Bull's Close, Canongate

Category

Library Item

Item no

19177

Title

Bull's Close, Canongate

Artist / maker

Channing, William

Date

1854

Size

25.3 x 17.3 cm

Type

Pen work; Watercolour

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Bell's Close was situated in the south side of the Cowgate opposite Gray's close - demolished under the Improvement Act 1866

The Cowgate runs from its junction with St Mary's Street (formerly St Mary's Wynd) and the Pleasance to the Grassmarket. It was the route by which cattle were driven into town from outside Edinburgh. The Cowgate Port was a gateway through the Flodden wall (City Wall).

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 > Chimneys

Architecture > Architectural features > Roofs

Architecture > Architectural features > Stairways

Architecture > Architectural features > Windows

Homes > Residential buildings > Tenements

People > Adults > Women

Places > Edinburgh areas > Canongate

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Transport > Infrastructure > Alleys

Transport > Infrastructure > Closes