Andy Arthur - ThreadinburghThe thread about Old Edinburgh as it never was; the elaborately crafted fake for nostalgic Victorian spectators
There’s a photo of “Old Edinburgh” that pops up now and again online that purports to show the City as it was back in 1886; usually from one of those context-less, “random old photos” social media accounts. But not all is quite what it appears to be with this image. It’s a fake! In fact it’s a very good fake.
But it’s not a fake in the sense that the image itself has been doctored – it is the whole scene that is an elaborately staged Capriccio: a recreated tableau of various parts of Old Edinburgh, in no particular order, as they may (or may not) have been over a period of some three centuries. A 200 feet by 65 feet section of the City was recreated, loosely modelling parts around the old Netherbow Port but including interlopers from other parts. It contained 21 painstakingly recreated buildings, all of which had been demolished in the living memory of the time. The whole lot was an industrial-scale fantasia which was assembled for the the International Exhibition of 1886, located in a vast, temporary show-hall on the West Meadows.
The 1886 pavilion of the International Exhibition on the West Meadows, a temporary building believe it or not! Peter Fletcher Riddell bequest to National Galleries ScotlandThe reconstruction was the idea of the Exhibition organisers who appointed a Committee to oversee it and who held a design competition in 1885. There was an increasing awareness at this time of just how much of Old Edinburgh was rapidly and unsympathetically being swept away and replaced by – what was then – modern architecture. As a result there was a growing nostalgia for what had been lost in recent memory and also a recognition of what a lot of those buildings had represented in the context of Scottish statehood and national identity. It was hoped that this revival of a semi-forgotten national architecture might go hand in hand with a revival of the country as a whole, on its own, distinct lines. The convenor of the Committee – John Charles Dunlop – said “I trust one of the early results of this first great Scottish Exhibition will be a return to a style of building at once suited to the varied scenery and the changeful skies of Scotland, and to the character and history of the Scottish people“.
“Mercat Cross & Old Assembly Rooms”, Marshall Wane, 1887On 27th October 1885 the Old Edinburgh Committee picked its competition winner – Sydney Mitchell, a Scottish revival architect behind such vernacular style buildings as Well Court in the Water of Leith (Dean) Village, part of Patrick Geddes’ Ramsay Garden and the restoration of the old Mercat Cross to the city. Mitchell’s entry – entered under the nom de plume Tolbooth – featured twenty four “passed away” buildings and structures. The official handbook (which you can read at archive.org, here) commissioned by the Committee includes this helpful street plan of the buildings:
Ground Plan of The “Old Edinburgh” Street, from “The Book of Old Edinburgh” published to accompany the exhibitionThese were picked from locations scattered across the city as can be seen on the map below, and the handbook pointed out that they were not from any specific period of time, stretching from those built in the 15th to the early 18th century, but “they had with each other a long contemporaneous existence“:
The locations of “Old Edinburgh”, marked on the map of Edinburgh by James Gordon of Rothiemay in 1647, Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of ScotlandThe installation was in a section of the exhibition hall that was open to the air and was constructed from wood, plaster and paint – with “realistic but illusionary finishes” to mock up age and weathering under the expert eye of Mr Smythe, the scenery artist at the Theatre Royal. The workmen were encouraged to add to the authenticity by chipping paint, cracking chimney pots, splintering wood, etc., so that the effect was not a “pristine original, but of undisturbed ageing: the illusion that the buildings had survived undisturbed into the present“. An electric arc lamp was installed to simulate moonlight in the evening, and weak incandescent bulbs simulated candle light behind the windows. Actors in period costumer were employed to add to the visual spectacle of the recreation.
Actors hired to represent the “Old City Guard” at the entrance to “Old Edinburgh”. The uniforms and equipment are seemingly accurate for the 18th century when compared to some contemporary illustrations, although the size of the bicorne hats may be somewhat accentuated.Briefly, the chosen subjects, their location, relevance and when they had been lost were:
- The Netherbow Port. The old eastern entrance, and principal gate, to the City. It stood on a spot near where St. Mary’s Street now intersects the High Street, and the latter becomes the Canongate. Built 1606, demolished 1764.
- Robert Gourlay’s House. An immense 16th century house that once stood on Old Bank Close which was swept away in 1834 for the construction of George IV Bridge. Gourlay enjoyed the patronage of King James VI.
- Cardinal Beaton’s House. A 16th century house on the corner of Blackfriar’s Wynd where it met the Cowgate, it had been the residence of the Archbishop of Glasgow, James Beaton and then his nephew, Cardinal David Beaton, a prominent figure in 16th century Scottish history. It had a prominent octagonal tower projecting from its first storey and was demolished in 1874.
- Twelve Apostles House and French Ambassador’s Chapel. A building demolished in 1829, named for the “apostles’ heads” that decorated its gable and reputed to have contained a chapel for the French Ambassador. Located on the Cowgate at the foot of Libberton’s Wynd and taken down in 1829 to allow construction of George IV Bridge. The gable, and other ornamental stones, were saved and incorporated in Easter Coates House where they remain to this day.
