Park  -  This stone may well be 'The Slidey Stane' mentioned in recollecitions of Holyrood Park ©

1.

Ella Glen

-  Jeanie Deans' Cottage

-  The 'Slidey Stane'

2.

Irene Beaver
(
née Brown)

Kirkliston, Edinburgh, Scotland

-  The 'Slidey Stane' - near the brewery

3. George T Smith
Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

-  The 'Slidey Stane' - right of passage

 

4.

Peter Stubbs
Edinburgh

-  The 'Slidey Stane' - not found

George T Smith
Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

-  The 'Slidey Stane' - not found

5. Bob Henderson
Burdiehouse, Edinburgh

-  The 'Slidey Stane' - Is it this one?

Holyrood Park  -  This stone may well be 'The Slidey Stane' mentioned in recollecitions of Holyrood Park ©

6. George T Smith
Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

-  The 'Slidey Stane'   -  5 is unlikely

7. Peter Stubbs
Edinburgh

-  The 'Slidey Stane'  -  NO, it's not 5

8. Tam Croal
Edinburgh

-  The 'Slidey Stane'  -  NO, it's not 5

Peter Stubbs
Edinburgh

-  The 'Slidey Stane' - Is it this one?

Holyrood Park  Looking to the SE near St Leonard's -  Is this the Slidey Stane?  No. ©

George T Smith
Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

-  The 'Slidey Stane'  -  NO, it's not 8

9.

Park Rangers
Holyrood Park

-  The 'Slidey Stane' - Is it this one?

The 'Slidey Stane' in Holyrood Park  -  looking to the NW ©

10.

Bryan Gourlay
Biggar, Lanarkshire, Scotland

-  The 'Slidey Stane'  -  YES, it's 9

11.

Irene Beaver
Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland

-  The 'Slidey Stane'  -  YES, it's 9

-  Jeanie Deans' Cottage

-  Army Firing Range

12.

Phil Gorman

-  Jeanie Deans' Cottage

13. Tam Croal
Edinburgh

-  Brian and me on the 'Slidey Stane'

Tam Croal and his brother, Brian, on the Slidey Stane in Holyrood Park ©

14.

Ian Miller
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

-  Jeanie Deans' Cottage

15.

Andy Duff
Maryborough, Queensland,
Australi
a

-  Jeanie Deans' Cottage

16.

Gordon Wright
Newington, Edinburgh

-  Jeanie Deans' Cottage

-  Demolition

17.

Nicky Pettigrew
Edinburgh

-  The 'Slidey Stane'  -  Legend

18.

Andrew Harper

-  The 'Slidey Stane'

More photos and recollections of Jeanie Deans' Cottage and the area around it can be founds by clicking on the thumbnail image below.

Postcard

    Jeanie Dean's Cottage ©

 

Answer

2.

Ella Glen

From Ella Glen (née Dalgleish) in her 94th yearElla lived at 5 Beaumont Place from 1919 until approx 1936.

Ella is now in Cheshire and looking over the shoulder of her daughter, who is typing this reminiscence.

Ella says:

Jeanie Deans' Cottage

"I remember as a girl of about 12 years of age sitting on the wall next to the cottage reading a book whilst also trying to keep an eye on my younger brother and sister who were playing just inside the Park."

Jeanie Dean's Cottage ©

The 'Slidey Stane'

"Does anyone remember the ‘Slidey Stane’ just further down into the Park opposite the brewery."

"Happy memories!"

Ella Glen (née Dalgleish), September 22, 2007

If you remember the 'Slidey Stane' please e-mail me, then I'll send an e-mail to Ella to let her know.

Thank you.    - Peter Stubbs

 

Answer

2.

Irene Beaver

Kirkliston, Edinburgh

Thank you to Irene Beaver (née Brown), now living in Kirkliston, Edinburgh, who e-mailed me wrote:

Slidey Stane

"Yes I remember the Slidey Stane, just across from the Brewery.  It was huge and used to have bluebells growing all round it.

