from the Meadows The Meadows is historically
common land and although now in the care of the council is technically in the ownership of the community itself. It was used for unhindered common grazing until at least 1920 and only with the demise of this need did it become exclusively "a park". The Meadows originally contained a
loch, known as the "burgh loch" or, later, the "South Loch". It covered much of the area bounded in the east by Hope Park Terrace and in the west by the point where Melville Drive becomes Brougham Street, and in the south by Melville Drive and in the north by the site later occupied by the Old Royal Infirmary, a total of . The loch drained from east to west, where the
burn known as the Loch-rin was fitted with a
sluice gate to prevent the water from draining out. It is from this burn that the street names Lochrin Buildings and Lochrin Place in
Tollcross derive. Until Edinburgh's first piped water supply from Comiston arrived in 1621, the loch provided much of the town's drinking water. It was partially drained in the mid-17th century and for a time named Straiton's Loch or Straiton's Park after the
burgess who tried to improve the area. In 1722
Sir Thomas Hope, 8th Baronet Hope of Craighall (c. 1681–1771), an agricultural improver and politician, ordered more drainage work, making the marshy land into a park with a path round the edge, hedges, avenues of lime trees, drainage canals and a summer house. The central tree-lined path known as Middle Meadow Walk followed, and for several decades maps labelled this area as "The Meadows or Hope Park". It is the traditional practice ground of the
Royal Company of Archers, whose meeting-place is nearby. In 1827 an Act of Parliament protected the Meadows from being built upon. Though animals were grazed there and notable Edinburgh citizens are known to have walked there, there was no full right of public access until the middle of the 19th century when new paths were gradually added, criss-crossing the park. An exception to
city council rules against building on the land was allowed for the temporary large glass
pavilion of the 1886
International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art. A few remanants of the fair remain in place including the Prince Albert Sundial near the west entrance and the
Brass Founders' Pillar though the pillar was relocated to Nicolson Square when the exhibition ended. The
whale's jawbones forming an arch over the Meadows path called Jawbone Walk originally formed the display stand of the Zetland and Fair Isle Knitters Association. Having been severely affected by weathering, the Arch was removed in 2014 for restoration. In early 2022 it was announced that the jawbones were too badly damaged to be put back. There was an unsuccessful proposal to create a
bronze replica, with the originals displayed indoors in a suitable environment. In the 1870s the Meadows became an important venue in the early development of
football in Edinburgh. Amongst the numerous fledgling teams using the Meadows were
Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) and
Hibernian, later to become the city's pre-eminent sides, and the first
derby match between them was played there on 25 December 1875. Although a modern plaque has been placed near Whalebone Arch to commemorate the event, the main pitch was on the eastern fringe of the park, running from east to west, parallel with the Boroughloch Brewery. During the Second World War, more than 500
allotments were distributed in the Meadows as part of the
Victory garden programme to grow food. They lasted until the 1960s. In the late 1960s, plans to complete a "flyover" over the Meadows for a trunk road were defeated. == Events ==