Scottish History by John Abernethy

Author:John Abernethy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2014-02-17T16:00:00+00:00

Edinburgh’s New Town

In the late 18th century, Edinburgh was the centre of the Scottish Enlightenment, but the city itself had seen better days. With the dissolution of the Scottish Parliament in 1707, Edinburgh had lost its political power, and the historic Old Town of Edinburgh had become increasingly overcrowded and squalid, no matter how many extra storeys were built. In 1767, work began on the development of Edinburgh’s New Town, as designed by architect James Craig, a grand residential suburb for the most affluent of the population. The polluted Nor Loch was drained and turned into today’s Princes Street Gardens, while to the north of the loch work on the New Town continued until 1820. George Street, named after George III, was the original centrepiece of the New Town, but in the 19th century shops appeared on the less fashionable Princes Street, opposite the Gardens, and this now superseded George Street as Edinburgh’s principal thoroughfare. In the planning stage, Princes Street had been called St Giles’ Street, after Edinburgh’s patron saint, but royal protocol dictated otherwise and Princes Street was named after George III’s sons, Prince George and Prince Frederick.

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