GOGAR VILLAGE
Nether Gogar.
1453. The uncles of Sir Robert Logan 3rd Baron of Restalrig were given a yearly sum of £10 from the lands of Nether Gogar to maintain their nephew who was a minor.
William Hardy was sent to Gogar in 1549 to arrest goods belonging to the Young family who had killed James Crauford.
Property of the De Lestalric (Restalrig) family; Robert Logan of Restalrig (The Gowrie Conspirator, who died a bankrupt in 1606) had in 1596 sold his estate of Nether Gogar to Andrew Logan of Coalfield.
In 1572 the folk who threshed the corn belonging to Agnes Gray had to bring the grain into Edinburgh and consequently expenses were paid in “hors hyris”.
Some of the Gogar maltmen and mealmakers were summoned to appear before the Regent and the Lords of the Secret Council in 1572. Sharp trading practices such as regrating (buying in one market and re-selling at the same or another market) horses in and out of the market led to £5 fines for Gilbert Eiston and Thomas King. “Foirstalling” (buying up on the way to market or dissuading a person to take goods to the market – doing anything to increase the market price) the public market was one of the charges against Thomas Haistie. Regrating and forestalling were crimes: the law was concerned to ensure that no one was prevented from getting goods at reasonable rates.
Edinburgh had strict regulations on the sale of malt and contravention of the Acts dealing with malt prices resulted in fines for William Bishop and William Welschot, both in Over Gogar and for Thomas Black, a Cottar in Gogar Village.
During the troubled times of Mary Queen of Scots, David Balfour of Nether Gogar was put to the horn for taking part in the battle of Langside.
Justice Ayres records of 1575 and 1576 show that the men of Gogar had commercial acumen in making the most out of the difficult times in Edinburgh when the castle was held by Queen Mary’s supporters under Kirkcaldy of the Grange. The law was kept busy dealing out fines to the Gogar men who supplied the Queen’s men in the castle and in the city. Those convicted for supplying victuals to the rebels included Gilbert Eiston and Thomas King, both cottars in Nether Gogar and John Crauford and Thomas Haistie. Guilty of communication with the rebels was the charge against Robert Young and William Johnston.
In addition to sharp dealing in food Nicolas Young and John Uchiltrie were found guilty of wounding each other in the head. No doubt the assault arose over a clash in their trading schemes but it cost Young £13 6s. 8d. and Uchiltrie was also found guilty of usury. The Uchiltries seem to have been a contentious family. John had a conviction for cutting down green trees in Nicol Young’s yard and Robert was held for the destruction of green woods as well as assault on various people and “common tuilze”. John Uchiltrie was also in trouble for absenting himself from the army, as were Nicolas Young and Robert Young.
Oct. 27. 1640 JOANNES COUPER de Nethergogar, hæres Joannis Couper de Nethirgogar, patris, - in terris et villa Nethergogar, ab antiquo in baronia de Restalrig per annexationem: - A.E. 10l. N.E.40l. - 4 acris terrarum ecclesiasticarum de Gogar, cum Burnecruik et pastura trium vaccarum, &c. - E.3l. 16s. 8d. - Aliis 4 acris terrarum ecclesiasticarum de Gogar olim Jacobo Crawfurd in Nether-Gogar perintentibus cum pastura: - E. 5m. - 9 acris villæ et terrarum de Bruchtoun cum mansione; - 12½ acris et 20 lie fallis dictæ villæ et terrarum de Bruchtoun; - 2 acris terrarum de Brughton in Head de Drumsheuch; - 16 acris dictæ villæ et terrarum de Bruchtoun; - 2 interliriis lie Rinrigis dictarum terrarum et villæ de Bruchtoun in Over Shot, in regalitate dé Brughtoun: - E. 16l. 11s. 5d. - Dimidia parte dimidietatis terrarum de Abden de Ratho vulgariter nuncupatis Rathobyris in baronia de Kirklistoun et regalitate de Sanct Andros. - A.E. 13s. 4d. N.E. 40s. xvi. 61.
1649 Kett Gibb of Gogar tried as a Witch.
1667 John Young was the Schoolmaster.
1683 James Ritchie was the Smith.
On 6th December 1698 William Crawmond, son of John Crawmond, tenant in Gogar, was indentured to Samuel Gordon freeman Cordiner Burgess of Edinburgh. William was to serve five years to learn the cordiner craft. He undertook to be diligent and obedient. He was not to absent himself day or night from his master without permission: if he did so he had to serve two days more for every day of absence. Moreover, if William committed fornication or adultery he was to serve an extra three years as an apprentice.
The boy’s father was to provide clothes and arrange for repairing and washing them. If the lad took part in any rioting in the city he was to lose any benefit he might get from being indentured. Gordon promised to teach his craft, not concealing any of his skills. He was also to provide bed and board and to register his apprentice in the books of the Dean of Guild.
In 1699 it appears that there was a schoolmaster in the parish as two are recorded as being appointed at Corstorphine. One as the master for Corstorphine, presumably the other, Thomas Wharry, was appointed for Gogar.
