History of Craiglockhart

The land and buildings at the University's Craiglockhart Campus have a recorded history going back for more than 700 years.

Notable dates

1250
The recorded history of the lands of Craiglockhart begins with Lockhart of Lee.

1324
The lands are donated to John of Cowie.

1505
Thomas Kincaid is granted ownership by the King.

17th century
There are six recorded owners including Alexander Monro, Professor of Anatomy at Edinburgh University.

1863
The lands are sold to the City of Edinburgh Parochial Board.

1877
Thirteen acres of the land is feued to the Craiglockhart Hydropathic Company, who subsequently open the Craiglockhart Hydropathic in 1880.

1916
The building is taken over by the Government as a military hospital for the treatment of shell-shocked officers during the First World War.

1920
The Hydropathic is closed and sold to the Society of the Sacred Heart, who open a training college for Catholic teachers.

1984
The college is bought by Napier College of Commerce and Technology, now Edinburgh Napier University.

To find out more about the war poets, the Carmichael family, the history of Craiglockhart, and the psychiatric therapies carried out here, further background information can be found on The War Poets at Craiglockhart.