Gilmerton

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Gilmerton
Gilmerton Post Office
Gilmerton Location within the City of Edinburgh council area Show map of the City of Edinburgh council area Gilmerton Location within Scotland Show map of Scotland
OS grid reference	NT2969
• Edinburgh	4 miles (6.4 km)
Council area	City of Edinburgh
Lieutenancy area	Edinburgh
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Edinburgh
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Edinburgh South
Scottish Parliament	Edinburgh Eastern
List of places UK Scotland 55°54′25″N 3°08′04″W / 55.9069°N 3.1344°W / 55.9069; -3.1344

Gilmerton is a suburb of Edinburgh, about 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of the city centre.

The toponym "Gilmerton" is derived from a combination of Scottish Gaelic: Gille-Moire– a personal name and later surname meaning "Servant of [the Virgin] Mary", from which comes the first element, "Gilmer", – and Old English: ton meaning "settlement" or "farmstead". Versions of the name are recorded from the middle of the 12th century.^[1]

Below its centre is a series of shallow linked caves collectively called Gilmerton Cove. Traditionally these were attributed to the work of a local blacksmith, George Paterson (d.1735), who began work in 1720 and completed excavations in 1724 occupying these caves under his house and smiddy for eleven years. Paterson's name is inscribed on the lintel at the entrance.^[2]