The Dower House

The Corstorphine Heritage Centre / Dower House History

Early Etching of the
Dower House

The Dower House, standing back from Corstorphine High Street on the edge of St. Margaret's Park, is owned by the City of Edinburgh Council.

When it became available in 1991, the Corstorphine Trust was given a long lease on the house and responsibility for its restoration and development for community use.

We can trace the house and grounds back to 1587 when it was in the ownership of James Ingles. The name Dower House probably originates from J.P. Wood's Draft History of Corstorphine Parish, (1792) in which the author says when speaking of the old castle "were carried away probably to build Mr. Mitchelson's house that was the residence of the Lord Forresters".

It is sometimes called Gibsone’s Lodge from its late 18th century occupants, the Gibsones of Pentland. The building has characteristic Scottish crow-stepped gables, and scrolled skew puts. The exterior is harled. Renaissance moulding is a feature of the entrance above which is the moulded border of an armorial panel, unfortunately now missing.

The building has definitely been altered over the years, some of the internal walls and the floor levels suggest that the east and west gables were built at different times. There are also skew puts on the east end which are remnants from when the house was attached to a cottage that used to be built against the Dower House and protruded over what is now the road of Orchardfield.

The Corstorphine Trust entered into negotiations regarding the lease of the house in the late 1980's. This was formerly agreed and renovations put in hand, but before work started, the house was broken into and set on fire. This resulted in much superficial damage and the loss of a wall painting on the mid-floor.

Work on restoration of the fabric of the building has been completed with financial support from Historic Scotland, the Lottery Fund, and generous bequests.

The Archive Room and the Corstorphine Local History Museum have also been refurbished with the help of a generous bequest from one of our founder members, and former custodian of the Dower House, Mr Kenneth McKenzie. The Museum has been named "The McKenzie Room" in his honour.

In 2000 The Corstorphine Trust decided that a better and more meaningful name for the house would be The Corstorphine Heritage Centre.

The Corstorphine Trust now has as its base a superb property and Corstorphine has a unique historical landmark and a venue for small private functions or regular use by clubs and societies at reasonable costs.

The Corstorphine Heritage Centre is open to the public on Wednesday and Saturday mornings throughout the year for Trust members to meet socially over coffee, tea, and refreshments. Non-members are very welcome to drop in at these times to discover for themselves the opportunities which the Heritage Centre provides.

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