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75-656: The Moray Estate , also known as the Moray Fey , is an exclusive early 19th century building venture attaching the west side of the New Town, Edinburgh . Built on an awkward and steeply sloping site, it has been described as a masterpiece of urban planning. The ground, extending to 5.3 hectares, was acquired in 1782 by the 9th Earl of Moray from the Heriot Trust . The land contained Drumsheugh House, Moray House and its service block, and large gardens lying between Charlotte Square and

150-561: A UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside the Old Town in 1995. The area is also famed for the New Town Gardens , a heritage designation since March 2001. The idea of a New Town was first suggested in the late 17th century when the Duke of Albany and York (later King James VII and II ), when resident Royal Commissioner at Holyrood Palace , encouraged the idea of having an extended regality to

225-577: A Venetian window at the rear of the building overlooking Randolph Place, and although architect David Bryce later drew up plans to add towers to the pavilions, this work was never carried out. Randolph Place therefore became a comparatively unimpressive entrance from the West End's Melville Street, into Charlotte Square and on to George Street. City of Edinburgh Council have undertaken a number of public consultations on possible ways to improve Randolph Place in recent years, including potentially resurfacing it or

300-453: A grand open staircase built in stone topped by an ornate cupola giving it daylight, and often embellished with ornate plasterwork. The main room for public entertainment was usually the first floor front room. The gardens form part of the collection of New Town Gardens . The Bank Gardens between the estate and the Water of Leith extend to 4.1 acres and slope steeply and were raised further to level

375-509: A ground floor and basement duplex unit accessed from the more important street and flats above accessed from the secondary street. These either have no garden or a detached garden. From the pavement a flight of steps gives independent access to the basement, generally a service area. A short flight of steps rise to the main entrance, usually supported on a stone arch. The buildings are constructed of local Craigleith sandstone with roofs of Scots slate with lead flashings. The typical interior has

450-601: A large air raid shelter being constructed here during the Second World War . Notable residents include Edward Gordon, Baron Gordon of Drumearn (2), William Mackintosh, Lord Kyllachy (6), Robert Smith Candlish (9), Erskine Douglas Sandford (11), William Campbell, Lord Skerrington (12), and James Stevenson and his daughters Flora and Louisa (13). The dramatic entrance to the Moray Estate from Dean Bridge begins with Randolph Cliff, which stands dramatically over

525-633: A mainly residential suburb with a number of professional offices of domestic layout. It had few planned retail ground floors, 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 on that street were replaced with larger commercial buildings. Occasional piecemeal redevelopment continues to this day, though most of Queen Street and Thistle Street, and large sections of George Street, Hanover, Frederick and Castle Streets, are still lined with their original late 18th century buildings. Many of

600-543: A railway company) with its landmark clock tower above Waverley Station , and the Scott Monument . The Cockburn Association (Edinburgh Civic Trust) is prominent in campaigning to preserve the architectural integrity of the New Town. The New Town contains Edinburgh's main shopping streets. Princes Street is home to many chain shops, formerly including Jenners department store , an Edinburgh institution. George Street , once

675-453: A share in the land, and keys are rented to those who apply successfully for access, as a way of bringing in income to the garden. The gardens are then usually managed by Commissioners – around eight for each garden. The Commissioners are elected by the owners, and have responsibility for sourcing gardeners, and ensuring the gardens are well maintained. A Clerk of the gardens usually handles membership applications and entitlement. The Clerk will be

750-502: Is a central area of Edinburgh , the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Street , facing Edinburgh Castle and the Old Town across the geological depression of the former Nor Loch . Together with the West End , the New Town was designated

825-434: Is created from a series of vertical slivers of granite, created by the squaring of the granite setts on the vehicle surface, thereby making full use of the material. The Moray estate (due to its layout concept) is the only set of New Town buildings which do not have ancillary mews to the rear. Instead the mews were located remotely: on Gloucester Lane and on Randolph Lane. The mews are fewer in number than would be expected for

