North Bridge, the Calton Hill &c

Category

Library Item

Item no

18652

Title

North Bridge, the Calton Hill & c from the Bank of Scotland, Edinburgh

Description

Calton Hill and North Bridge are viewed from the top of the Mound. On the top of the hill the Nelson Monument is under construction. Further down the slopes the Edinburgh Jail can be seen. North Bridge has three large arches which cross over a market place below.

Artist / maker

Shepherd, Thomas Hosmer

Engraver

Lacy, S

Date

1829

Size

9.6 x 14.8 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 original North Bridge was completed in 1772 to provide access from Edinburgh's Old Town to the planned New Town development in the north of the city. It was widened in the 1870's to accommodate increased traffic, and was finally rebuilt between 1894-7 alongside the development at Waverley.

The area over which the North Bridge crosses in this engraving is the modern site of Waverley train station.

Calton Hill is situated at the east end of Princes Street in Edinburgh. It rises to a height of 108 metres and is another of the city's hills created by volcanic activity. Several monuments stand on the hill. Most prominent amongst these are the Nelson Monument, built in the shape of a telescope, and the unfinished National Monument, modelled on the Parthenon in Athens.

The Bank of Scotland headquarters is situated at the top of the Mound in Edinburgh. It was designed by Robert Reid and Richard Crichton and built between 1802 and 1806. It was substantially enlarged in the 1860s.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Arches

Architecture > Monuments > Memorial monuments

Crime and punishment > Crime and punishment facilities > Prisons

Places > Edinburgh areas > Calton Hill

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Transport > Infrastructure > Stone bridges

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