The tragic story of Cammo Estate | Edinburgh’s Lost Past

On the west edge of Edinburgh lies an estate with a tragic story.
Let me tell you how a family feud can ruin everything, turning a grand estate into a landscape of ruined structures and squandered potential.

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The first reference to Cammo, or Kammock as it was originally named, dates way back to 1345, when it is recorded the area was owned by the Abbot of Inchcolm, a medieval abbey located on the island of Inchcolm in the Firth of Forth.

Fast forward 300 years and we find a reference to Kammock on Cornelius Blaeu’s atlas of Scotland in 1654. This gives us a clue that a house already stood on this land. However in 1693 the then owner of the land, John Menzies commissioned the construction of a much grander house.

Later, in 1710, Sir John Clerk, a politician and keen landscape gardener owned the property. He laid out magnificent gardens with many of the trees planted by Sir John still existing to this day, including the oldest ash tree in Edinburgh.

Only 12 years later he sold the estate to a John Hog who, in 1726 had grand plans draw up to extend the house. Yet, it would seem beyond commissioning the renowned architect William Adam to draw up the plans, it was never undertaken.

A change of ownership occurred again in 1741 when the house passed to the Watsons of Saughton. They decided to rename the house New Saughton and constructed a Lodge at the main gate in 1789. Charles Watsons initials can be seen carved into the stone lintel above the door. Over the next 131 years of their ownership they improved the house and grounds and gave us this first recorded image of the house in 1794.

A stables building was added to the estate in 1811 providing accommodation for around seven horses along with a forge.

In 1837 the house changed hands and name once more. Having found fortune brewing beer, Archibald Campbell bought the house and renamed it Cammo. Here we see a photo of the grand house under their ownership in 1887.

Incidentally, at the time, the Campbell’s also owned a town house in the centre of Edinburgh, at 6 Charlotte Square. This is now Bute House, official residence of the First Minister of Scotland.

After Archibald’s death, the estate was bought in 1898 by Margaret Maitland-Tennent and this marks the beginning of the estate’s slide into the ruins we see today. Her marriage to David Bennet Clark was troublesome and upon a divorce in 1911 she remained in the house with her 2 sons. However by her death in 1955 she had disinherited one son, and had become a recluse along with her second son Percival.
It was he who inherited the estate in its entirety and oversaw its continued decline to ruin.

Upon his death in 1975 the estate passed to the National Trust for Scotland who had to pull down the abandoned house in 1979. A year later it passed to Edinburgh District Council for the princely sum of just £1.

Today, set out as a country walking park you can visit for free and see the gate house and grand entrance avenue, the remains of the main house, the Georgian stables, the servants cottages, the water tower, the canal, the Pinetum, and the remains of the walled garden.

By the way, you may have heard stories of there being a ghost in the estate. While the body of Margaret lays at rest in the grounds, it would seem she rests peacefully and ghost stories are simply fantasy.

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