View from the North Bridge

Category

Library Item

Item no

2378

Title

View from the North Bridge

Description

The view from North Bridge in Edinburgh shows Waverley Bridge and Waverley Station, also visible are the Mound, Bank of Scotland building and the National Gallery. The Station has warehouses, wagons, horses and carts laden with sacks and machinery. Hotels are close to the station.

Artist / maker

Tunny, James Good

Date

1854

Size

19.9 x 25.2 cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Annotation on page reads: "View from the North Bridge. The Bank of Scotland as it was previous to the alterations in 1868. The Waverley station and Waverley Bridge as originally constructed."

J. G. Tunny, Member of the Photographic Society of Scotland. This work exhibited in the first annual exhibition, 1856. Edinburgh.

The original North Bridge was completed in 1772 to provide access from Edinburgh's Old Town to the planned New Town development in the north of the city. It was widened in the 1870's to accommodate increased traffic, and was finally rebuilt between 1894-7 alongside the development at Waverley. Mid way along the bridge there is a memorial to men of the King's Own Scottish Borderers killed in the Boer War. Its even gradient was designed to make it suitable for tramcars.

Edinburgh Waverley is the second largest mainline railway station in the UK. There were originally three stations on the site, serving three separate railway companies including the Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee Railway whose trains ran through a tunnel underneath Princes Street and New Town to another Station at Scotland Street. In 1866 North British Railway absorbed the other two companies and proceeded to amalgamate the three existing stations. Construction of this single station, much of which remains, was completed in 1874.

The original Waverley Bridge, a stone arch structure, was replaced during the extensive remodelling of the station in the late 1860's and early 1870's. This second bridge was in turn replaced by the current bridge which was completed in 1896. The vegetable market displaced by the construction of the second bridge was replaced by an indoor site designed by Robert Morham. This was demolished in 1974 and replaced by Waverley shopping centre, later called Princes Mall.

Exhibitions with this item

Other views of this item

Related images

Related subjects

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Edinburgh areas > Princes Street

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Transport > Infrastructure > Rail yards

Transport > Land > Rolling stock

(55°57′6″N, 3°11′17″W)

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