The colonies

Back at the dentists in Meadowbank this morning, this time for a regular checkup, which was fine. Back in 6 months ad they want to keep an eye on my gums. 

Anyway, today’s blip is of the Meadowbank colonies and here’s some history you want to (or not) read:

Adversity can lead to great things and when a group of builders found themselves locked out of their building sites due to a dispute about working hours in 1861, their three month ban lead to some creative thinking - the formation of the Edinburgh Co-operative Building Company (ECBC).  Started in 1867, these Abbeyhill (six terraces) colonies took ten years to build and is one of eleven such colonies in Edinburgh. 

Taking a decade to complete the Abbeyhill Colonies are set in six terraces providing 285 dwellings. They follow the distinctive early ‘colony’ design, developed through a clever and economic use of space. Each plot had a lower and upper dwelling, the shared roof and foundations reduced the building costs while windows on both sides of each individual property improved both ventilation and natural light. 

Inside, each property had its own parlour or front-room; a kitchen with a range plus a sink and piped cold-water; a WC and a bedroom. The Colonies provided high quality accommodation with a level of amenities that were previously unheard of for Edinburgh’s urban workers.

ECBC company shares could be bought in instalments and houses could be paid for over 14 years using a deposit and loan scheme (essentially an early form of mortgage). This made investment opportunities and homeownership affordable to working families on lower incomes for the first time. Unusually for the time, women could not only invest in the company but also had the same rights as male investors.  

So ahead of their times, quality houses built for the workers, by the workers.