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(Borough Muirhead, Burghmuirhead)

A name once used for the area between Bruntsfield and Morningside in Edinburgh, a mile (1.6 km) south southwest of the city centre. It was latterly applied to the section of road between Church Hill and Merchiston Place, centred on Holy Corner. Boroughmuirhead (Borough Muirhead or Burghmuirhead) was the highest point of the Borough Muir, the moorland to the south of the Burgh of Edinburgh which granted to Holyrood Abbey from the Royal Forest of Drumselch by King David I. It became common land and farmed by the burgesses of Edinburgh, given to the city in 1508 by King James IV. Plaque victims were taken from the city to the Borough Muir where they were quarantined and those who died were buried here. Despite seeming harsh, isolation on the Burgh Muir became a well-organised municipal service to prevent the spread of disease. Suspected plague victims had to be reported to the authorities, were removed from the city and once on the Borough Muir had their clothes washed in an attempt to disinfect them. The Borough Muir was also favoured as the mustering area of the Scottish Army, for example before the disastrous Battle of Flodden in 1513.

Boroughmuirhead Post Office closed in 2010. Boroughmuir High School opened on Warrender Park Crescent in 1904, moved to Viewforth in 1914, with a replacement school built nearby 2014-16.


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