Entering
the picturesque Dean Village is like stepping back
in time. Its history
can be traced back as far as 1128. Originally named
the Village of the Water of Leith, the
word Dean or 'Dene' meaning a deep valley. The
village, half a mile west of Deanhaugh Street,
was once a busy industrial village with eleven
mills powered by the fast flowing river.
'The Baxters' or baker's
guild provided the whole of Edinburgh and surrounding
villages with meal and thrived until the 19th Century
when the larger flour mills in Leith eventually
made them redundant.
Archictect Sydney Mitchell
was commissioned in 1884 by J. R. Finlay, (proprietor
of The Scotsman newspaper) to build Well Court
to provide housing for the village workers. The
building with the clock tower was the local community
hall. It is now an office.
The half timber building
on the south bank, named Hawthorn Buildings were
built in 1895.
There are many reminders
of the baxters of Dean in the form of stone carvings
and inscriptions above door lintels. One carries
the inscription;
" In
the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread" Genesis
3/19
The two crossed
'peels' carved on Brae Bridge date from 1643 and
represent the paddles used for taking bread from
a hot oven. The water of Leith Walkway passes through
Dean Village and continues on Westward towards
the
Scottish National Gallery
of Modern Art and Dean
Gallery.
|