I was brought up in 18 St Leonard's Street and South Oxford Street and Ella Glen's daughter, Pat is one of my best friends from Boroughmuir. 

The Slidey Stane is still there but it has shrunk over the years.  Must be global warming.   : )"

Irene Beaver (née Brown), Kirkliston, Edinburgh, September 29, 2007

 

Answer

3.

George T Smith

Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

Thank you to George T Smith, British Columbia, Canada, who writes:

Slidey Stane

"I remember being 'taken a walk' in the King's Park and  sliding down that stone.

My mother, brought up in Beaumont Place, probably had a childhood memory of it.

In my turn I took my eldest son to slide on it some time in the 60's. Perhaps it was some sort of  'rite of passage'.

I think I was about 4 when I 'graduated in sliding'  and my son about the same age."

George T Smith, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada:  November 12, 2007

 

Answer

4.

Peter Stubbs

Edinburgh

and

George T Smith

Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

I went to Holyrood Park earlier this week, hoping to photograph the 'Slidey Stane' but failed to find it despite having been given fairly precise directions (below) by George T Smith.  

I'll look for it again, next time I visit Holyrood Park.

 -  Peter Stubbs:  January 9, 2008

George T Smith wrote:

Slidey Stane

"To the best of my recollection the Slidey Stane is near the  entrance to the park from what is now Scottish Widows (was Thomas  Nelson's in my day).

Shortly after the park entry, turn left and it is up a gentle slope in the direction of Jeanie Deans' cottage.

It is not large except to the eyes of young children say about three to four feet high and with  a shiny slope facing towards Arthur's Seat.  I seem to  recollect that it was something like a wedge of cheese with a smooth side at  about 60 degrees."

George T Smith, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada:  January 6+9, 2008

Answer

5.

Bob Henderson

Burdiehouse, Edinburgh

I beleive that Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh has found the answer, after walking through Holyrood Park, looking for it.

Bob wrote:

Where is the Slidey Stane?  -  Answer?

"I followed the instructions to the letter and have found some candidates for the slidey stane show.

I turned left at the park gates and followed the path all the way to Jimmy Clark's school and found nothing.  On the way back I took the high road and walked along the ridge that separates the brewery from the Queens Drive, and Eureka! -  large stones.

Two of these about ten feet apart were likely candidates, then at the roadside, near the park keeper's lodge, a stone being used as a sign board which had all the right shapes but not the right location.

The Park in that area has really changed a lot and there has been a program of tree planting on the hillside on the west side of the Queen's Drive.  It was not like that when I was a boy during the war.  So it could be that stones have been moved and one has been re-used for a sign board, perhaps.

The sign board stone is the largest of the three.

Holyrood Park  -  This stone may well be 'The Slidey Stane' mentioned in recollecitions of Holyrood Park

©  Reproduced with acknowledgement to Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh    Jan 11, 2008

The other two stones were pretty much the same size, and both had quite shiny shiny surfaces which would have facilitated sliding.  It was hard to gauge the size of them as they were overgrown with couch grass, but did appear to have the necessary wedge shape and the desired slope to make them suitable for sliding down."

Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:  January 11, 2008

Incidentally, this is the same stone that I photographed in the snow about a week earlier, on January 3, 2008.

Bob's picture (above) shows the wedge-shape of the stone far more clearly than my photo (below)

Sledging in Holyrood Park neat St Leonard's Park Entrance  -  January 2008 ©

 

Answer

6.

George T Smith

Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

George T Smith, British Columbia, Canada replied:

The Slidey Stane

"Seeing the pictures of 'Slidey Stanes' I feel the notice board stone  is the most likely candidate. Perhaps an enquiry of the 'parkey' will  provide a definitive answer.

George T Smith, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada:  January 11, 2008

George thought again, and wrote two days later.

The Slidey Stane

"The Slidey Stane' is surely smaller than my childhood recollections.

However, I think it  unlikely that it has been moved as  suggested, because of the costs involved v. any obvious benefits."

George T Smith, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada:  January 13 + 14, 2008

   

Answer

7.

