Edzell Lodge
In the late 1940s, the Guild of Service opened Edzell Lodge Children’s Home using an anonymous grant, on 35 Inverleith Terrace, in a house sold under-value by its owners1. It is said the decision to open a home was taken after a baby boy was left on the steps of the office in 1945, who the director took to her own home for the weekend2. The Guild ran the Lodge as a ‘family home’ for twelve permanent and three temporary residents, who would receive visits from their birth parents regularly. They were brought up as a family, attending school, bringing home friends, and going to Scouts and Guides. In 1962, as the Guild’s second Home Margaret Cottage was closing, the two Homes merged and moved to a new premises at 11 Newbattle Terrace. In 1984, due to a lack of funding and a social work policy shift towards keeping children with their parents, Edzell Lodge closed. Princess Elizabeth visited in 1947, and Princess Anne in 1971.
Matrons were referred to as ‘Auntie’, at least to begin with, and Auntie Margaret (Miss M Downing) and Auntie Queenie (Mrs McQueen) serving until 1953. Edzell was then run by Miss Grigor (54-56), Miss C.S. Maxwell (57-63), Mr David Murphy (57-58), Mr and Mrs H Plenderleith (64-73), Brian and Wilma Mack (73-79), and finally Wilma Mack alone, following the death of her husband, until the closure of the Lodge. For the last six months of its operation, Edzell Lodge was used as a Reception Unit for teenagers3.
1. 60th Jubilee Booklet
2. Scotsman, June 12th 1971.
3. 1983-84 Annual Report