Origins of the Surname Hope.
3.4. Granton Castle.
Sir Thomas Hope of Craighall acquired Granton Castle in the early decades of the seventeenth century. Sir Thomas became Baronet of Craighall in 1626 - prior to this he was known as Sir Thomas Hope of Granton. The site of the castle was a few miles outside Edinburgh near the sea looking over the Firth if Forth to Fife. He made many alterations to the castle and converted it to a family mansion. How often he actually stayed at Granton is not clear as he also had a large mansion in the Cowgate in the city centre that he had by 1616. His eldest son Sir John Hope inherited the castle in 1646 on the death of his father and he became the 2nd Baronet of Craighall.
Sir Alexander Hope (1637-1673) the third son of Sir Thomas took the title of Sir Alexander Hope of Granton.
The castle eventually fell into ruins and was finally demolished in the 1920s. Miraculously the 2 acre walled garden has survived - one of only three remaining mediaval wall gardens in Scotland. The garden deteriorated and was overgrown after decades of neglect. It has now been saved from development by a group of volunteers who are returning the garden to its formal glory as a community garden project. The group have managed to get the garden listed as Category B by Historical Environment Scotland hence safe guarding the site from developers. More about this project on www.grantoncastlewalledgarden.wordpress.com/
What is a bit of coincidence is that Sir Thomas Hope of Craighall is the ancestor of John Hope (1725-1786) Professor of Medicine and Botany at Edinburgh University, and president of the Edinburgh Royal College of Physicians. John Hope is remembered today at the Royal Botanical Gardens by the stunning entrance building to the gardens that houses biodiversity and information centres - the John Hope Entrance - opened by the Queen in 2010 - www.rbge.org.uk/the-gardens/edinburgh/the-gateway/
There are many present day streets in the Granton area that include the name of Craighall. See page 3 Edinburgh Hopes.
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