Gilmerton

   1) GILMERTON, lately a quoad sacra parish, in the parish of Liberton, county of Edinburgh; containing 942 inhabitants, of whom 548 are in the village of Gilmerton, 4 miles (S. E. by S.) from Edinburgh. This district comprises about 1100 acres, the whole in tillage or pasture, with the exception of some small plantations around the seats of the principal heritors. It contains several coal-mines, of which those of Gilmerton, Drum, and Somerside are the principal: the Gilmerton mine ceased to be wrought in 1838, but is now again brought into operation. Iron-ore is known to exist in considerable quantity, some of it of the best black-band kind; and the lime-works here are, perhaps, among the oldest in the kingdom. Drum House, a fine mansion, was erected in 1698 by Lord James Somerville, but has since passed through the hands of various families; Gilmerton House, the property of Sir David Baird, Bart., is also an ancient structure; and an elegant residence in the Elizabethan style has lately been built at Fernieside. The village is situated on the road from Edinburgh to Carlisle, and colliers and carters from a large part of its population: in the district are the two smaller villages of Edgehead and Todhills. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the presbytery of Edinburgh and synod of Lothian and Tweeddale; and the patronage is vested in the male communicants. The church, opened for divine service in April, 1837, is a neat structure, seated for 300 persons, and built at a cost of about £600, raised by subscription aided by a grant from the General Assembly. The members of the Free Church also have a place of worship. There is a school, of which the teacher has a salary contributed by Sir David Baird and others, and a house and garden; and a small library was founded by the late Rev. James Grant, minister of Liberton. Gilmerton Cave, or, as it is usually termed, "the Cove," is a curious and extensive subterraneous passage, consisting of several apartments, dug out of the solid rock, with forms and tables, similarly wrought, for the convenience of visiters. It was the work of five years' hard labour of an eccentric individual, a blacksmith, named Paterson, by whom it was completed in 1724; and it has since continued to attract the attention of all strangers. In the cave is also a well.

   2) GILMERTON, a village, in the parish of Fowlis Wester, county of Perth; containing 203 inhabitants. This is a modern village of neat appearance, well built, and pleasantly situated on the high road from Perth to Crieff.