Princes Street Gardens and Waverley Bridge

Category

Museums & Galleries Item

Item no

11585

Title

Princes Street Gardens, Waverley Bridge and Old Town of Edinburgh from foot of Scott Monument

Artist / maker

Begbie, Thomas

Date

1863

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

The original Waverley Bridge, a stone arch structure, was replaced during the extensive remodelling of the station in the late 1860's and early 1870's. This second bridge was in turn replaced by the current bridge which was completed in 1896. The vegetable market displaced by the construction of the second bridge was replaced by an indoor site designed by Robert Morham. This was demolished in 1974 and replaced by Waverley shopping centre, later called Princes Mall.

'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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Architecture > Architectural features > Arches

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Transport > Infrastructure > Railway

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