Baberton
Encyclopedia
Baberton is a suburb of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, the capital of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It is south-west of the Edinburgh City Bypass
Edinburgh City Bypass
The Edinburgh City Bypass, designated as A720, is one of the most important trunk roads in Scotland. Circling around the south of Edinburgh, as the equivalent of a ring road for the coastal city, it links together the A1 towards north-east England, the A702 towards north-west England, the M8...

, and south of the Edinburgh to Bathgate railway line. The village of Juniper Green
Juniper Green
Juniper Green is a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland situated 9 kilometres south west of the city centre. It bridges the city bypass, and extends along the foothills of the Pentlands. It is bordered by Colinton to the east and Currie to the south-west. Administratively, Juniper Green...

 is situated to the south of Baberton. From Baberton there about a 20 minute walk to the foot of the Pentland Hills
Pentland Hills
The Pentland Hills are a range of hills to the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. The range is around 20 miles in length, and runs south west from Edinburgh towards Biggar and the upper Clydesdale.Some of the peaks include:* Scald Law...

.

The majority of Baberton comprises a housing estate
Housing estate
A housing estate is a group of buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Accordingly, a housing estate is usually built by a single contractor, with only a few styles of house or building design, so they tend to be uniform in appearance...

, built during the 1960s by George Wimpey
George Wimpey
George Wimpey was formed in 1880 and, based in Hammersmith, operated largely as a road surfacing contractor. The business was acquired by Godfrey Mitchell in 1919 and he developed it into the UK’s pre-eminent construction and housebuilding firm. In 2007, Wimpey merged with Taylor Woodrow to create...

. The estate was built as a dormitory suburb where the residents will mainly work in the city centre, although more widespread travel since the estate's completion means some residents work elsewhere, including Livingston and Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...

.

Baberton House was designed and built in 1623 by the architect Sir James Murray
James Murray (architect)
Sir James Murray of Kilbaberton, , was a Scottish master wright and architect. He served as the King's Master of Works under James VI, and Charles I. He was one of the first men in Scotland to be called an architect....

 of Kilbaberton (d.1634), King's Master of Works
Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland
The Master of Works to the Crown of Scotland was responsible for the construction, repair and maintenance of royal palaces, castles and other crown property in Scotland. The main buildings were; Holyroodhouse; Edinburgh Castle; Stirling Castle; Linlithgow Palace; and Falkland Palace. The position...

. Murray built the house for himself, although it is now used as offices.

When Baberton was built in the 1960s it was jokingly referred to as "Spam Valley" due to the tendency for residents to contribute large proportions of their salary to buy a house there.
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