796 



EDINBURGH. 



M>ine degree of historical interest. From the win- 

 dow of a house near the Netherbow, the celebrated 

 John Knox is said to have harangued the populace. 

 Here branch off a street called tin- Leiih \\'yiul to 

 the north, and another called St Mary's Wynd to 

 the south ; in the former of which may be seen a 

 specimen of the old city wall. The main street now 

 takes the name of Cnnongate extending to Holyrood 

 House. From the High Street descend laterally in 

 regular rows, numerous narrow lanes called Closes, 

 many of them extremely steep, and very few more 

 than six feet wide ; those which are broader, and 

 admit of the passage of carriages, are called Wynds. 

 In these and the adjacent streets, the houses are fre- 

 quently more than forty yards in height, and divided 

 into from six to ten stories, or as they are locally 

 termed flats, the communication between which is 

 preserved by broad stone stair-cases, winding from 

 the lowest part of the building to the top : and each 

 floor or flat is inhabited by two families, the entrance 

 to all the different dwellings being from the common 

 stair-case. The wynds and closes on the south side 

 of the High Street, communicate with a street run- 

 ning parallel with it, called the Cowgate, at the bot- 

 tom of the ridge on which the former is built. It 

 is a continuation ot the line of communication that 

 enters the city westward, in the street called 

 Portsburgh, which terminates in the Grass Market ; 

 and the whole line extends nearly two miles from 

 Port Hopetoun to Holyrood. The West Bow, the 

 steep winding street which leads from the High 

 Street to the Grass Market and Cowgate, is noted in 

 the history of superstition, as the residence of Major 

 Weir, a reputed sorcerer, whose midnight incanta- 

 tions and conferences with the devil have been the 

 subject of much legendary lore. The South Bridge, 

 already mentioned, extends across the ravine in 

 which the Cowgate is situated; this structure was 

 commenced in 1785 : in a line with it is a street pas- 

 sing southward, and dividing the Old Town into two 

 nearly equal parts. On the western side of the 

 street, stands the College or University, and on the 

 eastern is Infirmary Street, leading to the Royal In- 

 firmary. In the southern part of the city are several 

 handsome squares, including St George's Square, 

 admired for its healthy and pleasant situation, Nichol- 

 son's Square, St Patrick's Square, Brown's Square, 

 and Argyll Square. In the vicinity is a level tract 

 of ground styled the Meadows, intersected by walks 

 between rows of trees, which afford a cool shade 

 from the summer's heat, and a shelter from the keen 

 blast in winter. In order that the High Street might 

 be thrown open to an approach from the south, an 

 act of parliament was obtained in 1827, empowering 

 certain persons to open two lines of approach to the 

 Old Town, one on the south-west, and the other from 

 that district on the south adjacent to George's Square, 

 the outlay to be defrayed by assessments on the in- 

 habitants. These improvements are now in pro- 

 gress. 



The New Town forms a complete contrast with 

 the Old Town, and as respects regularity of design 

 and beauty of situation, may, perhaps, be considered 

 as the most splendid assemblage of buildings in the 

 kingdom. It consists, however, of two parts, tliat of 

 which the plan was arranged in 1767, when the 

 ground to the north of the ancient city was added to 

 the royalty of Edinburgh ; and the more recent and 

 superb ranges of buildings northward of the preced- 

 ing. The New Town, as we have already said, is 

 divided from the Old Town by a deep valley, formerly 

 a morass, called the North Loch ; and the communi- 

 cation between the two towns is preserved by the 

 North Bridge, and by an earthen mound or embank- 

 ment. The bridge was erected in 1763, when the 



loch was drained ; and it is remarkable for the 

 lightness and elegance of its structure, and for the 

 -in. Hilarity of the prospects which itaffords. It con- 

 sists of three large central arches, and two smaller 

 ones at each side, extending about three hundred 

 feet, exclusive of the abutments and causeway, 

 which make the entire length eleven hundred feet. 

 Westward of this structure is the mound, whirh was 

 formed from the soil and rubbish procured in di^ in- 

 the foundations of buildings in the New Town, 

 the north end of the mound stands a handsome edifice, 

 in which the Antiquarian Society, the Royal Society, 

 and the Society for the Encouragement of the Fine 

 Arts hold their meetings. The valley to the 

 west, formerly under water, is now a fine pleasure. 

 ground, handsomely laid out and planted, forming an 

 agreeable and refreshing promenade for the neigh- 

 bouring-residents. 



In describing the New Town, as approached by 

 the North Bridge or by the mound, the first part 

 which is entered is that bounded by Prince's Street 

 on the south, and Queen Street on the north, both of 

 them noble and extensive terraces, or single ranks of 

 houses ; the former commanding a wide view over 

 the ancient city, with the Pentland Hills in the back 

 ground ; the latter yielding a prospect of the country, 

 stretching towards the Firth of Forth, and of the 

 handsome streets which occupy the foreground, with 

 the pleasant gardens and shrubberies, which divide 

 Queen Street from the new streets on the north. 

 Parallel with Prince's Street and Queen Street, 

 through the central space passes George Street, more 

 tlian lialf a mile in length, terminating eastward in 

 St Andrew's Square ; and at the western end is 

 Charlotte Square, considered as the haiuL-omer-i 

 square in Edinburgh. In this street there are no less 

 than three monuments, one, a lofty column, with 

 figure on the summit, erected in memory of lord 

 Melville, and two bronze figures by Chantrey, one 

 of George IV. and the other of Mr Pitt. These 

 streets are crossed at right angles by several other 

 good streets, and the buildings thus form a series of 

 quadrangles, displaying a uniformity in the general 

 plan which has been already noticed. To the west 

 of this part of the New Town are Atholl Crescent, 

 Coates Crescent, Melville Street, Walker Street, &c., 

 of recent erection ; north of Charlotte Square are the 

 new buildings called Moray Place, Ainslie Place, 

 Great Stewart Street, Darnaway Street, and Randolph 

 Crescent. From the latter is the entrance to a bridge, 

 called Dean's Bridge, over the water of Leith, north- 

 ward of which are St Bernard's Crescent, Raeburn 

 Place, &c. Beyond Queen Street, to the north, are 

 Heriot Row, Abercrombie Place, Albany Street, and 

 Forth Street, forming one continued range of build- 

 ings. Parallel with this line, further north, is Great 

 King Street, at the west end of which is the Royal 

 Circus, and at the east Drummond Place. The 

 eastern continuation of Queen Street is named York 

 Place, having elegant ranges of houses on both sides ; 

 and it is connected with various streets extending 

 towards the Calton Hill, and communicating with 

 the new grand entrance into the city by Prince's 

 Street. The entrance to Edinburgh, from the London 

 road, was formerly through narrow and inconvenient 

 streets; but in 1814 a new road was commenced 

 across the Calton Hill, hi one part of which a passage 

 has been cut through the solid rock, an immense 

 mass of ground having been levelled, to facilitate the 

 ascent. Between the Calton H ill and Prince's Street 

 a deep ravine intervenes, over which an elegant arch, 

 called Regent Bridge, has been thrown, connecting 

 the hili with Prince's Street ; and now the road form-? 

 a fine terrace, affording varied and delightful views 

 of the ancient metropolis of Scotland. 



