Edinburgh, from Craigleith

Category

Library Item

Item no

18639

Title

Edinburgh, from Craigleith

Description

The city of Edinburgh is viewed from rural Craigleith where shepherds guide their sheep with sticks and the help of a sheepdog along a rocky path beside trees. The town of Edinburgh is dominated by the Castle which sits on a rocky outcrop. Amongst the buildings of the New Town the spires of St John's, St Cuthbert's and St George's Churches stand out in the West. In the East, Calton Hill and its monuments are visible. Behind Edinburgh the hill of Arthur's Seat dominates the skyline.

Artist / maker

Shepherd, Thomas Hosmer

Engraver

Tombleson, W

Date

1829

Size

9.8 x 16.6 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.

Craigleith is situated about 2 miles north-west of the centre of Edinburgh. Craigleith Quarry operated from the 17th century and provided much of the sandstone for the construction of New Town. It was filled in the 1930's and is now the site of Craigleith Retail Park.

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Related images

Related subjects

Animals > Mammals > Sheep

Homes > Residential buildings > Castles and palaces

Landscape > Land > Hills

Landscape > Water > Loch, lakes and ponds

People > Adults > Men

People > Agriculture and fisheries > Shepherds

Places > Edinburgh areas > Craigleith

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Plants > Trees > Trees

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