The origin of the name Liberton
"Liberton parish is bounded N by St Cuthbert's and Duddingston, E by Inveresk and Newton, SE by Dalkeith, S by Lasswade, and W by Colinton. It extends from the Pow Burn at Edinburgh to within a mile of Dalkeith, and from the close vicinity of the Firth of Forth at Magdalene Bridge to near the E end of the Pentland range. Its greatest length from ENE to WSW is 5 3/4 miles; its greatest breadth is 4 1/4 miles; and its area is 6617 acres. The scenery of this parish is very beautifully diversified, though it never loses its lowland smiling
character." (Extract from Groomes Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland c.1895)
Liberton is recorded in the eleventh century as part of a surname, and as a place from 1128 onwards. The early spellings Libertune and Libbertoun show the name to be Anglian hlida beretun, the bere or barley, tun or farm at the hlid or slope: There is another other Scottish Liberton is at Quothquhan in Lanarkshire
More romantically it was believed that Liberton derives from "Lepertown" - A House of Refuge for Lepers in Over, or Upper Liberton was assumed to exist after all the Berwick Guild Statutes about lepers and leper houses were passed in 1284. This case is supported by the evidence of old maps which shows the location of a place named "Spittaltown" (ie Hospitaltown) in the vicinity of one of the healing wells in the area. While an adjacent field is named "Clapperfield"- association being that lepers had to carry a clapper to warn of their approach (In this case however Clappertown was associated with milling) Another clue is a charter of tenancy of 1189 which identified the lands of Liberton and mentioning a maligned character called Johannes Leper. Poor Johannes or one of his ancestors were believed to suffer from the disease, and that the lands to which he had title came to be known by his name, connection can be made that the place names originally was Lepertown Both these arguments for the "leper" derivation are seriously weakened by the fact that the family name Liberton or Libbertoun, was used 139 years before any outbreak of the disease in Edinburgh and therefore before the Berwick Statues were passed
So the village was founded soon after the Norman invasion by the De Libertouns, and the Leper hospital founded by Guillaume de Libertoune. David de Libertoun is listed as an officer in the army of Mary Queen of Scots. David and Alland de Libertoun are mentioned in a document of 1311 while William de Libertoun was provost of Edinburgh in 1425 (possibly gave his name to Libbertons Wynd off the High Street)
One of the first recorded owners of the lands of Liberton, in the reign of Malcolm IV was one Baron Malbet or Malbeth or in 2 instances Macbeth. Another owner was a John Wigham who transferred the land to David Libbetoun- so the claim that Libertouns founded the village is another romanticism
Just to add to the melee- The heraldic emblem of the families of Liberton- the leopard's head- the archaic and heraldic form of the word leopard is "Libard" or Libbard perhaps add credibility that Libard Town gives birth to Liberton
For those wishing further information on the history of this area should read Villages of Edinburgh by Malcolm Cant. Photographs of Old Liberton can be found on www.ebs.hw.ac.uk/liberton/welcome.html