Calton Hill, Edinburgh
Encyclopedia
Calton Hill is a hill in central Edinburgh
, Scotland
, just to the east of the New Town
. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the city.
Calton Hill is the headquarters of the Scottish Government, which is based at St Andrew's House, on the steep southern slope of the hill; with the Scottish Parliament Building
, and other key buildings, for example Holyrood Palace
, lying near the foot of the hill. The hill also includes several iconic monuments and buildings: the National Monument
, Nelson's Monument, the Dugald Stewart Monument
, the New Parliament House
(the Royal High School), the Robert Burns
Monument, the Political Martyrs' Monument and the City Observatory
.
, and subsequently as a potential site for the Scottish Parliament
, Calton Hill was the location of a permanent vigil
for Scottish devolution. However, Donald Dewar
, then Secretary of State for Scotland
, considered the site a "nationalist
shibboleth
", and the nearby St Andrew's House buildings (which at that time were the base of the Secretary of State for Scotland and the former Scottish Office
) to look "Nazi
" like "Dresden
" (sic). It was also the venue in October 2004 for the Declaration of Calton Hill
which outlined the demands for a future Scottish republic
.
The hill was originally part of the Barony of Calton which was abolished in 1856. King James II of Scotland allowed the residents of Edinburgh to use the North West slope of the hill for "tilt
s and tournament
s"in 1456. This natural amphitheatre was also used for open-air theatre and saw the first performance of the early Scots play "The Three Estaites". The Carmelite friars (based locally at South Queensferry
) built a monastery on the western side of the hill in 1518
The lands passed from the church to Lord Balmerino after the Scottish Reformation
in 1560. Later in the 16th century, a leper hospital was built. In 1631 Lord Balmerino granted rights to the Trades of Calton (largely a group of shoemakers) to settle on the land and a small village was created centred on a square of open space. This square was walled off in 1718 and became officially a burial ground, evolving into what is now known as Old Calton Cemetery
.
In 1669 the area was given burgh status. The royal burgh
of Edinburgh bought the hill from Lord Balmerino
in 1724. The area was elevated to the status of royal burgh in its own right immediately thereafter (1725). It did not officially become amalgamated with the city of Edinburgh until 1859.
. The bulk of the two prisons was demolished to create St. Andrew's House, home to Scotland's senior civil servants. The lower walls of the Brideswell prison are still visible on the south side of St Andrew's House, above Calton Road.
The Old Calton Burial Ground
lies on the South Eastern side of Calton Hill. The philosopher David Hume
is buried there. Hume wrote his own epitaph
:
"Born 1711, Died [----]. Leaving it to posterity to add the rest." It is engraved with the year of his death, 1776, on the "simple Roman tomb" (a relatively large monument) which he prescribed, and which stands, as he wished it, overlooking his home at No.1 St David Street, in the New Town. The Political Martyrs' Monument is also in the burial ground. This is in memory of five admirers of the French Revolution who were convicted of sedition and sent in 1793 to Botany Bay, Australia.
The renowned Scottish architect William Henry Playfair
was responsible for the elegant thoroughfare that encircles the hill on three sides. Comprising Royal Terrace, Carlton Terrace and Regent Terrace
, the largest of the townhouses can be found on Royal Terrace. Playfair's plan is dated 1819 and the first house was built at what is now 40 Royal Terrace. The Pleasure gardens that cover over one half of the summit of the hill are privately administered by the local Residents Association.
The combined terraces are home to a number of hotels, international institutes and, on Regent Terrace, the United States Consulate. Royal Terrace with its fine views over the Firth of Forth
was known affectionately in the 19th-century as Whisky Row. This is said to be a reference to the amount of Spirit merchants, who bought the new properties, and for their supposed abilities to see their ships return from trading trips. Another explanation is that it was so named because of the large number of wine merchants who used to live there. Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême
(the elder son of Charles X of France
, last of the Bourbon kings) and his wife Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte, (the daughter of Louis XVI of France
and Marie Antoinette
), moved into what is now 22 (then 21) Regent Terrace in 1830. Caroline Ferdinande Louise the Duchesse de Berri, sister in law of the Duc d'Angoulême, also lived at what is now 12 (then 11) Regent Terrace at that time. Her young son, Henri, the Comte de Chambord, is said to have wept bitterly when his family left for Austria in 1932 as he had become very attached to Scotland. The painter Francis Cadell
one of the Scottish Colourists
lived in 30 Regent Terrace from 1930-1935. The Western end of Regent Terrace was closed in 2001 to traffic because of security concerns about the United States Consulate. The City of Edinburgh Council
proposed closing the Royal Terrace/Blenheim Place entrance to the Calton Hill Terraces in 2010 because of the Edinburgh Trams Project.
