Edinburgh from Calton Hill

Category

Library Item

Item no

943

Title

Edinburgh from Calton Hill

Description

View over Edinburgh from Calton Hill with women bleaching their washing on the grass in the foreground. The Calton Gaol and Governor's House can be seen and beyond the steeple of the Tron before the fire of 1824 which destroyed it. In the distance is the crown spire of St.Giles Cathedral and Edinburgh Castle. It also shows the view down Regent Terrace and Princes Street ending at St John's Church.

Artist / maker

Gendall, John

Engraver

Sutherland,Thomas

Date

1824

Size

36 x 52 cm

Type

Aquatint

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

The city of Edinburgh is built around seven hills, mostly volcanic in origin. It is bordered to its north by the Firth of Forth, and to its south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh has been Scotland's capital since the mid fifteenth century, but evidence of human habitation on the site stretches back some 7000 years. The central city is made up of the Old Town area immediately surrounding the Castle and the Royal Mile, and the New Town to the north, an important example of eighteenth and nineteenth century neoclassical town planning. These central areas were designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. Other more modern developments, from the nineteenth century to the present, radiate from this central area incorporating many older villages. Edinburgh attracts more tourists than any other city in the UK except London, especially during the annual festivals in August.

Calton Hill is situated at the east end of Princes Street. It rises to a height of 108 metres (355 feet) and is another of the city's hills which is made of volcanic rock. It is now renowned for the collection of monuments which include the Nelson Monument, the National Monument (Edinburgh's disgrace), the City Observatory and also monuments to Duguld Stewart and William Playfair.

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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

Places > Edinburgh areas > Calton

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Edinburgh areas > Princes Street

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

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