On 10th November, our Treasurer, John Yellowlees, organised the unveiling of the plaque marking where the artist Charles H Mackie lived on the other side of the river from the park. You’ll see it behind the fence, near the new playpark.
The story was written up in the Edinburgh Reporter- read it at https://theedinburghreporter.co.uk/2021/11/new-plaque-commemorating-the-murrayfield-artist-charles-h-mackie/
Friends of Roseburn Park will be holding our virtual AGM on Wednesday 27th October at 7.30pm on Zoom.
If you would like to participate, please send an email to the Secretary at secretary@friendsofroseburnpark.org.uk and a week before the AGM we shall send you the link to the meeting. Our Annual report and accounts can be downloaded here: FoRP-Annual_Report+Accounts 2021
We lost the bench at the west entrance of the park near the doctor’s surgery during the flood improvement works and have been lobbying the Council for years for a replacement. Now, thanks to the intervention of Cllr Frank Ross it has been installed and what’s more, we’ve been given our very own plaque on it. We’re hoping it will draw a few more activists into FoRP…
Is this what the drinking fountain originally looked like ? Does its country cousin provide the answer?
The 1942 film The Message Must Get Through is the only record of its original appearance we have found. It shows that the Park’s unusual tapering type of Glenfield & Kennedy drinking fountain had some kind of projecting top. What did it look like? If anyone remembers, we’d very much like to hear from you.
Only two other examples of this type still exist, but only one of them still has what could be the same sort of top. It is in Kintore in Aberdeenshire, an appropriate spot for a broad Doric column, where it was photographed by Historic Scotland in 1970. Our thanks to Kenny Thomson of Kintore Community Council who took the coloured ones. It’s not clear exactly how it worked, but presumably water must have come out from the central hole. Perhaps the central cylinder was designed to hold a metal cup?
Kintore’s one also still has the typical G&K counterbalanced turn handle.
It seems likely that the Park’s fountain dates from 1935, when the nearby Pavilion was built as there’s no mention of it on OS maps until their next edition in the 1940’s.
We have prepared a feasibility study on bringning the fountain back into use. If you recall how Roseburn Park’s drinking fountain originally looked, please contact us at chair@friendsofroseburnpark.org.uk
FoRP are pleased to announce the launch of a new walking guide to Roseburn Park, researched and written by local resident Rosie Bell. Beginning at the west entrance to the park at Roseburn Place, the guide features the stadium, the Armoury, the murals, the Murrayfield DAFs and Wanderers, the ice rink, curling and flood defences. The guide links to associated documents on the park’s history as irrigated meadows, supporting the Dalry/Murrayfield mills and the Roseburn floods of April 2000.
More info on the Roseburn Park History page here
On Sunday 18th April, the FoRP volunteer taskforce were out watering and weeding our tubs and the many new trees in the park in what has been a very dry April. In particular, we have had two new cherry trees planted which really needed hydrating, as they are just coming into bud. These trees, near Roseburn Crescent, were funded by a grant from the Murrayfield DAFs cricket club and form part of the Ian Shiels memorial legacy.
The log bench also got a fresh coat of finishing oil, as the bark is beginning to shed; protecting what was underneath from the elements will help in securing its longevity.
The improvement work on the two pitches on the west side of Roseburn Park commenced today. The contractor, Allgrass Ltd, has been commissioned by Murrayfield Wanderers using funding from the SRU to improve drainage. First Allgrass must remove the turf; FoRP are pleased to observe that glysophate will not be used for this. The Wanderers have contributed to the funding to ensure that a mechanical removal (koroing) will be used instead. Care is also being taken to protect park trees.
The work will be completed in 30 weeks time – hopefully by the 11th October.
For more info, see our website post of August 2020.
We are looking for donations of trowels, forks or dibbers that our volunteer taskforce can use for maintaining the park. Each year they plant flowers and bulbs; weed and mulch the borders, tubs and planters, and water the new trees during dry spells. There are always places for more volunteers, too!
If you can assist, please email Barbara at secretary@friendsofroseburnpark.org.uk
Volunteers Ann Anderson, Isobel Sheppard and Barbara Knowles busy planting primulae and daffodils in November in the Triangle area of Roseburn Park, by Roseburn Crescent. An ongoing project, the border is already looking colourful.
