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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
World
Jacob Farr

Incredible Edinburgh image from the 1950s shows new suburb under construction

A copy of the Edinburgh Evening Dispatch from November 20 1953 has resurfaced and appears to show the first homes in the suburb of Clermiston being built.

The homes, which are situated on Clermiston Drive and Hill just off of Queensferry Road, were understood to be under construction in 1953.

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The copy of the Edinburgh Evening Dispatch belonged to Mrs Beth Barclay, 99, who was among the first to move into the row of houses at Clermiston Hill in 1954 with late husband John.

Her family stayed at the property throughout their life until Beth had to move into assisted living in Corstorphine, where she stays at present.

The couple shared the home with their two daughters Jacqueline and Gillian.

In the image shared with Edinburgh Live by neighbour Pauline Valentine, several construction workers can be seen pottering about.

As well as this, an old school bicycle and Volkswagen Beetle looking car can be seen on Clermiston Drive.

Newspaper clipping from 1953. (Mrs Beth Barclay, 99, formerly of Clermiston Hill.)

All in all, the place looks like a site that is very much under construction.

The picture is captioned: “Edinburgh Corporation housing scheme at Clermiston is now taking shape. There are a lot of bumps in the shape at the moment, but…”

The houses were understood to have been constructed by MacTaggart & Mickel, with the first work on the Clermiston estate taking place in the 1930’s before it was paused for the Second World War.

But shortly after the end of the war, plans were reinvigorated to construct a suburb to deal with the overcrowded areas of Gorgie and Leith.

The image was captured from the junction connecting Clermiston Avenue with Clermiston Drive.

The contrast between then and now is stark with the area being home to several families and greenspaces - not to mention the difference in cars parked on the street.

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