Civil History
Historical Events
During the residence of the family of Forrester of Corstorphine this parish was not unfrequently the scene of war and devastation. In 1446, the lands of Corstorphine were overrun by the Chancellor Crichton and his military vassals, and the house levelled with the ground, in retaliation for a similar outrage committed by Sir John Forrester and William, Earl of Douglas, on the estate and castle of Brankstoun, which then belonged to the Chancellor. In 1572, the house and college of Corstorphine were garrisoned by the Earl of Mar, then Regent of the kingdom, along with all the other strengths round Edinburgh, to prevent supplies from reaching the castle, which was then in possession of William Kirkcaldy of Grange. In 1650, there was a more serious and long-continued occupation of the parish, first by General Leslie and his army, and afterwards by Oliver Cromwell and his soldiers. Leslie's army was posted in the meadow on the east of Corstorphine, when Cromwell, who was encamped on the Pentland Hills, marched northwards with the object of interposing his army between Leslie and Linlithgow, and thus forcing an engagement. Leslie however, so manoeuvred as to defeat this object, for he marched westward about two miles, and then entrenched himself in an impregnable position on Gogar-field, from whence Cromwell attempted to dislodge him, but the ground was so boggy between the armies that he was obliged to desist, and to content himself with a brisk fire of artillery, which was returned with spirit by Leslie, who brought into play, for the first time, upon that occasion, several kinds of field-pieces invented by Colonel Wemyss his General of Artillery."* The field on which this fight took place on which the villas of Gogar-burn and Hanley now stand is still known among the old inhabitants by the name of The Flashes; a name which it is said to have received from fire-arms being used is the fight of greater power and variety than was usual at that time. This skirmish continued from the afternoon till late in the evening of Tuesday the 27th August 1650, and operated as such a check on Cromwell's designs, that he immediately retreated to his camp at Musselburgh, and afterwards towards England: Leslie following in his rear and harassing his march, till he reached Dunbar, where, owing to the impetuosity and want of discipline of the Scottish army, Cromwell at last succeeded in bringing on the unfortunate battle of Dunbar, which enabled him to retrace his steps, and return to Edinburgh as a victor.*
Shortly after this victory, part of the English army occupied Corstorphine and its vicinity, where they continued till the month of August in the following year. During this period, both the clergymen and the principal landed proprietors absented themselves from the parish, and Lord Forrester was actively engaged in attempting to raise the country against the English. In retaliation for this hostility, the English soldiers defaced the stone figures of the Forresters in the chancel, damaged the whole interior of the church, pulled down the place of public repentance, and laid waste the estate of Corstorphine.**
*Thomson's Acts, Vol. vii.~ page 46, and page 17 of Appendix.
** Parish Register and Nicoll's Diary.
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