Moray House School of Education and Sport

The first phase of hostel building: 1913 - 1917

Following an initiative by Professor Alexander Darroch, Chairman of the Edinburgh Provincial Committee, and Professor Sir Richard Lodge, Dean of Edinburgh University’s Faculty of Arts, formal agreement was reached in July 1913 establishing The Edinburgh Association for the Provision of Hostels for Women Students.

The Association purchased approximately 19 acres of land at Craigmillar Park, East Suffolk Road, Newington, then part of a golf course. The cost was £10,707/1/0p.The pavilion in the adjacent field dates back to this golf course period.

The design of the hostels

The Architect appointed to design the hostels was Mr A K Robertson of Robertson & Swan, Edinburgh. He had drawn up the plans for the new Main Building at Holyrood (now Paterson’s land) that was opened in 1913.

A.K. Robertson and Lady Mackenzie, whose portrait hangs in Old Moray House, visited a number of sites in England before the scheme for the hostels was drawn up. The buildings were designed in the Lorimer Arts and Crafts idiom with the frontages and side elevations incorporating stone from Craigleith Quarry and with brick and harling to the rears.

The original plan for the 1913 scheme was for seven hostels, two gate lodges and recreation facilities, with a projected cost of £80,000. However, detailed drawings were prepared for just three hostels accommodating 156 students. The costs were shared 5/7ths and 2/7ths between the Training College and Edinburgh University respectively. The University met its share via a loan from the Carnegie Universities Trust. These first buildings and their fittings were to cost some £55,000.

The hostels provided each student with an individual study bedroom, heated by an open fireplace. A number of small apartments, fitted with sinks, electric irons, kettles etc, were provided on the bedroom floors for students' use. Each hostel had a spacious dining room‘to which is attached a servery and kitchen, equipped with an efficient and up-to-date installation for cooking by coal and steam’. For general use hostels had common rooms and libraries. Electric lighting was installed throughout but there was no central heating.

Sporting facilities were provided, including tennis courts and hockey pitches.

Transport to and from the Halls to the University or the Training College at Moray House was by tramcar, the journey taking some twenty minutes.

The hostels open

In spite of the outbreak of the First World War two of the hostels became available to students in October 1916 with the third opening in the 1916/17 session.

Sir Alfred Ewing, Principal of Edinburgh University, formally opened the campus on 1st June 1917. These hostels were named Buchanan, Balfour and Playfair.

Ethel McKnight was appointed as the first Principal Warden.

Follow this link to learn more about student recollections from these early hostels.

Hostel names

The five hostels at Newington were named after famous Scots or Scottish families:

  • Balfour: Lord Balfour, then Chancellor of Edinburgh University
  • Buchanan: The Buchanan family, in recognition of its contribution to the arts and humanities in Scotland
  • Playfair: The Playfair family for its contribution to science, mathematics and architecture
  • Carlyle: Thomas Carlyle, writer and historian
  • Darroch: Professor Alexander Darroch, Bell Professor of Education at Edinburgh University, and Chairman of the Edinburgh Provincial Committee for the Training of Teachers from 1909 to his unexpected death on the island of Jura in 1924. He was a key figure in the establishment of the Hostels Association.