- House in Dickson’s Close. A 16th century house exemplifying the old style of a stone ground floor, with projecting timber and render upper stories and reputed to have been built by Robert Mylne, the Seventh Royal Master Mason.
- Paul’s Wark. A 17th century workhouse built by the City at the foot of Leith Wynd, where it met the Calton, part of which later became a reformatory. It was demolished around 1844 to make way for the North British Railway.
- Symson the Printer’s House. This early 16th century house, at the foot of Horse Wynd, was the oldest house in the Cowgate at the time of its demolition in 1871 to make way for Chambers Street. It took its name from its late 17th century occupant – Andro Symson – an Episcopal clergyman who had turned to poetry and printing.
- Bowhead House. The archetype of the above style in the city, a sprawling building on the top corner of the West Bow whose tiers got ever wider and more precarious as they rose higher. It had been demolished in 1878.
- Major Weir’s House. An early 17th century house that was located off of the West Bow, demolished when Victoria Street was constructed between 1829-34. The resident after whom it was named was the notorious Major Thomas Weir a soldier and “warlock” who was executed in 1670 for bestiality, incest and adultery.
- Earl of Hyndford’s House – also known as the Earl of Selkirk’s House. A large and most impressive house in the Old Town which was demolished in the 1870s. It was accessed off of Hyndford’s Close and had passed into the hands of Dr Daniel Rutherford, credited with the discovery of Nitrogen and grandfather of Sir Walter Scott. This house had been a favourite haunt of the young Walter when he was at the High School.
- Laus Deo House. A late 16th-century house on the Castle Hill at the head of Blyth’s Close, decorated with the legend “LAUS DEO” (Praise be to God) in large letters on its façade. This had been a focus of antiquarian interest in the first half of the 19th century when a stunning original ceiling was discovered hidden above a later one. There was a theory that this may have once formed part of the residence or “Palace” of the Regent of Scotland, Mary of Guise.
- The CunȜie House. A purported one-time location of the old Royal Mint of Scotland in the 16th century at the head of the Cowgate, where it met Candlemaker Row, with a distinctive “timber-arched porch, outside stairs and ancient ballusters“. Demolished around 1870.
- Mary of Guise’ Oratory. A private chapel situated on the Castle Hill on the east of Blyth’s Close, built some time after 1544 in connection with the residence (or “palace”) of the Regent of Scotland, Mary. It was demolished in 1845 when the New College of the Free Church of Scotland was being built.
- The Royal Porch. An ornamental gateway to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, built around 1490 by Abbot Bellenden. It was demolished in 1753 by the hereditary keeper of the Palace, the Duke of Hamilton.
- Assembly Rooms. Long before they were on George Street, Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms were on the Bow, the steep route up from the Grassmarket to the Lawnmarket. This was a “tall, picturesque building” that was demolished in 1836 when the street was remodelled as Victoria Street.
- The Black Turnpike. A few doors up from the Tron Kirk, it was demolished in 1788 (along with parts of that Church) to form Hunter Square as part of the South Bridge development. A very large building for its time (15th century), it was a “sumptuous residence” for high status nobles. Access to its upper floors was by a prominent turnpike stairwell on its façade, hence its name.
- House Fornent the Mint Close. An old house on the Cowgate fornent (Scots – opposite) the Mint Close, the last site of the Royal Mint of Scotland, it was one of the last surviving examples of a timber-fronted building of a burgher, with a small piazza on its ground floor and an open gallery above it. This particular house was also opposite that of Cardinal Beaton (above) and cleared in 1874 at the same time to allow the Cowgate to be widened.
- Parliament Stairs and Parliament Hall Gable. The “back stairs” led from the Cowgate up to the Parliament Close through the city’s Meal Market. At the head of the stairs was the south gable of the Parliament Hall of Scotland. The stairs were removed after the Great Fire of Edinburgh of 1824, and the gable of the Parliament Hall disappeared from view when the Outer House of the Court of Session was extended out from it.
- Tolbooth. One of the best known of Old Edinburgh’s buildings, this ugly, multi-storey building adjacent to St. Giles cathedral performed a variety of civic functions from guard house to prison to council chambers, court room and even a meeting space for the Parliament of Scotland. It had stood on this spot in one form or another since the late 15th century and was finally demolished in 1817 to widen and improve the High Street.
- The Mercat Cross. The ancient meeting point on the middle of the High Street, it had been taken down in 1756 and its stones scattered amongst other buildings and gardens, the cross and its shaft finding its way to Drum House, from where it was restored to the High Street in 1866. As a result of this, it was unique in being the only exhibit in the reconstruction that still existed (even though it was a restoration)
The stunt was a roaring success. On June 5th 1886, the Dundee Weekly News described to its readers “A Saunter Round the Old Edinburgh Street” at night, in a long, 3-column report complete with in-depth descriptions of each building and illustrations. They said it was “A fine replica of early Scottish architecture – a group of ancient buildings with which are associated much of Edina’s romance and history” and that Mitchell was “worthy of all praise for the truthful representation he has given as of those historic edifices which have long since corroded under the rime of years“.
Thank you to Alan Faichney for reminding me that I never wrote this thread up at the time, and for bringing it back to my attention 4 months later!
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