Edinburgh from the Calton Hill

Category

Library Item

Item no

11120

Title

Edinburgh from the Calton Hill

Description

The view of Edinburgh from Calton Hill on a bright, breezy day. Barefooted washerwomen are busy drying laundry on the slope of Calton Hill. A path leads down the hill and carries the eye on to Waterloo Place, Princes Street and the West End. Calton Goal can be seen to the left of the road and behind it the Castle Rock and crown spire of St. Giles Kirk. To the right of Princes Street is the dome of Register House. The sky is filled with clouds.

Artist / maker

Gendall, John

Engraver

Sutherland, T.

Date

1824

Size

36.2 x 52.4 cm

Type

Aquatint

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

This image has been chosen for the Edinburgh - Past and Present Exhibition by Professor Charles McKean, University of Dundee- "Effectively the entrance into Edinburgh from England, this lovely view captures city in mid-transformation into the Athens of the North. No building has yet begun on the Mound, and Waterloo Bridge has just been completed. The New Town and its monuments - Modern Athens in other words - is bathed in sunlight, whereas the mysterious Old Town is swathed in shadow. The drawing encapsulated the 19th century attitude to Old Edinburgh: it had become bypassed by history." Charles McKean

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.

Calton Gaol was designed by Archibald Elliot as an alternative to Edinburgh's historic Tolbooth. It was located immediately to the south of Regent Road, overlooking Waverly Station. A Bridewell, or house of correction, designed by Robert Adam already stood on the site. The prison was opened in 1817, and closed in 1925 when the limited size of the premises necessitated a move to Saughton, the location of the present day prison. It was 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 images

Related subjects

Crime and punishment > Crime and punishment facilities > Prisons

Furnishings > Equipment > Laundry

Homes > Residential buildings > Castles and palaces

People > Adults > Women

Places > Edinburgh areas > Calton

Places > Edinburgh areas > Princes Street

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

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