Stockbridge is thought to have taken its name from the first timber, or stock, bridge over the river. The village was a rural community with many of its population working in the flour mills or tan pits. In the 18th century it became a popular retreat for city dwellers coming to sample the mineral waters at nearby St Bernard’s Well. In the early 19th century, landowners like Sir Henry Raeburn, the portrait painter, developed charming Georgian streets such as Dean Terrace and Ann Street, the latter named after Raeburn’s wife Ann Leslie.
Gradually the city expanded to envelope the village and today Stockbridge is an attractive and bustling shopping and residential area. The Walkway continues down the steps, leading Falshaw Bridge, from where you will need to follow a short diversion on to the road to continue along the Walkway onto Arboretum Avenue. However, to see the next Gormley standing man you will need to look upstream from the bridge.
The next audio marker downstream is along Rocheid Path near the lifting footbridge.
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Video created by Bryce Morrison, Edinburgh U3A Movie Makers Group
