The Friends Group has been busy compiling information and images of the garden’s history and evolution through the centuries, for review by Historic Scotland
One feature still intact is the ‘Vinehouse’, pictured to the left of the photograph below. So did they really grow grapes in Granton during the late 1800’s?
The Duke of Buccleuch employed a famous gardener of the time, William Thomson, specialising in viticulture.
So skilled a horticulturist infact that he bred grape varieties for the UK, some named after the Duke and his family members.
The Victorians were ingenious and creative in their cultivation methods and William Thomson battled against the Scottish climate to grow grapes of high quality. Glasshouses could provide the protection needed from the worst of the elements.
How the inside of the Vinehouse may have looked, hanging with scented muscat grapes.
William Thomson went on to open the first vineyard in Scotland, supplying fresh grapes to markets around the UK including Edinburgh.
His remarkable story can be read by clicking on the link Tweed-Vineyards-and-William-Thomson