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900-464: Is indicated on a map published by John Laurie in 1766. This map shows a diagonal layout with a central square reflecting a new era of civic Hanoverian British patriotism by echoing the design of the Union Flag . Both Princes Street and Queen Street are shown as double sided. A simpler revised design reflected the same spirit in the names of its streets and civic spaces. The intended principal street

975-491: Is peripheral to the estate and visually links more to Queen Street and Heriot Row. It is one of the few sections built with a mews (accessed through a central pend). The central block was built as St Stephen's Free Church and in WW2 its open interior allowed use as a drill hall for Edinburgh's Home Guard and rather ridiculously (under the wartime rules) had to be painted in camouflage colours (making it very obvious). Repainted grey after

1050-602: The Hopetoun Crescent Gardens , which were the original site of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh . The Queen Street Central gardens have a pond with an island, said to have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island . Each garden has different rules concerning criteria for membership and access, with some permitting only those owning or renting surrounding properties a key, while others welcome applications from residents in other parts of

1125-483: The Water of Leith far below. It was one of the final sections to be completed (and quite an engineering feat) and is laid out as flats rather than houses. The corner block has a complex stair to access the main stair, unlike any other block on the estate. Somewhat detached from the rest of the estate, Randolph Place never had the same allure for housing and from the outset seems to have attracted office use. This may be because

1200-419: The Water of Leith . In 1822 his son, Francis Stuart, 10th Earl of Moray , commissioned the architect James Gillespie (later known as James Gillespie Graham after marriage into the wealthy Graham family) to draw up plans to build over 150 huge townhouses on the land. The houses were set on large plots, even by surrounding New Town standards, and were complemented by a series of private gardens, most notably on

1275-553: The Water of Leith . This was popular amongst the Scots nobility and wealthy lawyers. The bulk of the estate was complete by 1835, but many of the corner blocks were not finally added until the 1850s. The estate is now usually called the Moray Estate . It remains one of the city's most affluent areas and of the most exclusive set of addresses Gillespie Graham continued the Westward expansion of

1350-451: The 19th century Edinburgh's second railway, the Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway , built a tunnel under the New Town to link Scotland Street with Canal Street (later absorbed into Waverley Station ). After its closure, the tunnel was used to grow mushrooms, and during World War 2 as an air raid shelter. An attempt to build an elevated walkway along the length of Princes Street involved

1425-531: The Bank Gardens two other substantial private gardens were created: Moray Place Gardens and Ainslie Place Gardens. Of these Moray Place Gardens is sufficiently large and sufficiently screened to provide picnic areas and croquet lawns. The several garden areas remain the private joint property of the Moray Estate owners (often called the Moray Feuars). The pavements around the gardens are of "horonised" form. This

1500-474: The City of Edinburgh. Some gardens are regularly opened to the public, such as St Andrew Square , while others are only opened to the public on Doors Open Days or not at all. Each garden has a different management and ownership structure. Ownership is often by private shareholders or a joint ownership by the local residents. For example, East Queen Street Gardens are owned by shareholders who have explicitly bought

1575-664: The Earl's country estate of Doune and family title (from 1581) of Lord Doune, this street links Moray Place to the lower streets around Stockbridge . Notable residents include James Craufurd, Lord Ardmillan (2) and Thomas Balfour , James Kinnear and James Pitman, Lord Pitman (9) . This street is named after the family title of Lord St Colme (granted in 1611) and links Ainslie Place to Queen Street. Notable residents include George Angus (architect) (1), Thomas Guthrie Wright (6), Helen Kerr (6), and Andrew Rutherfurd, Lord Rutherfurd (9). Harold Tarbolton had his office at no.4 and