Peter Stubbs

Edinburgh

Where is the Slidey Stane?  -  Answer to be Confirmed

I visited the Park Rangers' office today to ask about this stone.

Holyrood Park  -  This stone may well be 'The Slidey Stane' mentioned in recollecitions of Holyrood Park ©

They told me that the stone with the notice on it, close to the park gates near the Royal Commonwealth Pool,  had come from the 'Rock Trap'.  This is an area of fallen rocks below Salisbury Crags.  i.e. on the opposite side of Queen's Drive to the location described for the 'Slidey Stane'.

Peter Stubbs:  January 21, 2008

    

Answer Confirmed

8.

Thomas Croal

Edinburgh

and

Peter Stubbs

Edinburgh

Thomas Croal wrote:

It's not 'that stone'

"Me and my brother played on the slippery stone regularly but its not the stone you have pictured

Holyrood Park  -  This stone may well be 'The Slidey Stane' mentioned in recollecitions of Holyrood Park ©

The one we played on and the one me and my father still visit is on the hill behind the old Stewarts distillery. I wonder if there could have been two. I will try and get a picture for you soon."

Tam Croal, Edinburgh:  January 21, 2008

Hi Tam.  Thanks for your comments.  I hope you find that the stone is still there, and that you are able to photograph it.

I had a look for it twice, a couple of weeks ago.  All that I found in the area that you mention was a small group of stones.  I wondered if this one of them was the 'Slidey Stane'.

Holyrood Park  Looking to the west near St Leonard's -  Is this the Slidey Stane?  No. ©    Holyrood Park  Looking to the SE near St Leonard's -  Is this the Slidey Stane?  No. ©

However, it didn't match the description given to me by George T Smith, and when George saw the pictures above, he told me that it was not the 'Slidey Stane' stone.

Peter Stubbs:  January 21, 2008.

   

Answer Confirmed

9.

Holyrood Park Rangers

Edinburgh

Thanks to Lily Laing and others from the Historic Scotland Park Rangers' office in Holyrood Park for helping to locate this stone.

Lily wrote:

I hope this is the 'Slidey Stane'

To find it:

1.  Start at the park entrance at the south end of St Leonard's Bank

   The site of Jeanie Deans Cottage on the western edge of Holyrood Park  -  April 2006 ©

2.  Take the footpath on the right for 80yards.

The route to the 'Slidey Stane' from the Entrance to Holyrood Park at the southern end of St Leonard's Bank ©

3. Turn left up the hill for 15 yards and the stone is straight ahead.

The 'Slidey Stane' in Holyrood Park  -  looking to the NW ©

Peter Stubbs:  March 3 2008

  

Answer Confirmed

10.

Bryan Gourlay

Biggar, Lanarkshire, Scotland

Thank you to Bryan Gourlay

"I was trying to get round to having a look for the Slidey Stane.

I was going to start looking around where you’ve now described. I remembered it was not far from Jeanie Deans Cottage.

We used to run along the path on the left and down the hill to the stane.   I think this is the right one at last.

Bryan Gourlay, Biggar, Lanarkshire, Scotland:  March 4, 2008

 

Answer Confirmed

11.

Irene Beaver

Kirkliston West Lothian, Scotland

Thank you to Irene Beaver (née Brown) who wrote:

Slidey Stane

"That's the very one, although it does seem to have shrunk.  Maybe all the wee bottoms sliding down it.  The surrounding area was always covered with bluebells."

Jeanie Deans' Cottage

"I'm sure that Jeanie Deans' Cottage was still lived in in the 1950s as I seem to remember hens in the garden, although maybe that's just a figment of my imagination."

Army Firing Range

"Around the same time, the army regularly used the area to the west of Hunters' Bog at the south end of the Crags as a firing range.  You knew to stay away when the red flag was flying."

Happy Hunting Ground

"My dad, Bobby Brown, born in 1906, was brought up in various homes around the Southside, and he called the King's Park (Holyrood) his 'happy hunting ground'."

Irene Beaver (née Brown), Kirkliston, West Lothian, September 29, 2007

 

Answer Confirmed

12.

