Every so often, whilst delving into Peebles’ historical records, a reference to Girdwood Street pops up, but nobody seems to know exactly where it was as it doesn’t appear on any map.

The only mention of Girdwood is on a town map from 1823 which shows two areas of land owned by a Mr Girdwood, so it’s reasonable to assume that Girdwood Street would likely have been located somewhere in this area to the north of the Old Town and either east or west of Ludgate (now called Young Street).

In the valuation rolls from 1858–1866, Girdwood Street appears in entries for the following individuals: Andrew Drysdale, Dr Robert Crawford, John Erskine, Archibald Donaldson, Robert Stevenson, Robert Russell and John Learmont.

Three of the above Girdwood Street proprietors (Dr Robert Crawford, Robert Russell and John Learmont) appear in the 1872 valuation roll as being at Crossland Place, which may suggest that Girdwood Street became Crossland Place, but since that’s a bit of an assumption, some further coroberration would be helpful.

As luck would have it, I happen to live in Crossland Place (now called Crossland Crescent), so dug out our original title deeds to see if they might offer up any useful nuggets of information.

Well, would you believe it? – the answer to the mystery of the whereabouts of Girdwood Street was right there in black and white:
“Crossland Place formerly named Girdwood Street”.