Old Assembly Rooms, West Bow

Category

Library Item

Item no

6239

Title

Old Assembly Rooms, West Bow

Artist / maker

Geikie, Walter

Date

1830

Size

21.9 x 17 cm

Type

Pencil work

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Edinburgh's first Assembly Room was situated on the West Bow. Regular assemblies, or dances, were held there for several decades from 1710. The assemblies, whilst popular, were also the subject of much controversy and disapproval amongst the local community. New, grander premises opened in George Street in 1787.

Edinburgh's West Bow was zig-zagging street which led up from the Grassmarket to the top of the Lawnmarket. The street was interrupted by the construction of Victoria Street and Terrace between 1829-34. Its lower section joining the Grassmarket remains, and the line of the old street can be followed via a staircase to the Upper Bow. Traffic now follows Victoria Street from the West Bow up to George IV Bridge.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Stairways

Homes > Residential buildings > Tenements

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Sport and leisure > Culture > Assembly rooms

Transport > Infrastructure > Streets

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