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1650-1284: The Earl's wife, Margaret Jane Ainslie, daughter of Col. Sir Philip Ainslie of Pilton , Ainslie Place stands in the centre of the scheme. The format is an oval circus laid on a south-west to north-east axis, between the two halves of Great Stuart Street. The scheme has always been popular with Scottish law lords and eminent physicians. Notable residents include John Millar, Lord Craighill (2), William Blackwood (3), Edward Maitland, Lord Barcaple (3), John MacWhirter (physician) (4), John Cowan, Lord Cowan (4), Mark Napier (historian) (6), Reginald Fairlie (office at 7), John Duncan (surgeon) (8), Alexander Bruce (neurologist) (8), James Ivory, Lord Ivory (9), Sir Thomas Dawson Brodie WS (9), James Gregory and his eminent sons Donald , William , Duncan and James all at 10, Sir William Edmonstone (11), George Cranstoun, Lord Corehouse (12), John Hay Forbes, Lord Medwyn (17), James Spence (surgeon) and George Burnett, Lord Lyon (21), Neil Kennedy, Lord Kennedy (22), Francis Cadell (artist) and his actress sister Jean Cadell (22), John Rankine (legal author) (23), Dean Edward Ramsay and his brother Admiral Sir William Ramsay (23) in later life (see Darnaway St), Very Rev James Robertson (25) This street forms

1725-714: The Grounds for Buildings between Edinburgh and Leith" . Stark died on 9 October 1813, and his report was published posthumously in 1814. The commissioners decided to turn to Stark's pupil William Henry Playfair . He was appointed in February 1818, and produced a plan in April 1819, that closely followed Starks's recommendations. Playfair’s designs were intended to create a New Town even more magnificent than Craig's. Regent Terrace , Carlton Terrace and Royal Terrace on Calton Hill were built, also Hillside Crescent and some adjoining streets, but

1800-566: The Loch was put into 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,

1875-524: The New Town here into the estate of Lord Alva, forming the West End Village . In order to extend the New Town eastwards, the Lord Provost, Sir John Marjoribanks, succeeded in getting the elegant Regent Bridge built. It was completed in 1819. The bridge spanned a deep ravine with narrow inconvenient streets and made access to Calton Hill much easier and agreeable from Princes Street. Even before

1950-782: The Scotland Street railway tunnel below. The New Town is home to the National Gallery of Scotland and the Royal Scottish Academy Building , both designed by Playfair and located next to each other on The Mound. The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is on Queen Street. Other notable buildings include the Assembly Rooms on George Street, the Balmoral Hotel (formerly called the North British Hotel , after

2025-542: The Trossachs, this short street formed the north-west connection to Charlotte Square and appears a completion of the square. Due to boundary/ownership issues between the Moray Estate and Charlotte Square the final block was not completed until the late 20th century (the only block built as an office). Notable residents include John Hughes Bennett (1). Named after the Earl of Moray's step-mother, Lady Margaret Wemyss, daughter of David Wemyss, 4th Earl of Wemyss . Wemyss Place

2100-440: The Water of Leith at Canonmills , where Bellevue Crescent would eventually mark the most northern extent of the New Town project. Streets were laid out either side with Great King Street the central avenue terminated by Drummond Place to the east and Royal Circus to the west. Northumberland Street and Cumberland Street were lesser streets to the south and north respectively. Heriot Row and Abercromby Place, both one-sided streets at

2175-495: The West End). Sales were begun (from plan) by auction on 7 August 1822. Over and above the cost of the plot, purchasers agreed to a build cost of £2000 to £3000 (depending on the plot) and an annual fee of £30. A "penalty clause" also imposed a fine of £100 on buildings not completed within 30 months. If comparing these prices to the norm, even for the affluent New Town this was perhaps ten times more than might have been expected. While

2250-462: The addition of green space and public art, and the possibility of a cycle route from Melville Street, to George Street via Randolph Place, but as of 2022 nothing has been agreed. Two famous architects had their offices here: Alexander Hunter Crawford at 10 and Reginald Fairlie at 14. Split into two halves by Ainslie Place, this street is named after the Earl's family name of Stuart and his additional title of Baron Stuart (granted in 1796). It forms

2325-672: The adjacent Life Association of Scotland building by David Rhind and Sir Charles Barry also came down. Lost streets include those in the St James Square area, demolished in the 1960s to make way for the St James Shopping Centre and offices for the Scottish Office . This mainly tenemental area, reported as having a population of 3,763, was demolished largely on the basis of being slums with only 61 of 1,100 dwellings being considered fit for habitation. Also demolished as slums