Phil Gorman

Thank you to Phil Gorman who wrote:

Jeanie Deans' Cottage

"I noticed the comment from Ella Glen, née Dalgleish (1 above).

I believe that my Grandfather William Dalgleish was born there. I wondered if Ella was any relation."

Phil Gorman:  February 22, 2009

 

Answer

13.

Thomas Croal

Edinburgh

Thank you to Tam Croal for sending me several photos, taken by his dad, around Dumbiedykes and Holyrood Park between the 1950s and 1970s.

The photos that Tam sent me included this one of himself and his brother, Brian, on 'The Slidey Stane' (described by Tam as 'The Slippery Stane').

Tam Croal and his brother, Brian, on the Slidey Stane in Holyrood Park ©

Tam Croal, Edinburgh:  February 26+27, 2009

 

Answer

14.

Ian Miller

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Jeanie Deans' Cottage

"The cottage was a Parkie's' house when I was really young and was demolished, probably around 1964,  I guess when the park no longer needed it.

It did resemble your early picture, but it had been added onto away from the point your early photo was taken. I remember getting into trouble from the local beat 'polis' for playing in the demolished shell."

Ian Miller, Atlanta, Georgia, USA:  April 3, 2009

 

Answer

15.

Andy Duff

Australia

Jeanie Deans' Cottage

"Way back in 1950, when I went to Jimmie Clark's school, we had a boy in our class called Teddy McCann.  His family lived in Jeanie Deans' Cottage as his father was the Parkie at the time.

I also remember being being in the cottage, and thought the rooms very small.  It is sad to see that it has been demolished, but as they say, that's progress.

Andy Duff, Australia:  July 3, 2009

 

Answer

16.

Gordon Wright

Newington, Edinburgh

Thank you to Gordon Wright who wrote:

Jeanie Deans' Cottage

Demolition

    Jeanie Dean's Cottage ©

"In 1987 when I was compiling my guidebook:

‘A Guide to Holyrood Park and Arthur's Seat'

I became friendly with Sergeant James McQueen of the Royal Parks constabulary.  He told me that when Jeannie Dean’s cottage was demolished, most of the stone was used to form an island for nesting birds in Duddingston Loch."

Gordon Wright, Newington, Edinburgh:  November 7, 2014

  

'The Slidey Stane' Legend

Reply

17.

Nicky Pettigrew

Edinburgh

Holyrood Park

Last Sunday (14 Dec 2014), I enjoyed joining a small group for a walk through Holyrood Park led by Historic Scotland Ranger, Nicky Pettigrew who explained some of the features as we passed them. 

A map of the park can be found in this Historic Scotland leaflet.

Our Our route took us past

-  Hunter's Bog,

-  Camstane Quarries

-  Hutton's Section

-  South Quarry

-  Salisbury Crags

and back down the Radical Road to Holyrood Palace.

'The Slidey Stane'

Legend

  Tam Croal and his brother, Brian, on the Slidey Stane in Holyrood Park ©

The Slidey Stane (near the western edge of the park at St Leonard's) was not on our route, but I asked Nicola about it nevertheless. 

She knew of the stone and told me of the legend for girls that went with it:

"If you slide down the stone 3 times, you'll give birth within 3 years"'

Acknowledgement: Nicky Pettigrew, Historic Scotland Ranger, Holyrood Park, Edinburgh: Dec 14, 2014

  

Reply

18.

Andrew Harper

Thank you to Andrew Harper who wrote

'The Slidey Stane'

  Tam Croal and his brother, Brian, on the Slidey Stane in Holyrood Park ©

"I remember the 'slidey stone' in what I always think of as 'The King's Park'.  (I was born when a male was on the throne.) The stone was remarkably shiny.  Surely young posteriors were not responsible for this condition!

The nearby Jeannie Dean's Cottage site will help locate it for anyone interested."

Andrew Harper:  September 20, 2015

 

Jeanie Deans' Cottage Postcard

Holyrood Park

'Slidey Stane'

Recollections

Contributors

 

 

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