1712 John Cowans was the Dominie at the school.
In April 1714, the fees per quarter to be charged by the parish schoolmaster were fixed by the kirk-session (Corstorphine) as follows,
| Latin and arithmetic | 2s 6d |
| English and writing | 1s 8d |
| English alone | 1s 2d |
1729 James Baron was teaching at Gogar.
1742 Teacher Alexander Lourie died and was replaced by James Buchanan.
In September 1756, the fees per quarter to be charged by the parish schoolmaster were altered to the following,
| Latin | 5s |
| Writing and arithmetic | 2s 6d |
| English | 2s |
The kirk session in 1749 paid Mr. Crombie for teaching poor children at Gogar.
1794 The ruinous smithy was demolished to allow road widening.
1807 Alexander Macgregor, Schoolmaster.
Gogar is said to have been a considerable village, which at one point had 300 inhabitants. Around 1775 among its constant residents were, a watchmaker, flesher, baker, blacksmith and wright besides the schoolmaster. In 1838 the village population had fallen to seven families, comprising 24 individuals. Now a baker, blacksmith and wright and two or three families of farm servants, constitutes its whole population.
Sir Robert Liston purchased the old village of Gogar in 1831/2 for £371, with a view to providing homes for ladies of decayed fortunes, however this was a failed venture.
He had the ruinous cottages removed; Joseph Bell, farmer, who had used these for his horses and cattle, was given a new set of offices. The steading provided was built of solid expensive material, the stones being squared and coursed, the roofs slated and the woodwork of the best quality. Liston spent over £600 on these improvements alone. In addition he had a new road (bounded on both sides by substantial dykes) made exclusively for the use of the farm on the east side of his grounds. Workshops proposed for the carpenter and the blacksmith were never erected. On the east he erected a cottage at a cost of £400, a little distant from the highway, as a model of what he proposed. In 1866 this cottage was let to Mathew Young, the village carpenter, who without permission cut down a tree there. Sir Robert also set up a threshing mill.
There has been since the middle of the seventeenth century a school at the village of Gogar. It is supported by subscriptions, which at present (1839) amount to (£) L. 9 per annum. The school fees per quarter are,
| English | 2s 6d |
| English and arithmetic. | 3s |
The number of scholars averages about 40.
1841 Census
James Walker (55) Teacher,
his wife whose name is illegible (40),
a daughter called after her mother (15).
John Weston (30) Blacksmith,
his wife whose name is illegible (25),
Thomas (5),
David (3),
John (1).
On Sunday 28th May 1843, the First Corstorphine Free Church service was held in Corstorphine, the Gogar Blacksmith,John Weston,led the praise.
A house in the village was used as an adventure school. Mr. Walker taught at one end and lived with his family at the other.The proprietors contributed to its upkeep.
In 1845 the Corstorphine minister Mr. Horne, persuaded the heritors to grant Mr. Walker a retiring pension of £12 yearly.
As the house was in such poor repair, Mr. Melville of Hanley renovated the property to provide a proper school. His wife, who had an interest in education supervised the school and appointed a teacher, whose salary Mr. Melville paid. This was an independent school, not connected to the church, and was active in the 1840s and 1850s. In 1852 the teacher was a Miss Forrester.
In 1846 a branch line of Edinburgh and Glasgow railway was proposed from Gogar to South Queensferry but it was not carried out.Twenty years later the branch was built at Ratho.
1851 Census
Mathew Young (33) was Journeyman Carpenter,
Agnes (25),
Mathew (8),
Helen (6),
John Weston (41) Master Blacksmith, employing one man,
Katherine (37),
David (19),
Thomas (15),
John (11),
Walter (9),
Janet (9),
Euphemia (4),
Katherine (2),
John Brown (24), Journeyman Blacksmith, who lodged with them.
1871 Census
John Weston Blacksmith employing two men,
Mathew Young Joiner employing one man.
1881 Census
Mathew Young (63) Master Wright,employing one man,
Agnes (55),
David Weston (43) Blacksmith, employing two men.
In 1927 the smiddy and joiner’s shop were taken down to make way for road improvements. The smiddy window stonework, cut and redressed, was incorporated into the front of 6 Featherhall Avenue, Corstorphine. The new smithy (currently a vehicle repair shop) was built back from the line of the new road. Two cottages and a shoeing shed were also erected. In 1973 the roadway was again widened and the trees and grass strip to the south of these buildings was cleared for the new carriageway.
In February 2003 as land clearance for the new flyover into the Royal Bank of Scotland site was carried out an archaeological discovery was made. Situated on the north side of the roadway adjacent to the Gogarburn were large quantities of white gritty pottery, a mill lade, a stone covered drain and several pits. The pits contained large amounts of unabraded pottery, much of which is medieval.
The mill lade is some 5m wide but described as very shallow, no evidence has been found of a mill and it may lie to the east of the finds.
The finds indicate that the shards of pottery were not spread during the manuring of the fields. This in turn indicates domestic use rather than industrial.
The site of the medieval village, which was probably abandoned in the 12th/13th century is believed to be to the east under the now demolished vehicle repair shop. It is also likely to extend under the remaining cottages. This site is on the proposed route of the T. I. E plan and as such should be excavated during the construction of the said transport link, which is currently due to be completed by 2009.
Gogar Village Plan c1829 ©
From collection of Mrs. M. Day.