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2400-626: The area north of Shandwick Place followed in 1825. The Gayfield Estate (Gayfield Square) extension was designed in 1807 and from around 1813 the New Town gradually replaced and developed the older village of Stockbridge . The painter Henry Raeburn bought the Deanhough estate in the northwest of the New Town and started development in 1813 with Ann Street named after his wife. In 1822, the Earl of Moray had plans drawn up by James Gillespie Graham to develop his Drumsheugh estate, between Charlotte Square and

2475-475: The bridge had been built, Edinburgh Town Council were making preparations for building the Eastern New Town, which would stretch from the slopes of Calton Hill, north to Leith , between Leith Walk and Easter Road . The Lord Provost made an agreement with the main landowners in 1811, some initial surveying was done and there was a competition for architectural plans for the development that on 1 January 1813,

2550-415: The citizens. It is possible that, with such patronage, the New Town might have been built many years earlier than it was but, in 1682, the Duke left the city and became King in 1685, only to lose the throne in 1688. The decision to construct a New Town was taken by the city fathers, after overcrowding inside the walls of the Old Town reached breaking point and to prevent an exodus of wealthy citizens from

2625-581: The city to London. The Age of Enlightenment had arrived in Edinburgh, and the outdated city fabric did not suit the professional and merchant classes 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 body of water which occupied the valley immediately north of the city. A scheme to drain

2700-608: The development further north in the direction of Leith was never completed. On the south side of Calton Hill various monuments were erected as well as the Royal High School , designed in Greek revival style by Thomas Hamilton . For the history and development of the West End of New Town see: West End, Edinburgh . A few modest developments in Canonmills were started in the 1820s but none were completed at that time. For several decades

2775-422: The east and west. These developments took place mostly between 1800–1830. Initial designs by William Sibbald followed the original grid orientation of Craig’s First New Town, with entire streets being built as one construction. Building continued on an extended Hanover Street, called Dundas Street and, beyond Great King Street, Pitt Street (later renamed to Dundas Street in the 1960s), almost 1 km north towards

2850-452: The entrance into the estate from the south. Randolph Crescent Garden was originally retained by Lord Moray and Graham's plan showed a large mansion in the centre, probably as a replacement to Drumsheugh House. It was ultimately decided this was not a good location to build. The elevated ground level in the central garden may be the original ground level or may be due to the placing of excess soil here during original construction. It facilitated

2925-505: The estate are now separate properties and many of the blocks are divided into flats. The entire scheme was designed as a residential enclave with the exception of Wemyss Place, which had ground floor commercial properties and a church in its centre. This church, by John Thomas Rochead does not look like a church and blends very well with the street. It was originally St Stephen's Free Church created in 1847 for Rev Gillies. Whilst intended as residential many properties became commercial through

3000-504: The estate. A virtually inevitable landslip occurred at the back of the Ainslie Place feus in 1825 and had to be rectified by the addition of structural arches by James Jardine . A further landslip in the south-west corner in 1837 required further arches and these were then re-invented as a high level walkway leading to Dean Bridge . However the southern section of the Bank Gardens did not become fully operational until 1840. Over and above

3075-423: The family estate of Forres , this street connects Moray Place to Charlotte Square . Notable residents include Thomas de Quincey (1), Thomas Chalmers (3), Robert Omond (4), John Montgomerie Bell (4), Ramsay Traquair (4), Sir Alexander Kinloch (5), David Paulin (6) and Archibald Fleming (9), James Maidment (10) Schomberg Scott (office) (11). Named after the family rural estate of Glenfinlas in

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3150-474: The family seat of Darnaway Castle , this short street links Moray Place to Heriot Row, then and still an exclusive Edinburgh address. Notable residents include Thomas Duncan (painter) (1), William Kirk Dickson (3), George Joseph Bell (6), Edward Ramsay (7), Archibald Campbell Swinton and his son George Swinton (7), James Buchanan (1785–1857) (8), John Steell (11) and Robert Matthew (12). Current residents include Prof Peter Higgs . Named after

