| Cameron Toll | |
|---|---|
 Lady Road, the main road outside Cameron Toll Shopping Centre, leading to Peffermill Road and Old Dalkeith Road. | |
  Cameron Toll Location within theCity of Edinburgh council area Show map of the City of Edinburgh council area | |
| Council area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | EDINBURGH |
| Postcode district | EH16 |
| Dialling code | 0131 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| 55°55′44″N3°9′42″W / 55.92889°N 3.16167°W /55.92889; -3.16167 | |
Cameron Toll is asuburb located to the south ofEdinburgh,Scotland. Originally it was the site of atoll house built in the early 19th century, which was located on a stretch of road between Edinburgh andDalkeith. Today the area is home to Cameron Toll Shopping Centre, which opened in 1984. The meaning of the name Cameron is suggested to be 'crooked hill', derived from theScots Gaelic 'cam', crooked, andOld Irish 'brun' meaning hill, believed to refer toArthur's Seat clearly visible nearby; the original name may have beenPictish.[1] There are a few small housing estates to the east of the area.
Cameron Toll is 2 miles from Edinburgh city centre, 2 miles from theEdinburgh City Bypass and is served by many bus services to and from Edinburgh andMidlothian. It is close toThe Grange andNewington and the area calledThe Inch.
The area is the location of Cameron Toll Shopping Centre (known as just 'Cammy T's' to locals), Edinburgh's first ‘out of town’ shopping centre, which opened in 1984 at a cost of £33 million. Built in the former grounds ofInch House between theA7 and A701 roads, the centre occupies a 26-acre site.[2][citation needed] Cameron Toll had the first ever bank that opened on Sundays in the UK. It also led the way by having lighting which was controlled by a computer system.
The shopping centre includes several amenities, including a post box, a variety of seating and tables in the main hall, free public toilets, a petrol station, bicycle and motorcycle parking, photobooths and a water bottle refill station.[3] The Shopping Centre has a community fund that regularly awards large sums of money to local projects and charitable causes.[4]
The main shops in Cameron Toll areSainsbury's andAldi.[2] The centre also includes aGym Group gym.[5] With construction starting in 2016 and finishing in 2018,The Gym Group opened a brand new gym on the second floor of the centre, fully replacing the food court upstairs.[6] Following the opening of the new gym, the centre changed its opening hours to be 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.[7]
From 2015 to 2018, the shopping centre underwent a major overhaul of the shops and facilities. In September 2016,McDonald's andCosta both completed new drive-thru locations in the northeast car park.[8] In 2017, a newAldi store was opened, replacing theBHS location that closed in August 2016.[9]Poundland was opened in October 2018, replacing the oldPoundworld store that shut down earlier that year.[10]
The Centre originally housed parking for 1158 cars, but afterMcDonald's andCosta opened their new outlets, parking was reduced to 1028 spaces.[11]
TheBraid Burn runs through the area.Agnes Sampson andBarbara Napier, two womenaccused of witchcraft, met at "Camroune-brig-end" for friendly talks and to "contract hameliness".[12][13] To the east are theUniversity of Edinburgh's Peffermill playing fields. Formerly known as the "King's Meadows", these were once part of the royalForest of Drumselch. The element "end" in the old place name may refer to an ancient forest boundary.[14]
There was flooding at the bridge and causeway called the "Lady Brigend" in the 16th century. This was probably near the present bridge at "Cameron Mill lade". Local inhabitants petitioned thePrivy Council of Scotland to repair the bridge and mitigate the flooding in 1595.James VI allowed them to charge a two pence toll to carriers using the bridge to pay for necessary repairs.[15][16] The rebelArchibald Wauchope of Niddrie was captured nearby atBridgend on 12 May 1589 by Andrew Edmonstone, after a standoff was ended byJames VI of Scotland.[17]
The shopping centre was built on the low-lying flood plain of the Braid Burn, which is culverted for much of its course through this neighbourhood. Flooding of the area took place soon after the centre's opening and has recurred several times: in August 2008 local residents had to deal with metre-high floods. Between 2004 and 2010 the City of Edinburgh Council implemented flood prevention measures along much of the course of the Braid Burn. However the shopping centre and its immediate environs remain a target area for which theScottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) undertakes to provide flood warnings as necessary.[18]
Liberton Bank House, now acategory C listed building, lies on the south-west corner of the site.[19] Built around 1780, it was occupied by the educational and social reformer Mary Burton from 1844.[19] She was friendly with the Conan Doyle family and the youngArthur Conan Doyle, stayed there with her so that he could be close to his school Newington Academy at 6 Arniston Place, which he attended from 1866 to 1868.[20] It also allowed him some refuge from the influence of his alcoholic father.[21] Since a major restoration by Groves-Raines Architects in 2007 this has housed Dunedin School, which provides secondary education for pupils for whom mainstream education is not appropriate.[22] The Conan Doyle Medical Centre next to it was designed by Richard Murphy Architects and opened in 2007.[23]
Media related toCameron Toll at Wikimedia CommonsResidential areas in theEdinburgh (settlement) urban area | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | .jpg) | |||
| South East | ||||
| South West | ||||
| North West | ||||
| East Lothian |
| |||
See also:Areas of Edinburgh | ||||
