In 1761, John Hope became King's Botanist  for Scotland and superintendent  of the Royal Gardens in Edinburgh, then the Royal Abbey Garden and the Town Garden at Trinity Hospital.  In 1763 he realised his ambition to establish a new, larger botanic garden in Leith Walk, predecessor of the present Royal Botanic Garden at Inverleith.  

Shortly after the establishment of the garden, a small house was built at the centre of the Leith Walk frontage, which is described in the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1852 as 'Botanic Cottage'. 

Remarkably this small house survived until recently when the site was to be redeveloped.   

The Friends' wish was to create a detailed record of the building's interior and exterior, as well as carrying out an archaeological record of the surrounding land, before the important link to the original botanic gardens was lost.   They lodged an application with The Heritage Lottery Fund.  In March 2008 the Friends of Hopetoun Crescent Garden were awarded a grant of £48,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the project.

This ‘preservation’ is the result of tireless pressure from key members of the Friends of Hopetoun Crescent Garden and the drive of James Simpson OBE, specialist conservation architect with the support of several influential individuals and organisations, including staff of the RBGE, the Gayfield Association, the Cockburn Association and the City of Edinburgh Council. But above all it has depended on the dedication of the Botanic Cottage Project Group, the umbrella action team whose deliberations led to the expert surveying of the property and its surroundings by GUARD (Glasgow University Archaeological Research Unit) and the collaboration of the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, work that was carefully coordinated by the Alba Trust. Thanks to all these endeavours, a marvellous team effort sparked from within the local community, there is now the prospect of an exciting and relevant future for the Botanic Cottage.