Playfair was responsible for many of the monumental structures on the summit of the hill most notably the Scottish National Monument
. This monument was intended to be another Parthenon
and to commemorate Scottish Soldiers killed in the Napoleonic wars
. Construction started in 1826 but work was stopped in 1829 when the building was only partially built due to lack of money. It has never been completed. For many years this failure to complete led to its being nicknamed "Scotland's Disgrace" but this name has waned given the time elapsed since the Napoleonic Wars and it is now accepted for what it is.
The eastern end of the ornate Regent Bridge
is built into the side of the hill, crossing a deep gorge
(at the bottom of which the opening scene from Trainspotting
was shot) to connect the hill with Princes Street
, now Edinburgh's main shopping street. The engineer in charge of building Regent Bridge in 1815 was Robert Stevenson
, grandfather of the author Robert Louis Stevenson
.
On the West side of Calton Hill is the street named Calton Hill. Agnes Maclehose, better known as Robert Burns
' Clarinda, lived at number 14 and died there in 1841. Burns, Scotlands national poet, sent Clarinda many verses over several years in unsuccessful (it is believed) attempts to seduce this beautiful married lady.
held on April 30 each year, attended by over 12,000 people. This is a revival of the ancient Celtic May Day festival of Beltane that was held on Calton Hill. The Dussehra Hindu Festival also takes place on Calton Hill near the beginning of October each year.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, just to the east of the New Town
New Town, Edinburgh
The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is often considered to be a masterpiece of city planning, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the city.
Calton Hill is the headquarters of the Scottish Government, which is based at St Andrew's House, on the steep southern slope of the hill; with the Scottish Parliament Building
Scottish Parliament Building
The Scottish Parliament Building is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Edinburgh. Construction of the building commenced in June 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament held their first debate in the new building on 7...
, and other key buildings, for example Holyrood Palace
Holyrood Palace
The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. The palace stands at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle...
, lying near the foot of the hill. The hill also includes several iconic monuments and buildings: the National Monument
National Monument, Edinburgh
The National Monument of Scotland, popularly referred to as Scotland's Disgrace, the Pride and Poverty of Scotland or Edinburgh's Shame, is an unfinished building on Calton Hill in Edinburgh...
, Nelson's Monument, the Dugald Stewart Monument
Dugald Stewart Monument
The Dugald Stewart Monument is a memorial to the Scottish philosopher Dugald Stewart . It is situated on top of Calton Hill, overlooking Edinburgh city centre....
, the New Parliament House
New Parliament House, Edinburgh
The Old Royal High School is the name commonly given to a historic building on Calton Hill in Edinburgh which formerly housed the school of that name. The metonym Regent Road, from the street address, is used within the school community to distinguish it from the school's other past sites...
(the Royal High School), the Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
Monument, the Political Martyrs' Monument and the City Observatory
City Observatory, Edinburgh
The City Observatory is an astronomical observatory on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is also known as the Calton Hill Observatory....
.
Etymology
The name Calton is sometimes said to derive from "cold town" however this cannot be accurate as the name predates any settlement on the hill. It is more logically from the Gaelic either "choille-dun" (forested hill) or "cauldh-dun" (black hill). Given the hill's black basalt structure the latter seems more likely.Political symbol
For a number of years, while the Royal High School was earmarked for the site of the future Scottish AssemblyScottish Assembly
The Scottish Assembly was a proposed legislature for Scotland that would have devolved a set list of powers from the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
, and subsequently as a potential site for the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
, Calton Hill was the location of a permanent vigil
Vigil
A vigil is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance...
for Scottish devolution. However, Donald Dewar
Donald Dewar
Donald Campbell Dewar was a British politician who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament in Scotland from 1966-1970, and then again from 1978 until his death in 2000. He served in Tony Blair's cabinet as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1997-1999 and was instrumental in the creation...
, then Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
, considered the site a "nationalist
Scottish independence
Scottish independence is a political ambition of political parties, advocacy groups and individuals for Scotland to secede from the United Kingdom and become an independent sovereign state, separate from England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
shibboleth
Shibboleth
A shibboleth is a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people, especially a long-standing one regarded as outmoded or no longer important...
", and the nearby St Andrew's House buildings (which at that time were the base of the Secretary of State for Scotland and the former Scottish Office
Scottish Office
The Scottish Office was a department of the United Kingdom Government from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland...
) to look "Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
" like "Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
" (sic). It was also the venue in October 2004 for the Declaration of Calton Hill
Declaration of Calton Hill
The Declaration of Calton Hill was a declaration calling for an independent Scottish Republic. It was declared on October 9, 2004, at Calton Hill in Edinburgh New Town, at the same time that Queen Elizabeth II was officially opening the new Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood.This was the...
which outlined the demands for a future Scottish republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
.
