Edinburgh History

1600s

1628

Heriot's Hospital

"was founded and erected for £30,000 by George Heriot, citizen of Edinburgh and jeweller to King James VI." [McDowell's Guide c.1840]

George Heriot's Hospital, now a school, is a in a prominent situation immediately to the South of Edinburgh Castle.

This was one of the buildings photographed by Talbot on his visit to Edinburgh in the early 1840s.

1637

The Tron Kirk was founded.

For many years, until the early 1990s, a small crowd gathered at the Tron Kirk at the junction of Edinburgh High Street and South Bridge to celebrate the New Year.

More recently the New Year has been celebrated by several hundred thousand gathering in and around Princes Street, with entertainment including a firework display at Edinburgh Castle.

1700s The Enlightenment
Notable figures in Edinburgh in the 1700s included: ARTISTS: Allan Ramsay jr. (1713-84), Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823), David Wilkie (1785-1841), Alexander Nasmyth (1758-1840) - also architect, landscape designer, theatre designer ARCHITECT: Robert Adam (1728-92), Adam Smith (1723-90), Adam Ferguson (1723-1816) BIOGRAPHER: James Boswell (1740-95) PHILOSOPHERS: David Hume (1711-76) POETS: Allan Ramsay (1686-1758), Robert Burns (1759-96), Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) [The details above are an extract from a list provided by Bill Hare]
1744	St Cuthbert's Church erected.
21 Oct 1763	North Bridge: The first stone was laid for the North Bridge, which provided a route leading from the Old Town to the (yet to be constructed) New Town of Edinburgh. The bridge was completed in 1769.
1763	The Nor' Loch was drained.
1767	Edinburgh New Town: James Craig created the design of the Edinburgh New Town.
1770	St Cuthbert's or West Kirk was erected. It was also reported that St Cuthbert's Church was erected in 1774. [Source: McDowell's Guide: c.1840] This church is close to the West End of Princes Street. The Church Hall was the venue for EPS international photographic exhibitions from the 1950s until 1970.
1774	Register Office [East Register House] was founded. It took many years to complete due to lack of funds. [Source: McDowell's Guide: c.1840]
1779	The Earthen Mound was commenced, to give a second communication between the Old Town and New Town. It was created by throwing earth excavated from the foundations of houses in the New Town into the Nor' Loch.
1779	St Andrew's Church was erected.
1788	New Assembly Rooms were founded in George Street.

1800 to 1819
May 1801	Leith Docks: The foundation-stone of the eastern wet docks was laid.
1801	The Meadows: The Town Council agreed to have the Meadows drained "with the view of giving employment to the industrious poor ". [EC19]
1803	Royal Mile: "During this year, a great part of the Luckenbooths was pulled down, the High Street widened where they stood, and the beautiful old Cathedral of St Giles opened to public view" [EC19]
1805	Police: The 1805 Edinburgh Police Act was passed, allowing uniformed dedicated police force to be created to patrol the streets of Edinburgh. This was the first such force to be created in Britain, 24 years before Sir Robert Peel founded the Metropolitan Police Force in London. Edinburgh Evening News: 6 Oct 2005, pp.24-25.
20 May 1806	Leith Docks: The new wet dock was opened.
21 Oct 1807	Nelson Monument: The foundation-stone of Lord Nelson's monument was laid on Calton Hill. The monument is in the shape of a telescope standing on its end.
14 Mar 1811	Leith Docks: The foundation-stone for the middle wet dock was laid. The dock was completed in 1817.
14 Feb 1813	Fire destroys the Bishop's Land on the north side of High Street
1813	Roman Catholic Chapel: a Gothic style Roman Catholic Chapel was built in Broughton Street. This was later to become Edinburgh's Roman Catholic Cathedral (now to be found close to the northern entrance to John Lewis Department Store. There is a plaque beside the Cathedral entrance giving a brief history of the building.
15 Apr 1813	Newhaven: The Foundation stone of the new harbour at Newhaven was laid.
1815	St John's Episcopal Chapel, Princes Street, commenced.
19 Sep 1815	Regent Bridge and Calton Jail: Foundation Stones laid for Regent Bridge and the new Calton Jail were laid.
1816	Edinburgh Races: The Caledonian Hunt and Edinburgh Races were held for the first time, in 1816, at Musselburgh. In earlier years, Leith Sands had been the venue.
31 Nov 1817	Leith Harbour: The second new wet dock at Leith was opened.
25 Jan 1817	"The Scotsman": The first edition of The Scotsman newspaper was published on 25 January 1817.
3 Mar 1818	Union Canal: Construction of the Edinburgh & Glasgow Union Canal commenced
1819	Raeburn's Studio: An Institution for the encouragement of the Fine Arts in Scotland was founded and held its first exhibition of loan pictures in Mr Raeburn's studio in York Place.

