Comely Gardens House

In 1859, it was a fairly large house, already over 300 years old, divided in two. Said to have belonged to Lord Balserino in the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots.

One of only a few houses in the area, it stood well back from Spring Gardens, a quiet country road and extension of Abbey Hill, on the outskirts of Edinburgh. The front of the house faced Arthur's seat.

It had a delightful old-fashioned garden, with lots of shrubs and flowers and good ground for vegetable and fruit bushes. From the flower garden, in front of the house, there was a very pretty view of the East window of the ruined chapel of Holyrood Palace. Beyond the flower garden there was a small paddock surrounded by beautiful old elm trees with a gate at the bottom leading directly to the Parade Ground where the soldiers frequently exercised. St. Mary's Loch was just beyond.