Part of the new town, from Ramsay [Ramsey] Gardens

Category

Library Item

Item no

18638

Title

Part of the new town, from Ramsay [Ramsey] Gardens

Description

The east section of the New Town from Hanover Street to St Andrew Square is viewed from Ramsay Gardens. A circular rotunda building sits at the top of the slope. The Royal Institution stands at the bottom of the gardens. One side of Princes Street is lined with buildings, and more of the Old Town can be seen behind. The spire of St Andrew's and St George's Church, and the Melville Monument tower above the other buildings. The Firth is viewed in the distance.

Artist / maker

Shepherd, Thomas Hosmer

Engraver

Ralph, J

Date

1829

Size

9.7 x 16.1 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.

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.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Columns

Architecture > Architectural features > Spires

Places > Edinburgh areas > New Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Sport and leisure > Culture > Galleries

Sport and leisure > Sports and recreation facilities > Marquees

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