1820 to 1839
3 Feb 1820	Proclamation: Ceremony at the Cross of Edinburgh to proclaim George IV as King, following the death of George III on 29 Jan 1820.
1821	The Nor' Loch: That part of it which lies to the west of The Mound was enclosed, drained and planted with trees and shrubs, and walks formed in it. This is now West Princes Street Gardens
1821	Sailing to London: Steam Packet ships were introduced between Leith and London, the journey taking 60 hours.
28 Apr 1821	St Andrew Square: Foundation Stone laid for the Melville Monument in St Andrew Square.
10 Jan 1822	Princes Street 53 gas lanterns were installed in Princes Street. These replaced 79 oil lamps.
May 1822	Union Canal: Edinburgh & Glasgow Union Canal was opened. The length of the canal was 31.5 miles long.
1822	Register House at the east end of Princes Street, facing the North Bridge, was completed.
14 Aug 1822	King George IV arrives at Leith. New roads in Edinburgh had been constructed for his visit.
27 Aug 1822	National Monument: The foundation-stone was laid during King George IV's visit to Edinburgh, though he did not attend the ceremony personally The original plan was to construct an edifice after the Parthenon of Athens at a cost of £60,000. Twenty years later it was written: *"Twelve columns only have been erected at the expense of £13,000"* [Source: McDowell's Guide: c.1840] The plan to complete this monument was abandoned. The monument looks the same today as it did in 1840.
1822	George IV reviewed the troops on Portobello Beach..
30 Jun 1823	Edinburgh Academy: The foundation-stone was laid.
May 1824	New Botanic Gardens opened at Inverleith Row, replacing the Royal Botanic Garden, Leith Walk.
24 May 1824	Tanfield: The foundation-stone was laid for oil-gas works at Tanfield was laid by Sir Walter Scott, Chairman of the company.
24 Jun 1824	Fire destroyed five houses, six stories high, close to Parliament Square in High Street.
15 Nov 1824	The most disastrous fire in the history of the City broke out, destroying many houses between the High Street and Cowgate, and the steeple of the Tron Church. Almost 400 families were made homeless.
28 Jul 1825	Royal High School: The foundation-stone of the new Royal High School was laid with Masonic honours.
13 Feb 1826	The Royal Institution, The Mound, opened. This is now the National Gallery of Scotland.
27 May 1827	Scottish Academy: A movement began for the formation of a Scottish Academy, which consisted at first of 24 artists. The first exhibition was held in 1827. An amalgamation with artists of the Royal Institution later took place. On 13 August 1838, the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture was constituted.
1828	St Stephen's Church erected.
1828	Steam Coach: A steam coach was constructed by James and George Naysmith, sons of the artist. It ran between Leith and Queensferry at between 4 and 7 miles per hour.
24 Dec 1828	Burke & Hare: The trial of Burke, for the Burke & Hare murders, began in the High Court.
23 Jun 1829	Royal High School: The Royal High School, described in the press as one of the most perfect classical edifices in the country was opened.
29 Sep 1829	Tolbooth Church: The foundation-stone was laid.
30 Jun 1830	King William IV was proclaimed at The Cross by the Lord Provost, following the death of George IV.
1833	Pitt Statue was erected in George Street.
1833	Dean Bridge was erected.
24 Jun 1837	Queen Victoria was proclaimed at The Cross, the Castle and Holyrood House.

