Calton Burial Ground and Jail

Category

Library Item

Item no

21463

Title

Calton Burial Ground and Jail

Description

A birds eye view of the Calton Gaol and Burial Ground, Edinburgh. Both nestle at the foot of Calton Hill, topped with Nelson's Monument and the National Monument. The castle-like tower's of the gaol's governor's house can be seen at the right hand side and a tall obelisk rises from the burial grounds.

Artist / maker

Balmain, James C. H.

Date

1902

Size

16.7 x 21.5 cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

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.

The large obelisk in Calton Burial Ground is a monument to those radical reformers, including Thomas Muir, who were tried, convicted and deported for sedition in 1793. In the wake of the French and American Revolutions Muir and his associates had been active in a widespread movement for political and social reform in Britain. The movement attracted alarm and extreme sanction from both the political establishment and conservative elements in society.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Columns

Architecture > Monuments > Memorial monuments

Architecture > Monuments > Obelisks

Crime and punishment > Crime and punishment facilities > Prisons

Landscape > Land > Hills

Places > Edinburgh areas > Calton

Places > Edinburgh areas > Calton Hill

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

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