New Town, Edinburgh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| State Party |  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iv |
| Identification | #728 |
| Regionb | Europe and North America |
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Inscription History |
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| Formal Inscription: | 1995 19th Session |
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a Name as officially inscribed on the WH List |
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The New Town, a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is often considered to be a masterpiece of city planning, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although still referred to as the New Town, it was built in stages between 1765 and around 1850, and retains much of the original neo-classical period architecture.
Its most famous street is Princes Street, facing Edinburgh Castle and the Old Town across the geographical depression of the former Nor Loch. The Old and New Towns were together designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.
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[edit] Preparing the ground
The decision to construct a New Town was taken by the city fathers, after overcrowding inside the Old Town city walls reached breaking point. The Age of Enlightenment had arrived in Edinburgh, and the outdated city fabric did not suit the modern thinkers who lived there. Lord Provost George Drummond succeeded in extending the boundary of the Royal Burgh to encompass the fields to the north of the Nor Loch, the heavily polluted water body which occupied the valley immediately north of the city. A scheme to drain the Loch was put in to action, although the process was not fully completed until 1817. Crossing points were built to access the new land; the North Bridge in 1772, and the Earthen Mound, which began as a tip for material excavated during construction of the New Town. The Mound, as it is known today, reached its present proportions in the 1830s.
As the successive stages of the New Town were developed, the rich moved northwards from cramped tenements in narrow closes into grand Georgian homes on wide roads. However, the poor remained in the Old Town.
[edit] The First New Town
A design competition was held in January 1766 to find a suitably modern layout for the new suburb. It was won by 22 year old James Craig, who proposed a simple grid, with a principal thoroughfare along the ridge linking two garden squares. Two other main roads were located downhill to the north and south, with two meuse (mews) providing stable lanes for the large homes. Completing the grid are three north-south streets.
[edit] Street names
The principal street was named George Street, after the king at the time, George III. Queen Street was to be located to the north, named for his wife and St. Giles Street to the south, after the patron saint of the city. St. Andrew's Square and St. George's Square were the names chosen to represent the union of Scotland and England. The idea was continued with the smaller Thistle Street (for Scotland's emblem) between George Street and Queen Street, and Rose Street (for England's emblem) between George Street and Princes Street.
However, King George rejected the name St. Giles Street and it was renamed Princes Street after his sons. The name of St. George's Square was changed to Charlotte Square, after the Queen, to avoid confusion with George Square on the South Side. The westernmost blocks of Thistle Street were renamed to Hill Street and Young Street, making 'Scotland's' street half the length of 'England's'. The three streets completing the grid, Castle, Frederick and Hanover Streets, are named for the views of the castle, the father of King George and the royal family name respectively.
[edit] Development
Craig's proposals hit further problems when development began. Initially the exposed new site was unpopular, leading to a £20 premium being offered to the first builder on site. Doubts were overcome soon enough, and construction started in the east with St. Andrew Square.
Craig had proposed that George Street be terminated by two large churches, situated within each square. However, Sir Lawrence Dundas was already the landowner of this space. He decided to build his own home here, and commissioned a design from Sir William Chambers. The resulting Palladian mansion, completed in 1774, is now the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland. St. Andrew's Church had to be built on a site on George Street. The lack of a visual termination at the end of this street was remedied in 1823 with William Burn's monument to Henry Dundas.
The first New Town was completed in 1800, with the construction of Charlotte Square. This was built to a design by Robert Adam, and was the only architecturally unified section of the New Town. Adam also produced a design for St. George's Church, although his design was superseded by that of Robert Reid. The building, now known as West Register House, now houses part of the National Archives of Scotland. The North side of Charlotte Square features Bute House - formally the official residence of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Since the introduction of devolution in Scotland, Bute House is the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland.
[edit] Redevelopment
The New Town was envisaged as a purely residential suburb. Townhouses lined all of the main streets, with smaller houses located within the meuse. However, it did not take long for the commercial potential of the site to be realised. Shops were soon opened on Princes Street, and during the 19th century the majority of the townhouses were replaced with larger commercial buildings. Piecemeal redevelopment continues to this day, and only a few 18th century buildings can still be found within this original New Town.
[edit] Later additions
After 1800, the success of the first New Town led to grander schemes. The second, or 'New New Town', aimed to extend Edinburgh all the way to the Water of Leith, linking the city with the older villages of Stockbridge, Dean, Canonmills, and Silvermills. Development was more unified, although for several decades the operations of the tannery at Silvermills inhibited development in the immediate vicinity. The new developments followed the pattern of Charlotte Square, with entire streets being built as one construction. To the north of Queen Street lay Queen Street Gardens; beyond the gardens, building continued on an extended Hanover Street, here named Dundas Street, almost 1 km to the Water of Leith at Canonmills. Broad streets and grand squares were laid out to either side.
The third and final major development added Moray Place and surrounding streets, built on the lands of the Earl of Moray, west of the second development.
[edit] Culture
The New Town is home to the National Gallery of Scotland and the Royal Scottish Academy, located on The Mound. The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is on Queen Street. Other notable buildings include the Assembly Rooms on George Street, the Balmoral (formerly North British) Hotel, with its landmark clock tower, above Waverley Station, and the Scott Monument.
[edit] Shopping
The New Town contains Edinburgh's main shopping streets. Princes Street is home to many chain shops, as well as Jenners department store, an Edinburgh institution. George Street, once the financial centre, now has numerous modern bars, many occupying former banking halls, while the new Multrees Walk on St. Andrew's Square is home to Harvey Nichols and other designer shops. The St. James Centre, at the east end of the New Town, is an indoor mall completed in 1970. It includes a large branch of John Lewis, designed by Sir Basil Spence. It is often considered an unwelcome addition to New Town architecture.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Areas of Edinburgh |
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| Other articles in this category |
