Dumbiedykes (/dʌmiːˈdaɪks/^[1]) is a residential area in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland. It mainly comprises public housing developments.

It is bounded in the north by Holyrood Road, the west by the Pleasance and St Leonard's Street and the east by Holyrood Park.

The site housed Edinburgh's Deaf and Dumb School until the mid 19th century. As the inhabitants of the school were known as the "dumbies", the local area became known as Dumbie Dykes or Dumbies Dykes.^[2]

Through the first part of the 20th century, the area was composed of tenement buildings many of which did not have internal toilet facilities. By the 1960s many of these buildings had become dilapidated, and resultingly the buildings were demolished and the tenants moved to new estates in Craigmillar, The Inch, Liberton, Prestonfield, Restalrig, Burdiehouse, Gracemount, Gilmerton and other areas of Edinburgh. Ian Rankin called the rebuilt tenement area "Greenfield" in his novel Dead Souls (1999):

Greenfield's tower blocks had been built in the 1960s and were showing their age. Dark stains bloomed on the discoloured harling. Overflow pipes dripped water on the cracked paving slabs. ... No council planner had ever lived here. No director of housing or community architect. All the council had done was move in problem tenants and tell everyone central heating was on the way.^[3]

Despite the area benefiting from a superficial building regeneration including modern flats, student residences, University of Edinburgh sports facilities and being popular area to live in due to its closeness to the centre of Edinburgh and its immediate proximity to the Scottish Parliament, when compared with other residential areas in central Edinburgh it still remains an economically impoverished part of the city, suffering from the associated aspects of social problems such as disproportionately high levels of unemployment along with drug and alcohol abuse. In recent years there have also been several notable cases of suspected murders.^[4]

• Holyrood, Edinburgh

• Bartholomew's Chronological map of Edinburgh (1919)

55°56′56.28″N 3°10′40.44″W / 55.9489667°N 3.1779000°W / 55.9489667; -3.1779000

v t e Residential areas in the Edinburgh (settlement) urban area
North East	Abbeyhill Bingham Bonnington Broughton Brunstane Craigentinny Craigmillar Duddingston Easter Road Great Junction Street Joppa Leith Leith Docks Lochend Magdalene Meadowbank Mountcastle Niddrie Northfield Piershill Pilrig Portobello Restalrig Willowbrae Western Harbour
South East	Alnwickhill Blackford Braid Hills Bruntsfield Burdiehouse Canongate Carrick Knowe Comiston Dumbiedykes Fernieside Gilmerton Greenbank Haymarket Hillside and Calton Hill Liberton Marchmont Moredun Morningside Mortonhall New Town Newington Old Town Prestonfield Sciennes Southhouse Southside The Inch The Grange Tollcross West End
South West	Baberton Balerno Bankhead Bonaly Broomhouse Chesser Clovenstone Colinton Currie Craiglockhart Dalry Fairmilehead Firrhill Fountainbridge Gorgie Greenhill Juniper Green Kingsknowe Longstone Merchiston Murrayburn Oxgangs Parkhead Polwarth Roseburn Saughton Shandon Sighthill Slateford Stenhouse The Calders Wester Hailes
North West	Balgreen Barnton Blackhall Boswall Canonmills Cammo Clermiston Comely Bank Corstorphine Craigleith Cramond Crewe Toll Davidson's Mains Dean Village Drumbrae Drylaw East Craigs Goldenacre Gracemount Granton Inverleith Muirhouse Murrayfield Newhaven Pilton Ravelston Silverknowes South Gyle Stockbridge Trinity Warriston
East Lothian	Musselburgh Fisherrow Inveresk Levenhall Monktonhall Pinkie Stoneybank Wallyford
See also: Areas of Edinburgh