Gilmerton is a suburb of Edinburgh, about southeast of the city centre. The toponym "Gilmerton" is derived from a combination of Gille-Moire– a personal name and later surname meaning "Servant of Mary", from which comes the first element, "Gilmer", – and ton meaning "settlement" or "farmstead". Versions of the name are recorded from the middle of the 12th century. Gilmerton used to be a coal mining village. Below its centre is a series of shallow linked caves collectively called Gilmerton Cove. Traditionally they were attributed to the work of a local blacksmith, George Paterson, who supposedly completed excavations in 1724 and lived in the caves for several years, although there may be reasons to doubt this. A street in the Dunedin, New Zealand suburb of Corstorphine, Gilmerton Street, is named after the suburb.
Community facilities
Gilmerton Library serves a number of informal learning sessions and community events. Bookbug Sessions, Book groups, Knitting Group, iPads for the visually impaired, Tiger Tales stories and crafts for ages 4 – 8, Friday Fun Club for kids, NHS LothianStop Smoking Group, and Local Councillors' surgeries. Gilmerton Community Centre has a varied daytime and evening programme of educational and leisure activities as well as support groups. The Centre is a vibrant and busy place with a large reception area with 4 computers allowing internet access. Printing and photocopying facilities are also available and there are always staff and volunteers on hand to give help, information and advice. There are 4 general purposes rooms, two crèche rooms, a computer suite, and a small hall all available for hire. A busy café also operates from the centre. A number of outside agencies are based in the Centre including a Women’s mental health project, a Drugs project and a Befriending project for young people. Ferniehill surgery has 6 doctors and a number of practice nurses, health visitors and district nurses. Surgeries are offered throughout the day from 8.30am to 5.30pm. A child and family centre was purpose built and opened in 1964. It is part of the City of Edinburgh Councils, Children and Families Department. The Centre has four playrooms to accommodate children aged 0–5. There is also a large kitchen area and separate laundry. The outside area is on two levels, one area is with slabbing which is used for toys including bikes, scooters, sand, water play etc. The other area has soft surfacing and sited climbing frame equipment and chutes. Gilmerton Primary School and two nearby Secondary Schools serve the Gilmerton area.