Early history
The hill was used from ancient times as a place of execution. Most famously Major Weir the self-confessed Edinburgh warlock, was executed here.The hill was originally part of the Barony of Calton which was abolished in 1856. King James II of Scotland allowed the residents of Edinburgh to use the North West slope of the hill for "tilt
Jousting
Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two knights mounted on horses and using lances, often as part of a tournament.Jousting emerged in the High Middle Ages based on the military use of the lance by heavy cavalry. The first camels tournament was staged in 1066, but jousting itself did not...
s and tournament
Tournament (medieval)
A tournament, or tourney is the name popularly given to chivalrous competitions or mock fights of the Middle Ages and Renaissance . It is one of various types of hastiludes....
s"in 1456. This natural amphitheatre was also used for open-air theatre and saw the first performance of the early Scots play "The Three Estaites". The Carmelite friars (based locally at South Queensferry
South Queensferry
South Queensferry , also called Queensferry, is a former Royal Burgh in West Lothian now part of the City of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located some ten miles to the north west of the city centre, on the shore of the Firth of Forth between the Forth Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge, approximately 8...
) built a monastery on the western side of the hill in 1518
The lands passed from the church to Lord Balmerino after the Scottish Reformation
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
in 1560. Later in the 16th century, a leper hospital was built. In 1631 Lord Balmerino granted rights to the Trades of Calton (largely a group of shoemakers) to settle on the land and a small village was created centred on a square of open space. This square was walled off in 1718 and became officially a burial ground, evolving into what is now known as Old Calton Cemetery
Old Calton Cemetery
Old Calton Cemetery is a graveyard in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on Calton Hill, to the north-east of the city centre. The burial ground was opened in 1718, and is the resting place of several notable Edinburgh persons, including philosopher David Hume, publisher William Blackwood and...
.
In 1669 the area was given burgh status. The royal burgh
Royal burgh
A royal burgh was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished in 1975, the term is still used in many of the former burghs....
of Edinburgh bought the hill from Lord Balmerino
Lord Balmerino
The title of Lord Balmerino was a title in the Peerage of Scotland; it was created in 1606 and forfeited in 1746 on the attainder and execution of the 6th Lord Balmerino in the Tower of London....
in 1724. The area was elevated to the status of royal burgh in its own right immediately thereafter (1725). It did not officially become amalgamated with the city of Edinburgh until 1859.
Buildings and structures
Originally home to the notorious Calton Gaol, until replaced by Saughton Prison, and to its partner debtor's prison, the Brideswell or Bridewell, all that remains now is the Baronial style Governors House, designed as part of the Brideswell complex by Robert AdamRobert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
. The bulk of the two prisons was demolished to create St. Andrew's House, home to Scotland's senior civil servants. The lower walls of the Brideswell prison are still visible on the south side of St Andrew's House, above Calton Road.
The Old Calton Burial Ground
Old Calton Cemetery
Old Calton Cemetery is a graveyard in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on Calton Hill, to the north-east of the city centre. The burial ground was opened in 1718, and is the resting place of several notable Edinburgh persons, including philosopher David Hume, publisher William Blackwood and...
lies on the South Eastern side of Calton Hill. The philosopher David Hume
David Hume
David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment...
is buried there. Hume wrote his own epitaph
Epitaph
An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
:
"Born 1711, Died [----]. Leaving it to posterity to add the rest." It is engraved with the year of his death, 1776, on the "simple Roman tomb" (a relatively large monument) which he prescribed, and which stands, as he wished it, overlooking his home at No.1 St David Street, in the New Town. The Political Martyrs' Monument is also in the burial ground. This is in memory of five admirers of the French Revolution who were convicted of sedition and sent in 1793 to Botany Bay, Australia.
The renowned Scottish architect William Henry Playfair
William Henry Playfair
William Henry Playfair FRSE was one of the greatest Scottish architects of the 19th century, designer of many of Edinburgh's neo-classical landmarks in the New Town....
was responsible for the elegant thoroughfare that encircles the hill on three sides. Comprising Royal Terrace, Carlton Terrace and Regent Terrace
Regent Terrace
Regent Terrace is a residential street of 34 classical 3-bay townhouses built on the tail of Calton Hill in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. Regent Terrace is within the Edinburgh New and Old Town UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1995.- Houses :...
, the largest of the townhouses can be found on Royal Terrace. Playfair's plan is dated 1819 and the first house was built at what is now 40 Royal Terrace. The Pleasure gardens that cover over one half of the summit of the hill are privately administered by the local Residents Association.
