Members can now get hold of the society’s latest publication, ‘The Story of Colinton’s Shops – 150 Years of Local Businesses’, written by society members.
The book traces how Colinton’s retail trade grew and changed alongside the village itself, adapting to different social needs over the decades. Familiar names like Harwell’s, Waddells and Downes feature alongside businesses still trading today. It also brings to light some of the lesser-known entrepreneurs from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, among them Jane Johnston and her family, stationer and photographer Alex Hutcheson, fishmonger William Rangecroft, grocer Hyslop’s, and chemist Thomas W Forster Thompson.
With full illustrations, historical detail and personal reminiscences throughout, the book follows the story of the village’s retail properties, how they’ve changed hands and changed use over the years, and the people behind them. It offers a genuinely interesting look into Colinton’s social history.
Copies are available from the Society, from local retailers, or from Amazon.