East end of the Bridewell and jail governor's house

Category

Library Item

Item no

18673

Title

East end of the Bridewell and jail governor's house, Edinburgh

Description

Outside the Bridewell prison on Calton Hill a group of workers are building a construction with planks of wood. The cell block is built in a curved design next to a square tower. There are further castellated walls around the Bridewell. In the background the governors house has many turrets with battlements.

Artist / maker

Shepherd, Thomas Hosmer

Engraver

Tombleson, W

Date

1829

Size

10.2 x 15.8 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 Bridewell prison was designed in the style of a castle by the famous Scottish architect Robert Adam between 1791 and 1796. The Bridewell was used as a house of correction for vagrants, petty thieves and drunks. Calton Jail and the Governor's House were built nearby in 1817. These buildings have all been demolished, save the Governor's House which still stands, to make way for the Government Buildings of St Andrew's House.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Roofs

Architecture > Architectural features > Turrets

Architecture > Architectural features > Windows

Crime and punishment > Crime and punishment facilities > Prisons

Homes > Residential buildings > Houses

People > Industry > Construction workers

Places > Edinburgh areas > Calton

Places > Edinburgh areas > Calton Hill

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

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