The combined terraces are home to a number of hotels, international institutes and, on Regent Terrace, the United States Consulate. Royal Terrace with its fine views over the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
was known affectionately in the 19th-century as Whisky Row. This is said to be a reference to the amount of Spirit merchants, who bought the new properties, and for their supposed abilities to see their ships return from trading trips. Another explanation is that it was so named because of the large number of wine merchants who used to live there. Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême
Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angouleme
Louis Antoine of France, Duke of Angoulême was the eldest son of Charles X of France and, from 1824 to 1836, the last Dauphin of France...
(the elder son of Charles X of France
Charles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
, last of the Bourbon kings) and his wife Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte, (the daughter of Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
and Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
), moved into what is now 22 (then 21) Regent Terrace in 1830. Caroline Ferdinande Louise the Duchesse de Berri, sister in law of the Duc d'Angoulême, also lived at what is now 12 (then 11) Regent Terrace at that time. Her young son, Henri, the Comte de Chambord, is said to have wept bitterly when his family left for Austria in 1932 as he had become very attached to Scotland. The painter Francis Cadell
Francis Cadell (artist)
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell RSA was a Scottish Colourist painter, renowned for his depictions of the elegant New Town interiors of his native Edinburgh, and for his work on Iona....
one of the Scottish Colourists
Scottish Colourists
The Scottish Colourists were a group of painters from Scotland whose work was not very highly regarded when it was first exhibited in the 1920s and 1930s, but which in the late 20th Century came to have a formative influence on contemporary Scottish art....
lived in 30 Regent Terrace from 1930-1935. The Western end of Regent Terrace was closed in 2001 to traffic because of security concerns about the United States Consulate. The City of Edinburgh Council
Politics of Edinburgh
The politics of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, are evident in the deliberations and decisions of the council of Edinburgh, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament, the House of Commons and the European Parliament....
proposed closing the Royal Terrace/Blenheim Place entrance to the Calton Hill Terraces in 2010 because of the Edinburgh Trams Project.
Playfair was responsible for many of the monumental structures on the summit of the hill most notably the Scottish National Monument
National Monument, Edinburgh
The National Monument of Scotland, popularly referred to as Scotland's Disgrace, the Pride and Poverty of Scotland or Edinburgh's Shame, is an unfinished building on Calton Hill in Edinburgh...
. This monument was intended to be another Parthenon
Parthenon
The Parthenon is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their virgin patron. Its construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although...
and to commemorate Scottish Soldiers killed in the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. Construction started in 1826 but work was stopped in 1829 when the building was only partially built due to lack of money. It has never been completed. For many years this failure to complete led to its being nicknamed "Scotland's Disgrace" but this name has waned given the time elapsed since the Napoleonic Wars and it is now accepted for what it is.
The eastern end of the ornate Regent Bridge
Regent Bridge
Regent Bridge is a road bridge in Edinburgh where the A1 road enters the New Town from the east and passes over a hollow near Calton Hill. The bridge was built in the 19th century, in the neoclassical style as the medieval city was modernised and expanded to the north and east.- History :The...
is built into the side of the hill, crossing a deep gorge
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
(at the bottom of which the opening scene from Trainspotting
Trainspotting (film)
Trainspotting is a 1996 British satirical/drama film directed by Danny Boyle based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh. The movie follows a group of heroin addicts in a late 1980s economically depressed area of Edinburgh and their passage through life...
was shot) to connect the hill with Princes Street
Princes Street
Princes Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, and its main shopping street. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1 mile from Lothian Road in the west to Leith Street in the east. The street is mostly closed to private...
, now Edinburgh's main shopping street. The engineer in charge of building Regent Bridge in 1815 was Robert Stevenson
Robert Stevenson (civil engineer)
Robert Stevenson FRSE MInstCE FSAS MWS FGS FRAS FSA was a Scottish civil engineer and famed designer and builder of lighthouses.One of his finest achievements was the construction of the Bell Rock Lighthouse.-Early life:...
, grandfather of the author Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
.
On the West side of Calton Hill is the street named Calton Hill. Agnes Maclehose, better known as Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
' Clarinda, lived at number 14 and died there in 1841. Burns, Scotlands national poet, sent Clarinda many verses over several years in unsuccessful (it is believed) attempts to seduce this beautiful married lady.
Events
Calton Hill is the venue for a number of events throughout the year. The largest of these is the Beltane Fire FestivalBeltane Fire Festival
Beltane Fire Festival is an annual participatory arts event and ritual drama, held on April 30 on Calton Hill in Edinburgh.-Historical background:...
held on April 30 each year, attended by over 12,000 people. This is a revival of the ancient Celtic May Day festival of Beltane that was held on Calton Hill. The Dussehra Hindu Festival also takes place on Calton Hill near the beginning of October each year.