1840 to 1859
15 Aug 1840	The Scott Monument foundation-stone was laid. The Monument, a Gothic design, was created by architect, George Meikle Kemp. The Statue of Sir Walter Scott is by John Steele RSA. The Monument was formerly inaugurated on 17 Aug 1846. George Meikle Kemp did not live to see the completion of the Monument. He drowned in an accident in the Union Canal on 6 March 1844.
18 Feb 1842	Railway between Edinburgh and Glasgow opened.
1 Sep 1842	Queen Victoria & Prince Albert landed at Granton.
18 May 1843	Disruption of the Church of Scotland and founding of the Free Church. The dissenters were cheered as they proceeded from St Andrew's Church to Tanfield Hall where the first Assembly of the Free Church was held. The Dissention was the subject of many calotype photographs by the Hill & Adamson partnership, 1843-47, and large painting by DO Hill.
1843	Warriston Cemetery opened.
1844	The Burns Monument is situated close to the Royal High School on the road from Edinburgh to London, beneath Calton Hill. It was reported: *"The Burns Monument is being erected"* [The Edinburgh Tourist and Itinerary - 1844]
24 Jan 1844	Royal Institution: A large statue of Queen Victoria, carved by Sir John Steele, was placed on top of the Royal Institution in 1843.
4 Jun 1844	Commercial Bank: The foundation-stone of the Commercial Bank in George Street was laid.
19 Jan 1845	Fire totally destroyed Old Greyfriars Church, and badly damaged New Greyfriars' Church.
17 Aug 1846	The Scott Monument was inaugurated.
1846	Rail link between Edinburgh and London was completed.
1848	Trinity Church was taken down to make way for the North British Railway.
30 Aug 1850	National Gallery: Prince Albert, travelling with Queen Victoria on their way to Balmoral, laid the foundation stone of the National Gallery of Art at the Mound.
3 Feb 1851	Donaldson's Hospital inaugurated.
14 Jun 1852	Wellington's statue was set up opposite Register House. This was the anniversary of Waterloo.
17 Aug 1852	Victoria Dock opened at Leith for admission of vessels.
24 May 1853	Fire: Adelphi Theatre, Broughton Street, was burnt to the ground. Part of St Mary's Roman Catholic Chapel was also destroyed.
22 Feb 1854	City Wall: Several people lost their lives when a large section of the City Wall and embankment beside Leith Wynd collapsed. The wall had been 20 feet high.
19 Dec 1855	Queen's Theatre & Opera House was opened.
1856	Canongate (which included Holyrood) was a separate borough from Edinburgh, outside the city walls, until 1856 when it became part of Edinburgh.
14 Jun 1857	Old Greyfriars' Church, was reopened after total destruction by fire in 1845.
15 Aug 1857	Fire: A nine-storey tenement at top of the Mound was gutted by fire.
22 Mar 1859	National Gallery opened to the public.
23 Dec 1859	National Museum of Antiquities was inaugurated, and opened to the public the following week. This building, in Queen Street is now the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. It houses the National Galleries of Scotland's collection of over 27,000 photographs, and has been the venue of many photographic exhibitions.

