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Three ornately carved Coade stone columns stand among grasses at Portobello Community Gardens, an information sign set in front and a church spire visible behind.
Lothian

Coade Stone Columns

Three ornate pillars of Coade stone in a community garden on Portobello promenade, rescued from a garden in 1989 and put up again in 2006.

Welcome

In a small community garden on the promenade at Portobello, at the foot of John Street, stand three tall, ornate pillars.

They are made of Coade stone, a hard-wearing artificial stone fired like pottery at the Coade factory in Lambeth, and they date from the early 19th century.

Nobody knows quite how they came to Portobello. For many years they stood in the garden of Argyle House, off the High Street. The two smaller ones carry the same designs as the Coade chimneys of Dalmeny House, the Earl of Rosebery's seat near South Queensferry: a fleur-de-lis, a Tudor rose, and a lion holding what may be a primrose, Primrose being the family name. A great cargo of Coade stone was shipped to Leith around 1820, and some of it may have found its way here.

In 1989 the pillars were toppled to make way for an extension, and local people turned out to rescue the pieces. After years in storage they were restored and put up again in this garden in 2006.

A short drive awaySheep Heid InnAn inn in Duddingston village with a claim to 1360, one of the oldest in Scotland, with a skittle alley of the 1880s still in play.8 min by roadSee itSheep Heid Inn
Before you go

In a public garden on the promenade, there at any time.

Where
The Promenade at John Street, Portobello.
Made
Early 19th century.
Put up
In this garden, 2006.

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Where it is

In the community garden on the Promenade at the foot of John Street, Portobello.

Close byPortobello.
  1. Cyclist rides past a mural-painted pink kiosk on the promenade under coloured flagsPortobello PromenadeThe Victorian promenade along Portobello's beach, just east of Edinburgh city centre.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. The blue shopfront of Rising Tide Cafe on Portobello High Street, with blue chairs and round tables out on the pavement.Rising Tide CafeUnder a mile as the crow flies
  3. Woman standing between a gallery and Twelve Triangles bakery shopfrontThe Velvet EaselA gallery of contemporary Scottish art on Portobello High Street since 2013: painting, sculpture, ceramics, glass and jewellery.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Portobello BeachPortobello BeachThe sands beside the garden.Under a mile 2 min by road
  5. Empty plates and coffee cups on a wooden table overlooking a sandy beachThe Beach House, PortobelloThe cafe on the promenade.Under a mile 2 min by road
  6. Portobello Bottle KilnsPortobello Bottle KilnsThe old pottery kilns.Under a mile 3 min by road
Directions
Cove shop front listing gifts, skincare and jewellery, covescotland.com signage aboveAttractionsPortobello’s High Street0.6 miles
Green shopfront of The Portobello Bookshop, number 46, with "We Are 2 Years Old" window artShoppingThe Portobello Bookshop0.7 miles
Cyclist rides past a mural-painted pink kiosk on the promenade under coloured flagsRestaurantsCiverinos Slice0.8 miles
Cyclist passes Oscar's ice cream kiosk with painted barrels outsideRestaurantsOscar's on the Prom0.9 miles
Customer at the wooden Shrimp Shack kiosk beneath coloured flagsRestaurantsShrimpwreck1.0 miles
Rows of small boats resting on mudflats behind a harbour wallAttractionsFisherrow Harbour1.8 miles
Water of Leith winds through Dean Village beneath timber-fronted tenements and stone wallsAttractionsAround Duddingston village1.8 miles
Wooded hillside slopes down to a calm loch under grey skiesAttractionsDuddingston Loch2.0 miles
White-washed Sheep Heid Inn Duddingston with black-framed windows and a ram's head signRestaurantsSheep Heid Inn2.1 miles

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the columns, and when each is next free.

A turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • 3 miles from the Coade Stone Columns
Check datesA hotel studio room with a beige fitted kitchen unit and stainless sink beside a bed dressed in white and teal cushions, a wall of black-framed pictures above a patterned headboard.Old Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • 3 miles from the Coade Stone Columns
Check datesA round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • 3 miles from the Coade Stone Columns
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Lothian
  • 4 miles from the Coade Stone Columns
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in LothianAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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