Historic Cottages Transport of Delight

Historic Botany Cottage Taken  to Inverleith

The Botanic Cottage which has been the place where nearly three centuries of Scottish botanists trained has been saved from demolition. The Botanic Cottage was built in 1766 on the former site of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in Leith Walk.

Stone by stone the historic cottage was taken apart and then rebuilt in the new site at Inverleith. In a £1.6m project, funded by donation and the Lottery Heritage Fund which makes it the oldest and the newest building at the gardens. In future it will return to its past and once again become a lesson room for students.

Saved for Posterity

The cottage was the brainchild of John Hope, regius keeper of the garden and a leading figure of the Scottish Enlightenment and he got John Adam  and James Craig who built so much of Edinburgh’s New Town to design the building.

 American Founding Father

Amongst the many students who studied there was one Benjamin Rush, one of the founding fathers of the US; and Thomas Charles Hope discoverer of strontium and Sir Lucas Pepys, the doctor who treated George III and who looked barmy in the film about his madness.

In one of those lovely twists of history, a descendent of T.C.Hope  is on the board of the  trust today and he played a goodly part in the reconstruction project.

Lord Hope, of the Botanic Cottage Trust, said: “My kinsman, Dr John Hope, had he been alive today, would feel humbled by all the care and attention so many people have given to its preservation and reconstruction. It is, as he would have wished, a place to be enjoyed by everyone.”

Toil and Troubled History Includes Murder Most Foul

John Williamson was head gardener at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh from 1760, but he was murdered by smugglers and a stone dedicated to him forms an integral part of the new or is it old cottage?

The stone plaque on the building reads: “To the memory of John Williamson, who during 20 years of faithful service as principal gardener in this place was no less respected for the good qualities suited to his station in life than esteemed for eminent skill in his profession. This monument is erected by John Hope, professor of Botany, 1781.”

 Last Chance Now

 If you want your very own cottage of interest then there are a number of the Lilliput Lane Collection available in last chance to buy. We don’t know if this improves their value, but suspect it will make them rarer in the future and possible delights for the future long after we’ve gone.

My own favourite is Sweet Charity which is inspired by  an old university  charity home.
It is as they say, delightful!

 https://www.jamespirie.com/lilliput-lane/last-chance-to-buy.htm