Gilmerton

Not to be confused with Gilmorton.
Gilmerton
Scottish Gaelic: Baile GhilleMhoire

Gilmerton Post Office
Gilmerton
 Gilmerton shown within Edinburgh
OS grid referenceNT2969
   – Edinburgh  4 miles (6.4 km) 
Council areaEdinburgh
Lieutenancy areaEdinburgh
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Edinburgh
Postcode district EH17
Dialling code 0131
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK ParliamentEdinburgh South
Scottish ParliamentEdinburgh Eastern
List of places
UK
Scotland
Edinburgh

Coordinates: 55°54′25″N 3°08′04″W / 55.9069°N 3.1344°W

Gilmerton (Scottish Gaelic: Baile GhilleMhoire) is a suburb of Edinburgh, about 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of the city centre.

The toponym "Gilmerton" is derived from a combination of Scottish Gaelic: Gille-Moire – a personal name and later surname meaning "Servant of [the Virgin] Mary", from which comes the first element, "Gilmer", – and Old English: ton meaning "settlement" or "farmstead". Versions of the name are recorded from the middle of the 12th century.

Gilmerton used to be a coal mining village. Below its centre is a series of shallow linked caves collectively called Gilmerton Cove. Traditionally they were attributed to the work of a local blacksmith, George Paterson, who supposedly completed excavations in 1724 and lived in the caves for several years, although there may be reasons to doubt this.

See also

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