3225-495: The financial centre, now has numerous modern bars, many occupying former banking halls, while Multrees Walk on St. Andrew Square is home to Harvey Nichols and other designer shops. The St. James Centre , at the east end of the New Town, was an indoor mall completed in 1970. Often considered an unwelcome addition to New Town architecture, it included a large branch of John Lewis . The St. James Centre (excluding John Lewis) closed on Sunday, 16 October 2016 and has been demolished. It

3300-409: The houses were among the largest ever built, this clearly guaranteed an exclusivity from the outset. While the majority of plots sold well and quickly (some of the corner plots were less popular, mostly being completed in the 1850s) the scheme as a whole was completed in 1858. The final phase included a central section on Great Stuart Street on the east side between Ainslie Place and Randolph Place, and

3375-423: The land, proposed a simple axial 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 minor streets between. Several mews off the minor streets provided stable lanes for the large homes. Completing the grid are three north-south cross streets. Craig's original plan has not survived but it has been suggested that it

3450-1311: The layout did not allow this (the nearest are on Gloucester Lane). Lord Moray took one of the largest and most prominent houses: 28 Moray Place. Other notable residents included Alexander Kinnear, 1st Baron Kinnear (2), George Deas, Lord Deas (3), Sir David Baxter of Kilmaron (5), Charles Dundas Lawrie (5), John Learmonth (6), John Sinclair, 1st Baron Pentland (6), Charles Hope, Lord Granton (12), Robert MacFarlane, Lord Ormidale and his son George Lewis MacFarlane (14), John MacGregor McCandlish (18), John Hope, Lord Hope (20), Francis Brown Douglas ( Lord Provost ) (21), Bouverie Francis Primrose (22), Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey (24), George Young, Lord Young (28), Andrew Coventry and his son George Coventry FRSE (29), Thomas Charles Hope (31), John Hope (31), Sir James Miles Riddell (33), John Fullerton, Lord Fullerton (33), Baron Hume (34), Robert Kerr, Lord Kerr (38), Robert Christison and his sons Sir Alexander Christison and David Christison (40), William Thomas Thomson and his son Spencer Campbell Thomson (41), Thomas Jamieson Boyd ( Lord Provost ) (41), James Skene (46), Sir James Wellwood Moncreiff, 9th Baronet (47), John Corse Scott (48), James Buchanan (1785–1857) and Rev George Coventry (49) Named after

3525-460: The length of Rose Street. The three streets completing the grid, Castle, Frederick and Hanover Streets, were named for the view of the castle, King George's second son Prince Frederick , and the House of Hanover respectively. 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. This

3600-504: The links between the main sections of the estate. It is the only north-south street in the New Town which numbers from the north (probably because building began at the north end). Notable residents include Dr Alexander Monro (1), Sir Robert Christison (3), Harold Stiles (9), John Murray, Lord Murray (11), Lt Gen Thomas Robert Swinburne (13), William Henry Fox Talbot (13), James Warburton Begbie (16), William Edmonstoune Aytoun (16) and William Henry Playfair (17). Named after

3675-401: The lower floors of the wider north-south streets. The larger houses had service mews running behind and parallel to their terraces. The Picardy Place extension (including Broughton Street, Union Street and East London Street) was mostly finished by 1809. To the west of the original New Town, Shandwick Place, an extension of Princes Street, was started in 1805. Development of Melville Street and

3750-470: The more affluent middle and upper classes left the Old Town and moved northwards from cramped tenements in narrow closes into new grand Georgian homes on wide roads. However, the working classes and poor remained in the Old Town. A design competition was held in January 1766 to find a suitably modern layout for the new suburb. It was won by 26-year-old James Craig , who, following the natural contours of

3825-671: The name St. Giles Street, St Giles being the patron saint of lepers and also the name of a slum area or 'rookery' on the edge of the City of London. It was therefore renamed Prince's Street after his eldest son, the Prince of Wales . The name of St. George's Square was changed to Charlotte Square , after the Queen , to avoid confusion with the existing George Square on the South Side of the Old Town. The westernmost blocks of Thistle Street were renamed Hill Street and Young Street, making Thistle Street half

