The Cove, 16 Drum Street, Gilmerton, Edinburgh is a Grade B listed building in the City of Edinburgh local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 14 December 1970. Subterranean cave.

The Cove, 16 Drum Street, Gilmerton, Edinburgh

WRENN ID
grim-fireplace-cream
Grade
B
Local Planning Authority
City of Edinburgh
Constituency
Edinburgh South MP: Ian Murray (Lab)
Country
Scotland
Date first listed
14 December 1970
Type
Subterranean cave
OS grid reference
NT 292 686
Coordinates
55.90559, -3.13312
Source
Historic Environment Scotland listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Cove, located at 16 Drum Street in Gilmerton, Edinburgh, is a subterranean cave and tunnel system that was possibly created between 1719 and 1724. The entrance is accessed by a flight of 12 steps leading down approximately 10 feet below ground level. The main passage extends about 40 feet in length, featuring rooms and passages on either side.

At the right side of the stairs, there is a forge-like recess with an aperture, and a room behind it contains a fireplace with an oblong panel. The principal room measures approximately 15 feet by 5 feet and includes a central pillar that supports the ceiling, with a 10-foot long table at its center, which has a bowl carved at one end. The other rooms to the left and right of the passage are furnished with tables and benches that have been intricately carved in curvilinear forms from the rock.

Local climate

The Cove, 16 Drum Street, Gilmerton, Edinburgh receives an average of 960 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 74% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 52% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 39 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 74% of listed buildings. Of these, 23 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

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