Unveiling the Standing Stone in Juniper Green

A crowd of several hundred watched the unveiling of a standing stone in Juniper Green today

Following the ter-centenary of Juniper Green in 2007 (for the first mention of the name Juniper Green) a more lasting memorial was envisaged. So, the monument project was born. In a joint venture between Juniper Green 300 and Juniper Green Village Association. A local sculptor, Ian Newton of Nine Mile Burn, was commissioned to carve a monument out of green stone based on the designs of local artist Mick Brettle.  The standing stone incorporates symbols representing the stages of the village?s development from a Bronze Age settlement, the plant which gave the village its name and the mills which provided employment to local people for over 200 years.

Dr Alison Sheridan, Bronze Age expert from the National Museums of Scotland, guest speaker, explained that the first known inhabitant in this area lived 4,500 years ago! His skull is in the National Museum of Scotland. In the left of the picture, is a gentleman who attended the school next to the site at the corner of Belmont Road and Baberton Avenue in 1924!