pleasance

The Pleasance is a street just outside the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, a remnant of the town walls flanking the west side of the street between Drummond Street and the Cowgate. Historically, the street was one of the main routes into Edinburgh from the south, meeting St Mary's Wynd (now St Mary's Street) at St Mary's Wynd Port, one of the gateways of the town walls. The name derives from the Scots plesance, meaning a park or garden. It first appears in 1507 as the name of a nearby house and was later transferred to the street and then the suburb which was part of the regality of the Canongate. The derivation of the name from a nunnery of St Mary of Placentia, often mentioned in histories of Edinburgh, is an invention by William Maitland in his 1753 History of Edinburgh. The street is largely residential, although the University of Edinburgh owns property in the area.