Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
research, nurturing world-famous pioneers such as James Young Simpson, founder of
anaesthesia, and Joseph Lister, the father of modern surgery. he
history of surgery
takes up one part of the museum, with intriguing exhibits ranging from early surgical
tools to a pocketbook covered with the leathered skin of serial killer William Burke
(see p.72). Another room has an array of gruesome instruments illustrating the history
of dentistry, while the third and most remarkable part of the museum, the elegant
Playfair Hall
, contains an array of specimens and jars from the college's anatomical and
pathological collections dating back to the eighteenth century.
1
The New Town
he
NEW TOWN
, itself well over two hundred years old, stands in total contrast to the
Old Town: the layout is symmetrical, the streets are broad and straight, and most of the
buildings are Neoclassical. Originally intended to be residential, the entire area, right
down to the names of its streets, is something of a celebration of the Union, which was
then generally regarded as a proud development in Scotland's history. Today, the New
Town's main streets form the bustling hub of the city's commercial, retail and business
life, dominated by shops, banks and o
ces.
In many ways, the layout of the greater New Town is its own most remarkable sight, an
extraordinary grouping of squares, circuses, terraces, crescents and parks with a few set
pieces such as
Register House
, the north frontage of
Charlotte Square
and the assemblage
of curiosities on and around
Calton Hill
. However, it also contains assorted Victorian
additions, notably the
Scott Monument
on Princes Street, the
Royal Botanic Garden
on its
northern fringe, as well as two of the city's most important public collections - the
National Gallery of Scotland
and, further afield, the
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
.
Brief history
he existence of the New Town is chiefly due to the vision of
George Drummond
, who
made schemes for the expansion of the city soon after becoming Lord Provost in 1725.
Work began on the draining of the Nor' Loch below the Castle in 1759, a task that was
to last some sixty years. he North Bridge, linking the Old Town with the main road
leading to the port of Leith, was built between 1763 and 1772 and, in 1766, following a
public competition, a plan for the New Town by 22-year-old architect
James Craig
was
chosen. Its gridiron pattern was perfectly matched to the site: central
George Street
,
flanked by showpiece squares, was laid out along the main ridge, with parallel
Princes
Street
and
Queen Street
on either side below, and two smaller streets, histle Street and
Rose Street, in between the three major thoroughfares providing coach houses, artisans'
dwellings and shops. Princes and Queen streets were built up on one side only, so as not
to block the spectacular views of the Old Town and Fife respectively. Architects were
accordingly afforded a wonderful opportunity to play with vistas and spatial
relationships, particularly well exploited by Robert Adam, who contributed extensively
to the later phases of the work. he First New Town, as the area covered by Craig's plan
came to be known, received a whole series of extensions in the early decades of the
nineteenth century, all carefully in harmony with the Neoclassical idiom.
Princes Street
Although only allocated a subsidiary role in the original plan of the New Town,
Princes
Street
had developed into Edinburgh's principal thoroughfare by the middle of the
nineteenth century, a role it has retained ever since. Its unobstructed
views
across to the
Castle and the Old Town are undeniably magnificent. Indeed, without the views,
Princes Street would lose much of its appeal; its northern side, dominated by large
outlets of the familiar national chains, is almost always crowded with shoppers, and few