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3900-410: The north of the city and a North Bridge. He gave the city a grant: That, when they should have occasion to enlarge their city by purchasing ground without the town, or to build bridges or arches for the accomplishing of the same, not only were the proprietors of such lands obliged to part with the same on reasonable terms, but when in possession thereof, they are to be erected into a regality in favour of

3975-410: The north-west, north of Charlotte Square, the land was part of the Earl of Moray's estate and a long-running boundary dispute with the Moray Estate . caused delay in development. A section of Glenfinlas Street at the north-west corner of Charlotte Square was not completed until 1990 while the western end of Queen Street, north of Charlotte Square, has never been developed. The New Town was envisaged as

4050-403: The number of houses on the estate. Appearing as a circle but actually a duodecagon this is the largest and grandest space within the plan. Technically it is symmetrical around its northwest/southeast axis, but the scale of the form and central gardens makes this impossible to interpret on the ground, and this is only visible from above. Although rear mews were standard at the time of building,

4125-642: The official residence of the Secretary of State for Scotland and, since the introduction of devolution in Scotland, the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland . A few small sections remained undeveloped at the time. In 1885 an unbuilt section of Queen Street (an open garden until that time), north of St Andrew Square, provided the site for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery . To

4200-692: The operations of the tannery at Silvermills inhibited development in the immediate vicinity. From the 1830s onward, development slowed but following the completion in 1831 of Thomas Telford ’s Dean Bridge , the Dean Estate had some developments built. These included the Dean Orphanage (now the Dean Gallery ), Daniel Stewart's College , streets to the Northeast of Queensferry Street (in the 1850s), Buckingham Terrace (in 1860) and Learmonth Terrace (in 1873). In

4275-436: The original lamps in the 1980s and these are highly appropriate in appearance. For some reason Forres Street was omitted from this upgrade and that street still has two 1960s lamp-posts. The general form of the estate is as four storey and basement houses, set back behind the front basement area, and with a private garden to the rear. The continuous form necessitates a different solution on the corner blocks: these generally have

4350-401: The outer edge of each square, on axis with George Street. Whilst the western church on Charlotte Square was built, at St Andrew Square the land behind the proposed church site was owned by Sir Lawrence Dundas . He decided to build a town mansion here and commissioned a design from Sir William Chambers . The resulting Palladian mansion, known as Dundas House , was completed in 1774. In 1825 it

4425-524: The physical embodiment of the Scottish Enlightenment , was, sadly, partly funded by the enormous profits derived from the enslavement of Africans." After 1800, the success of the first New Town led to grander schemes. The 'Northern New Town' (now usually called the Second New Town) aimed to extend Edinburgh from the north of Queen Street Gardens towards the Water of Leith , with extensions to

4500-562: The planned demolition of the entire street in a radical plan published in the 1960s. The plan was unpopular but before it was abandoned in 1982, seven buildings were removed. The old Boots building at 102 Princes Street, with its series of statues of William Wallace , Robert Burns , Sir Walter Scott and Robert the Bruce , was demolished in 1965. The North British & Mercantile Insurance Company building at number 64 followed. The New Club, designed by William Burn and extended by David Bryce , and

4575-424: The rear of West Register House was never developed to the same standard as the front, creating a less attractive setting. Robert Adam 's original plan for the building included a grand rear entrance onto Randolph Place. However, when the funds could not be found for Adam's design, architect Robert Reid was called in to modify the plan. The modified plan placed attenuated pavilions flanking a Diocletian window above

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4650-451: The residents of the New Town were wealthy Scottish people (such as James Lindsay, 24th Earl of Crawford and Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville ) who were financially involved in slavery in the American colonies , either through involvement in slave-trading or the ownership of slave plantations . Jamaican-born historian Sir Geoff Palmer stated that "Our glorious New Town, seen by many as

4725-459: The results of which were inconclusive. A number of prominent architects were then asked for their opinions: William Stark , James Gillespie , Robert Burn and his son William Burn , John Paterson and Robert Reid and others. Stark's observations were particularly valued and he went on to expand them in a "Report to the Lord Provost, Magistrates and Council of Edinburgh on the Plans for Laying out

