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What happened to Edinburgh's once notorious but picturesque
Tolbooth Prison? Where was the Black Turnpike, once a dominant
building in the town? Why has one of the New Town designer's major
layouts been all but obliterated? What else has been lost in
Edinburgh? From Edinburgh's mean beginnings - 'wretched
accommodation, no comfortable houses, no soft beds', visiting
French knights complained in 1341 - it went on to attract some of
the world's greatest architects to design and build and shape a
unique city. But over the centuries many of those fine buildings
have gone. Some were destroyed by invasion and civil strife, some
simply collapsed with old age and neglect, and others were swept
away in the 'improvements' of the nineteenth century. Yet more fell
to the developers' swathe of destruction in the twentieth century.
Much of the medieval architecture vanished in the Old Town,
Georgian Squares were attacked, Princes Street ruined, old
tenements razed in huge slum clearance drives, and once familiar
and much loved buildings vanished. The changing pattern of
industry, social habits, health service, housing and road systems
all took their toll; not even the city wall was immune. The
buildings which stood in the way of what was deemed progress are
the heritage of Lost Edinburgh. In this informative and stimulating
book. Hamish Coghill sets out to trace many of the lost buildings
and find out why they were doomed. Lavishly illustrated, Lost
Edinburgh is a fascinating insight into an ever-changing cityscape.
When did thousands of people last crowd into Edinburgh’s High
Street to witness an execution? Three brass bricks on the pavement
mark the spot, but how many people notice them or know what they
mean? As a fire engine roars along the road sirens blaring and
lights flashing, what has that got to do with a fire of 1824? Why
was Leith in mourning one bleak day in 1915 and where can you find
a monument which commemorates the tragic event? The answers are all
in an expanded and revised edition of Edinburgh Curiosities.
Thomson and Coghill have trawled through the city’s characters to
bring together a collection of the men and women who scandalised
and inspired the city over the years. But in addition to the
notorious, like the Porteous Riot, Deacon William Brodie – the
inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and
Hyde – or Madeleine Smith, they look at other lesser known,
but nevertheless fascinating, people and events. Stories you’ve
maybe heard something about but don’t know the detail. They also
float intriguing speculation like the possibility of members of Ned
Kelly’s gang carrying out armed robberies in Leith after the
bushranger was hanged in Australia. The result is a fascinating dip
into Edinburgh’s rich and varied past, which will appeal to
natives and visitors alike.
A Century of Edinburgh offers an insight into the daily lives and
living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses and
details of familiar places during a century of unprecedented
change. Many aspects of Edinburgh's recent history are covered,
famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of
national and international events is witnessed. A Century of
Edinburgh provides a striking account of the changes that have so
altered the city's appearance and records the process of
transformation. Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the
community, and illustrated with a wealth of black-and-white
photographs, this book recalls what Edinburgh has lost in terms of
buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the
regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and
energy of local people as they move through the first years of this
new century.
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