Edinburgh, from the Calton Hill

Category

Library Item

Item no

18640

Title

Edinburgh, from the Calton Hill

Description

Princes Street and Edinburgh Castle are viewed from Calton Hill. Princes Street is a long straight street busy with people, horses and carriages. The buildings below the hill include General Register House which has a large dome on its top, and on the other side the Calton Jail and burial ground on Waterloo Place. A road slopes up towards the Old Town of Edinburgh past the Bank of Scotland building behind which Edinburgh Castle sits on Castle Rock. On top of Calton Hill people enjoy the view of the town, including children with kites and other toys, and a couple arm in arm.

Artist / maker

Shepherd, Thomas Hosmer

Engraver

Tombleson, W

Date

1829

Size

9.8 x 16.5 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.

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.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Cupolas

Clothing and dress > Accessories > Hats

Clothing and dress > Garments > Coats

Clothing and dress > Garments > Dresses

Clothing and dress > Garments > Jacket

Homes > Residential buildings > Castles and palaces

Landscape > Land > Hills

People > Adults > Men

People > Adults > Women

Places > Edinburgh areas > New Town

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Edinburgh areas > Princes Street

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

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