4800-480: The slopes of the Water of Leith. The scheme was curtailed on its south side due to the proposed new road and bridge (suggested and partly funded by John Learmonth who owned lands on the west bank of the Water of Leith ), which culminated in the construction of Dean Bridge 1829/31. Land south of this road line, including the Drumsheugh House section, were not developed until later (parcelled with other lands in

4875-564: The southern limit of the development, enjoyed open aspects to Queen Street Gardens. The builder for large sections of the Second New Town was George Winton . Very large sections of the Second New Town, built from the early 19th century are also still exactly as built. Townhouses generally occupied the east-west streets, with blocks of flats (called tenements in Scotland) along the north-south streets. Shops were originally generally restricted to

4950-421: The two corner blocks on Ainslie Place flanking the access to St Colme Street/Albyn Place. As one of the most affluent areas in Edinburgh, it set a trend. Glazing was changed to one-over-one format over almost the entire estate by 1950, but when architectural conservation came to the fore in the 1970's, it was one of the first areas to almost wholly restore windows to their original form. Most basements throughout

5025-439: The war it was only restored to natural stone in the late 20th century. Due to the high damage done by the paint to the stone a high proportion of the rear is wholly modern. The grey paint still survives on the arched vault of the pend leading from front to back. Notable residents include George Smith (Scottish architect) (8), William Guy (dentist) and John Smith (dentist) (11) New Town, Edinburgh The New Town

5100-474: The years and by the 1970s these commercial uses exceeded 50%. This has reversed in recent years. The street lights were originally individual tallow lamps. A unified gas lighting design and system was introduced by John Kippen Watson in the 1860s and this was converted to electric around 1910. However, the original lamps were mainly removed and replaced by modern lamp-posts in the 1960s. Edinburgh's New Town Conservation Area Committee restored electric versions of

5175-497: Was acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland and today is the registered office of the bank.. The forecourt of the building, with the equestrian monument to John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun , occupies the proposed church site. 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

5250-590: Was later joined by Matthew Ochterlony . Lord Rutherfurd employed William Notman to remodel his building in 1835, soon after it was built. Named after Glen Albyn on the Aberdeenshire estates, this short section is a continuation of St Colme Street linking to Queen Street. Notable residents include William Forbes Skene founded Skene Edwards WS (offices at 5), Aeneas James George Mackay (7), David Mure, Lord Mure (8), Alan Campbell-Swinton (9), Prof Thomas Stewart Traill (10), Prof David Low (11) Named after

5325-525: Was mainly completed by 1820, with the completion 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 , formerly

5400-505: Was most of Jamaica Street at the west end of the Second New Town. Bellevue House by Robert Adam , which became the Excise or Custom House, was built in 1775, before the New Town extended to the area, in what is now Drummond Place Gardens. Great King Street and London Street in the Northern or Second New Town were aligned on this building but it was demolished in the 1840s due to the construction of

5475-550: Was named George Street , after the king at the time, George III . Queen Street was to be located to the north, named after his wife, and St. Giles Street to the south, after the city's patron saint. St Andrew 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 national emblem) between George Street and Queen Street, and Rose Street (for England's emblem) between George Street and Princes Street. King George rejected

5550-425: Was received by John Young who built Thistle Court, the oldest remaining buildings in the New Town, at the east end of Thistle Street in 1767. Instead of building as a terrace as envisaged, he built a small courtyard. Doubts were overcome soon enough, and further construction started in the east with St. Andrew Square. Craig had intended that the view along George Street be terminated by two large churches, situated at

5625-540: Was redeveloped and reopened in 2021 as the St James Quarter . Also, by the Waverley Station lies Waverley Market , which contains many high street stores including: Game , Costa , McDonald's , Sainsbury's , KFC , Subway , Superdry and Greggs . New Town Gardens Most of the gardens were established contemporaneously to the New Town, and north West End of Edinburgh. Some have unique history such as

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