1860 to 1879
7 Aug 1860	Royal Review: The first review of Scottish Volunteers by Queen Victoria in Queen's Park. 20,000 volunteers. This was photographed by Thomas Begbie [1840-1915].
26 Jan 1861	The Time Gun was first fired by electrical arrangement from the Nelson Monument
24 Nov1861	Building Collapse: The living conditions had become very overcrowded in the tenement buildings of Old Edinburgh, with outbreaks of cholera. In 1861, an eight-storey tenement in the High Street collapsed, killing 35 of its 77 inhabitants.
23 Sep 1861	Museum: The foundation-stone of the new Museum of Science and Art was laid by Prince Albert.
23 Sep 1861	Post Office: Foundation-stone of the Post Office was laid by Prince Albert, on the site of the old theatre, Shakespeare Square
21 Jun 1864	Last Public Execution in the City - George Bryce, the Ratho murderer.
13 Jan 1865	Fire: Theatre Royal, Broughton Street, destroyed by fire.
19 May 1866	Museum: Prince Alfred opened the newly erected Museum of Science and Art. Five days later, he was created Duke of Edinburgh.
1867	Edinburgh Improvement Act: Following several years of health problems and the collapse of a High Street tenement in 1861, debate took place in Edinburgh, resulting in the passing of the Edinburgh Improvement Act in 1867. This Act resulted in more light and air being brought into the Old Town of Edinburgh. Some buildings in the West Port and Grassmarket area were demolished. A new, wider street, Chamber Street, named after the Provost, was built.
10 Feb 1868	Sir David Brewster, Principal of the University of Edinburgh, died aged 86. *Sir David Brewster was an early pioneer in photography, and was President of the Photographic Society of Scotland throughout its life.*
2 May 1870	Caledonian Railway Station opened at West End of Princes Street.
13 Oct 1870	Royal Infirmary: Foundation-stone laid for the Royal Infirmary, Lauriston Place
6 Nov 1871	Tramway: A tramway was opened between the Bridges and Haymarket.
20 May 1874	St Mary's Cathedral: Foundation stone laid for Cathedral Church of St Mary in front of a crowd of 6,000.
14 Jan 1875	Museum: New East Wing of Museum of Science and Arts opened.
6 Feb 1875	Fire: Theatre Royal, Broughton Street burnt to the ground (again!)
14 Mar 1875	Fire: Southampton Theatre, Nicolson Street gutted by fire.
5 Jul 1875	Gaiety Music Hall opened.
20 Dec 1875	The Edinburgh Theatre, a new theatre forming part of the Edinburgh Theatre, Winter Garden and Aquarium Company was opened in Castle Terrace.
20 Oct 1875	North Bridge re-opened after having been widened and its level raised 18 inches.
4 Apr 1877	Fire: Queen's Theatre, Nicolson Street totally destroyed by fire.
18 Jun 1876	Waverley Market: The Promenade on top of the Waverley Market opened. This was formed by the city covering in the market.
29 Oct 1879	New Infirmary opened.

