View of Edinburgh from the Castle

Category

Library Item

Item no

10952

Title

View of Edinburgh from the Castle

Description

A view of Edinburgh from the castle showing the Old Town and the Royal Mile. To the left is Princes Street Gardens, North Bridge and the New Town. In the distance are the hills of Fife and the River Forth.

Artist / maker

Crawford, E.

Engraver

Havell Jnr.. R

Date

1828

Size

32 x 42.3 cm

Type

Aquatint

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

'Old Town' is the general name given to the original mediaeval centre of Edinburgh. It consists principally of the Royal Mile and the streets and closes leading from it, including those previously part of the separate burgh of Canongate. It also includes the Cowgate and the Grassmarket. The restricted size of the Old Town necessitated the construction of multi-storey 'lands' from the 1500's onwards, many of which still exist today. Eventually chronic overcrowding led to expansion of the city northwards past the Nor' Loch and southwards beyond the Flodden Wall. The Old Town area has now been classed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Edinburgh's New Town, which lies to the north of the Old Town, was designed by James Craig. Craig was the winner of a design competition held in 1766 which invited contestants to submit plans for the city's northward expansion. This expansion had become necessary due to terrible overcrowding in the Old Town. Based on a regular geometric scheme around the three streets of Princes Street, George Street and Queen Street the New Town continued to be developed until 1830. It has now been classed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Exhibitions with this item

Other views of this item

Related images

Related subjects

Homes > Residential buildings > Castles and palaces

Homes > Residential buildings > Houses

Landscape > Land > Hills

Places > Edinburgh areas > New Town

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town