Trinity College Church

Category

Library Item

Item no

18457

Title

Trinity College Church with Calton Gaol in the background

Artist / maker

Hill, David Octavius

Date

1845

Size

12.7 x 17.5 cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Original caption: A view of Trinity College Church showing the Calton Jail, old and new observatories and the Nelson Column on Calton Hill. From anegative by D. O. Hill.
Trinity College Church was established in 1460 on a site close to where Waverley Station now stands. It was dismantled in 1848 by the North British Railway Company, and rebuilt twenty four years later in its present location on Jeffrey Street.
Calton Gaol was designed by Archibald Elliot as an alternative to Edinburgh's historic Tolbooth. It was located immediately to the south of Regent Road, overlooking Waverley Station. A Bridewell, or house of correction, designed by Robert Adam already stood on the site. The prison was opened in 1817, and closed in 1925 when the limited size of the premises necessitated a move to Saughton, the location of the present day prison. It was demolished, save the Governor's House which still stands, to make way for the Government Buildings of St Andrew's House.
Edinburgh's City Observatory is situated on Calton Hill. The central observatory building was designed by W. H. Playfair and completed in 1818. It was built for the Astronomical Institution, founded in 1811-12 with the architect's uncle, John Playfair, as its president. Immediately to the south-west of Playfair's building stands an earlier observatory, now called Observatory House. It was built in the late 18th century for the Leith optician Thomas Short, and was designed by James Craig. The City Dome, a late 19th century addition to the site, stands to the north-east. The observatory is now run by the Astronomical Society of Edinburgh.

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