New Tron Steeple, High Street, Edinburgh

Category

Library Item

Item no

18631

Title

New Tron steeple, High Street, Edinburgh

Description

The Tron Kirk steeple dominates this view of the High Street. A horse drawn carriage travels up the High Street. A man walks his dog. Horses and carts make their way along the cobbled road, and pedestrians promenade along the pavements.

Artist / maker

Shepherd, Thomas Hosmer

Date

1829

Size

10.4 x 6.9 cm

Type

Engraving

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

This image comes from 'Modern Athens', a book of engravings based on drawings by Thomas Shepherd published in 1829. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries Edinburgh was growing rapidly. The popular neoclassical architectural style of the time was inspired by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and Edinburgh was nicknamed 'Athens of the North'. Shepherd's engravings celebrate the beauty of Edinburgh and show many notable buildings and streets both within the city, and further afield.

The Tron Kirk was completed in 1647. It was designed by John Mylne. It takes its name from the public weighing machine that stood in a nearby street in the 17th century. The Church lost its tower in the Great Fire of 1824. It was replaced by a taller spire in 1828. Visitors to the Kirk can now view the remains of a 16th century street discovered below the building in 1974. Since 1952 the building has been owned by City of Edinburgh Council and was recently used as a visitor centre.

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Related subjects

Animals > Mammals > Horses

Architecture > Architectural features > Spires

Architecture > Architectural features > Windows

Business > Service industry > Shops

Homes > Residential buildings > Tenements

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Edinburgh areas > Royal Mile

Places > Edinburgh Landmarks > Tron Kirk

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Religion > Religious facilities > Protestant churches

Transport > Land > Horse and carriages

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