Discovering Edinburgh...
A Capital Place to Live
By Bob McCulloch ©
of the ice during the ice age. The ice moving west to east split against this rock and gouged out the valley of the Grassmarket to the south and what is now Princes Street gardens to the
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been a wooden palisade to protect soldiers who chose this locality as the most easily defended place from which to control the tracks and trade routes of the area. Gradually the huts of the merchants whose business it was to supply the garrison were built in the lee of the fort so that they could quickly take shelter should danger
castle of a kind and one long street stretching down the ridge with many closes and Wynds between the houses.
as the Royal Mile. It became known as this as it is just over a mile in length and has a Royal Palace at each end. One of the most frequently
12th
During the 15th
Street where a wall crossed the ridge with a
north side they created the Nor Loch where Princes Street Gardens is now by damming a stream. There were six gates or ports in the
The population continued to grow but owing to the wall they could not expand outwards
houses until they had skyscrapers of up to
dwelling house served by a single turnpike stair. All classes lived in these “lands” lords and
got on well together and knew each other by
in the old town any waste was thrown onto the street. This could only be done after the town bell had been rung at 10pm. This was the
signal for windows to be raised and chamber pots to be emptied out. This had to be
of the French “gardez l`eau” watch out for the water. A passerby would then shout “haud yer hand”. Anyone disposing of their waste before this time had their windows boarded up for a period of up to six months. The stench became known as the “Floo`rs of Edinburgh”.
at sea until 1999 and the ship used for this was named the “Gardy Loo”. The need for defence was no longer necessary after the Union of Scotland and England and so in 1763 it was decided that because of the cramped and unsanitary conditions a new town should be
six times Lord Provost was the man with the vision and personality to push through the plans and he became known as the Father of the New Town.
This plan was for a formal layout of wide streets and elegant houses. Basically it
west named after the Queen and St. Andrews Square at the east end named after the patron saint of Scotland. Parallel to George Street were Princes Street and Queen Street.
Duke of York father of George 111 who would achieve everlasting fame through the nursery rhyme relating to his military exploits leading
By a stroke of clear thinking they decided that no houses were to be built on the south side of Princes Street so giving a clear view of the
be erected on the north side of Queen Street giving views of the River Forth. To attract
was a tailor from the Old Town named George Boyd who used a makeshift arrangement of planks and boulders to get to his premises. The “Mound” was constructed using material from the excavations and became known as
Later further new towns (or extensions to the
makes our city so interesting. We have both an old town of great historical interest and a new town of beauty combined into one. There are
practically every major aspect of Scottish history.
Edinburgh has been the home of the famous
hills Edinburgh has marvellous views from exceptional vantage points. Edinburgh is the
since 1999 the home of the new Scottish
International Festival of the Arts. The presence
of the Lord Lyon King of Arms enhance the
pursuivants.
A popular nick name for Edinburgh was “Auld
that hung over the city. On some days it was so bad the city could not be seen from the
legislation enforcing the use of smokeless
indeed the capital of Scotland
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