Waverley Station and the Old Town of Edinburgh

Category

Museums & Galleries Item

Item no

11387

Title

Waverley Station and the Old Town of Edinburgh from the north-east

Artist / maker

Begbie, Thomas

Date

1887

Size

8.3 x 17.1 cm

Type

Glass negative

Location

City Art Centre

Copyright

The Cavaye Collection of Thomas Begbie Prints ; The City of Edinburgh Council Museums & Galleries

Edinburgh Waverley is the second largest mainline railway station in the UK. There were originally three stations on the site, serving three separate railway companies including the Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee Railway whose trains ran through a tunnel underneath Princes Street and New Town to another Station at Scotland Street. In 1866 North British Railway absorbed the other two companies and proceeded to amalgamate the three existing stations. Construction of this single station, much of which remains, was completed in 1874.

'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.

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