Blair's Close, Castlehill

Category

Library Item

Item no

19159

Title

Blair's Close, Castlehill

Artist / maker

Channing, William

Date

1854

Size

25.2 x 17.4 cm

Type

Pencil work

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Blair's Close is named after the writer and proprietor Archibald Blair who purchased land here c1745 from Alex Simpson. The Close is on the south side of the High Street.

The doorway surmounted by armorial bearings is the main entrance to the house which is believed to have been the town residence of the Dukes of Gordon. It was demolished in 1887.

The High Street is the section of Edinburgh's Royal Mile that runs from George IV Bridge down to its junction with Jeffrey Street and St. Mary's Street.

William Channing's drawings and paintings from the bound volume of his 'Sketches in Edinburgh', give an artist's impression of tenement life in the mid 19th century. His drawings are glimpses into the past down the narrow Closes and alleyways of the Old Town. We see higgledy-piggledy houses and tenements towering skywards, laundry hanging from windows across the walkways and local characters talking in the streets.

Channing's delightful sketches are particularly valued for their representation of the architectural elements and details of buildings and closes now much changed or long since disappeared.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Arches

Architecture > Architectural features > Doors and doorways

Architecture > Architectural features > Lights

Architecture > Architectural features > Roofs

Architecture > Architectural features > Windows

Homes > Residential buildings > Tenements

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Transport > Infrastructure > Alleys

Transport > Infrastructure > Closes

Transport > Infrastructure > Cobbled paths

Transport > Infrastructure > Street lights

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