Engraving from Old & New Edinburgh - published 1890

Edinburgh

1575

Bird's Eye View of the Castle and City of Edinburgh

©  For permission to reproduce, please contact peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk

    

Enlarge this engraving

    ©

 

Edinburgh  -  1575

Old Engraving

Here is a Bird's-Eye view of the Castle and City of Edinburgh, from an engraving published in 1575.

In this view Edinburgh extends only about half a mile to the east, from the castle.  The next half mile to the east to Holyrood Palace is part of the Canongate borough, outside the walls of Edinburg.

Confined Space

The extent of the city walls can be seen on this view.  There were no walls on the north of the city.  Protection was provided by the steep face of Castle Rock and the Nor' Loch.

The crowded conditions of the old town can be seen.  The confined space within the city's walls resulted in high tenements, with narrow closes between them, being built on either side of the ridge running down from the castle towards the Canongate.

 

Edinburgh Town Walls

The wall shown on the 1575 map at the top of this page is the newly-built Flodden Wall.

©

This Wikipedia page on Edinburgh Town Walls has:

-  a useful map showing where the walls

-  photos of some of the surviving fragments of wall

-  historic comments about the wall

-  a list of further reading.

 

 

 

 

 

__________________