Sciennes (pronounced sheenz, /ˈʃiːnz/) is a district of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) south of the city centre.

Its early history is linked to the presence in the area of the 16th-century Convent of St Catherine of Scienna, from which the district derives its name.

This was founded by a group of women, led by Lady Janet Seton, whose husbands and other relatives had been killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.

The convent, which was completed in 1518, was built on land acquired from Sir John Crawfurd, and incorporated his chapel.

It stood on the south side of the present Sciennes Road, roughly where St Catherine's Place now stands.

[6] Up until the early 19th century, much of the area of present-day Sciennes was occupied by just a few mansions and large villas, each set in its own grounds.

In contrast to neighbouring Marchmont, where the tenements had been developed according to an overall design, those in Sciennes grew up in a more piecemeal fashion.

[7] The area also included some industrial development, notably the extensive engineering works and foundry of Bertrams Ltd, an international manufacturer of paper-making machinery.

These include Livingstone Place, for the explorer, David Livingstone;[9] Gladstone Terrace, for William Ewart Gladstone, the Liberal Prime Minister;[10] and Lord Russell Place, for Lord John Russell, a Whig and Liberal Prime Minister.

In the winter of 1786–87, the house was the location of the only recorded meeting of Robert Burns and Walter Scott, at a literary dinner hosted by the philosopher Professor Adam Ferguson.

[14] Also in Sciennes House Place is the Old Braid Fire Station, a Category C listed building which was designed in 1885 by Robert Morham, the City Architect.