Chronicle of the Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh, 1735-1935

CHAPTER
II
EARLY
MEETING-PLACES
OF
THE
"BURGESS"
T
would
be
interesting
to
know
the
exact
locality
of
thefirstmeeting-place,
circa1773,
oftheold
Burgess.
The
minutes
reveal
that
the
club
met
at
"BruntsfieldLinks"from8thAprilto2ndJuly
1773,
but
the
name
of
the
particular
house
of
meeting
remains
indoubt.On9thJuly
1773,
"ThomasComb's,"Club-
maker,
Bruntsfield
Links
or
Wright's
Houses,
is
men-
tioned
as
the
place
of
weekly
meetings.
Two
years
later
John
Baptie
(probably
a
son
of
David
Baptie,
who
was
in
176o
proprietor
of
the
property
at
Bruntsfield
called
"
Golfhall
or
Foxton,"
and
successor
to
James
Brownhill,
who
had
a
charter
of
these
subjects
from
the
Magistrates
in
1716)
provided
the
entertainment,
whileAlexanderFraserwasthelandlordin
1785.
There
were
few
buildings
at
the
west
end
of
the
Brunts-
field
Links
in
these
days
;
it
is
likely
these
names
only
indicate
a
change
of
tenancy
and
that
the
place
where
theSocietymetin
1773
continuedtobetheclubhouse
down
to
Fraser's
time.
In
any
case,
by
1792,
Fraser's
house
had
become
too
small
for
the
increasing
member-
ship,
and
a
lease
of
Captain
Rollo's
house
at
Bruntsfield
Links
(subsequently
known
as
the
"
Golf
Tavern
")
was
taken
and
sublet
to
successive
tenants.
All
the
charter
evidence
points
to
the
likelihood
that
the
ground
originally
feued
by
James
Brownhill
in
1716
became
the
Golfhall
or
Foxton
of
later
years,
part
of
which
was
ultimately
known
as
the
"
Golf
Tavern."
It
was
the
custom
at
that
time
to
sublet
the
entire
house,
reserving
provision
for
the
Society's
accommodation.
75