1880 to 1899
Feb 1880	Telephones: The telephone was introduced into Edinburgh.
1880	The Scott Monument: The Town Council resolved to fill the niches in the Scott Monument with sculptured figures representing characters from the Waverley Novels.
Aug 1881	Lighting of Princes Street and North Bridge with electricity - an experiment by the Anglo-American Brush Electric Light Company. The experiment was discontinued after 3 months' trial.
25 Aug 1881	Volunteer Review by Queen Victoria of 39,473 Scottish Volunteers - but there was a downpour of rain. This became known as the Wet Review.
10 Sep 1883	Lyceum Theatre opened.
30 Jun 1884	Fire: Theatre Royal was totally destroyed by fire.
22 Aug 1884	Prince and Princess of Wales visited the International Forestry Exhibition held in the grounds of Donaldson's Hospital.
16 Oct 1884	Edinburgh Suburban Railway opened.
6 May 1886	International Exhibition opened in the Meadows. The Exhibition was visited by Queen Victoria on 18 Aug 1886 and by the Prince & Princess of Wales on 14 Oct 1886. The exhibition included an exhibit of *'Old Edinburgh'* showing replicas of several buildings that used to be part of the Old Town. Marshall Wand produced cartes de visite and cabinet prints, and later postcards of this exhibit.
9 Jul 1887	Public Library on George IV Bridge - the foundation-stone was laid.
12 Sep 1887	Fire: Newsome's Circus, Nicolson Street was burnt.
14 Oct 1887	International Bicycle Races were held in Waverley Market during the week beginning 14 Oct 1887.
15 Jul 1889	Portrait Gallery:: The Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Queen Street opened.
4 Mar 1890	The Forth Bridge: The last rivet was driven into the Forth Bridge, and the bridge was declared open.
1 May 1890	Exhibition: The International Exposition of Electrical Engineering, General Invention and Industries opened at Colinton Road. The exhibition was not a financial success, and guarantors were called to pay the deficit.
16 June 1890	Caledonian Station: The Caledonian Railway Station at the West End of Princes Street was destroyed by fire.
9 Jun 1890	Public Library opened on George IV Bridge. This library includes the Edinburgh Room with its extensive collection of books, directories, photographs, maps and other material relating to the history of Edinburgh.
1892	St Cuthbert's New Parish Church foundation-stone was laid.
7 Nov 1892	The Empire Palace: A new Music Hall, the Empire Palace Theatre of Varieties was opened.
26 Nov 1892	Jenners - Fire: The premises of Messrs Charles Jenner & Co, silk merchants and drapers, Princes Street, were completely destroyed by fire.
11 Apr 1895	Electric Light was installed in Edinburgh. ©
1896	Portobello: Edinburgh's boundaries were extended to include Portobello. The Extension Bill that had considered by Parliament had also proposed that Leith should become part of Edinburgh, but that part of the bill met with opposition and was not approved.
7 Apr 1896	Observatory: A new observatory was opened on Blackford Hill, having taken four years to build.
25 May 1896	North Bridge: The foundation-stone was laid for the new North Bridge.
1897	Cable Cars: Cabling of the track for cable cars in Princes Street commenced.
8 Feb 1897	Edinburgh Cycle Show at Waverley Market (8 to 13 Feb).
22 Jun 1897	The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was marked by bonfires and celebrations.
15 Sep 1897	North Bridge: The new North Bridge was opened.
Dec 3 1897	McEwan Hall opened.
25 Oct 1898	Calton Hill: The observatory opened.

1900 to 1919
1902	North British Railway Hotel (now the Balmoral Hotel) on the corner of Princes Street and North Bridge opened in 1902.
1903	Royal Visit: In May 1903, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra rode through the decorated streets of Edinburgh to mark Edward's coronation in London the previous year.
1903	Floral Clock: The Floral Clock was installed in Prices Street Gardens in 1903. Hands were added in 1904 and the cuckoo was added in 1905. The floral decoration around the clock commemorated a different event each year. In 1961, the commemoration was the centenary of Edinburgh Photographic Society.
1905	Royal Visit: and the Royal Review in Holyrood Park on 18 September 1905 © Royal Review © Farewell to Edinburgh by Their Majesties
17 Jul 1911	Royal Visit: King George V and Queen Mary arrived in Edinburgh following their Coronation in London on 22 June 1911. Edinburgh was decorated; the message on the Princes Street Station Hotel reading "God Bless Our King and Queen."
9 May 1911	Fire: Empire Palace Theatre: On 9 May 1911,, the illusionist 'The Great Lafayette' accidentally set light to the stage at the Empire Palace Theatre with a lighted torch. Lafayette was one of ten who died, but all the 3,000 audience survived. The stage was rebuilt within three months and continued to put on performances until 1963 (when it became a bingo hall) and occasionally in later years during the Edinburgh Festival. The Empire Theatre opened again as The Edinburgh Festival Theatre in 1994. Source: Festival City Theatres Trust web site.

1920 to 1939

More info has still to be added to this web site for the table below,
once I have discovered more about what happened during this period.

4 Aug 1920

Edinburgh & Leith: From 4th August 1920, the boundaries of Edinburgh were extended to take in:

- Leith

- Cramond

- Corstorphine

- Colinton

- Slateford

- Longstone

- Liberton

- Gilmerton

- Newton

- Straiton