The name Swanston is thought to be derived from
Old Norse Sveins tún, meaning Sveinn's enclosure or farm. It first appears in a document of 1214, referring to Sveinn's farm within the Barony of Redhall. There is some evidence that the farming estate dates back to the 9th century. The name also appears in 14th century charters granted in the reign of
David II. It is listed as part of land owned by
Knights Templars who had settled at
Temple in what is now
Midlothian in the 12th century. Further evidence of the Templars' association with Swanston is found in a charter granted by
James VI in 1614 which lists all their possessions in Scotland, including a reference to
terras templaris de Swainstoun possess. The restoration earned a
Scottish Civic Trust Commendation in 1964. The farmhouse and the school house have also been renovated and are now private residences.
Edinburgh's water supply From the 1760s, Swanston played a role in supplying the population of Edinburgh with fresh water. A 1758
Act of Parliament had given
Edinburgh Corporation the right to extract water from springs in the area to increase the supply of fresh water to the town. This measure was vigorously opposed by the land owner, Henry Trotter, who claimed that he needed the water for his own use. Trotter started legal action to enforce his claim, ending in an unsuccessful appeal to the
House of Lords in May 1760. The Corporation proceeded to lay wooden pipes to carry water from several of the springs. A cistern house, three sand filter beds and a cottage for the water engineer were constructed; these can all still be seen, situated about to the west of Swanston Road. After the engineer's cottage was built, the Corporation decided that they needed further accommodation to serve as a general meeting house. To fill that need, a small, single-storey thatched cottage was built on high ground a short distance to the north west. This became known as Swanston Cottage. According to Robert Louis Stevenson, "after [the city fathers] had built their water-house and laid their pipes, it occurred to them that the place was suitable for junketing. Once entertained, with jovial magistrates and public funds, the idea led speedily to accomplishment; and Edinburgh could soon boast of a municipal Pleasure House".
Associations with Robert Louis Stevenson Between 1867 and 1880, Robert Louis Stevenson's family held a lease on Swanston Cottage, which they used as a summer holiday home. The house had by then been modernised and enlarged, with the addition of a second storey, bow windows, a single-story extension, and a slate roof to replace the original thatch. During the family's tenancy, the young Robert Louis Stevenson made frequent use of the cottage, being attracted by the quiet country life and the feeling of remoteness. It is likely that the time he spent there influenced his later writing as well as his wider outlook on life, particularly his love of nature and of wild places. The house and its romantic location are thought to have inspired several of his works. Swanston Cottage itself appears in Stevenson's unfinished novel,
St. Ives. It is where the title character, a French prisoner of war, seeks shelter after escaping from
Edinburgh Castle. He later obtains help from two drovers, Simms and Candlish, who were probably based on John Todd, a Swanston shepherd with whom Stevenson enjoyed a lasting friendship. When the club closed in 2013, the Swanston Golf Club took over part of its course. ==Swanston today==