The Nor’ Loch was drained in the late 18th century to allow construction of North Bridge and later Princes Street Gardens, which are still in existence today. For several decades after draining of the Loch began, Edinburgh residents continued to refer to the area as the Nor’ Loch.
When was the Nor Loch in Edinburgh drained?
Draining of the Nor Loch began at the eastern end to allow construction of the North Bridge. Draining of the western end was undertaken 1813 to 1820, under supervision by the engineer James Jardine to enable the creation of Princes Street Gardens.
What was Nor Loch used for?
The Nor Loch, also known as the North Loch, was built first and foremost, as a defensive barrier to the north of the town against those wishing to invade Edinburgh. By the 17th century, the loch was being used as a waste pit, a place to commit suicide and as a place to try witches and drown criminals.
How was the Mound in Edinburgh built?
It was formed by dumping around 1,501,000 cartloads of earth excavated from the foundations of the New Town into Nor Loch which was drained in 1765 and forms today’s Princes Street Gardens.
What did Princes Street Gardens used to be?
These gardens used to be a stinking marsh. Called the Nor’ Loch, it formed the Northern boundary of Edinburgh. Already useful for defence, it was made more impassable in the fifteenth century by the damning of a nearby stream, which flooded the valley.
What happened to nor loch?
The Nor’ Loch was drained in the late 18th century to allow construction of North Bridge and later Princes Street Gardens, which are still in existence today. For several decades after draining of the Loch began, Edinburgh residents continued to refer to the area as the Nor’ Loch.
What happened in Mary Kings Close?
Mary King’s Close History
Mary King’s Close was a street in Edinburgh sealed off from the world, leaving all the people suffering from the bubonic plague trapped beneath. These people were quarantined and left to die. The residents in the city above went about their everyday lives.
When did Edinburgh become part of Scotland?
Edinburgh has been the capital of Scotland since 1437, when it replaced Scone. The Scottish Parliament resides in Edinburgh. However, in the past, Edinburgh Castle was often under English control. Before the 10th Century, Edinburgh was under the control of the Anglo-Saxons and Danelaw.
Who built Edinburgh New Town?
James Craig
The competition to design the New Town was won by a 26-year-old architect, James Craig, who had a specific interest in town planning and urban architecture.
Where is King Arthur’s Seat?
Holyrood Park
Arthur’s Seat is located in Holyrood Park, at the end of the Royal Mile. This large, grass covered hill is the remains of an extinct volcano that erupted 350 million years ago. Arthur’s Seat is the highest point of this extinct volcano.
Is the Mound heated?
Curiously, in 1959, an electric heating element, consisting of 47 miles (76 km) of cable, was embedded in the road surface of the Mound to prevent ice forming and ease the passage of cars and buses climbing the steep slope in the winter. This heating element is no longer used.
Is the Mound in Edinburgh heated?
Since the 1820’s it has been only half built and is dubbed ‘Edinburgh’s shame’. Another completely YES REALLY fact for you – an “Electric Blanket” was installed under the surface of the roadway of The Mound in 1959 to keep the road clear of snow and ice as it was impossible to get up in poor weather conditions.
When was the Mound in Edinburgh built?
The Mound was formed between 1781 and 1830 from an incredible one and a half million tons of earth and rubble left over from the construction of the New Town. Its inception followed the 1765 drainage of the old Nor’ Loch, the foul-smelling, stagnant basin of water that would one day become Princes Street Gardens.
Why is it called Princess Street Edinburgh?
Princes Street is part of the New Town plan designed by James Craig in 1767, and took its name from the sons of King George III. In stark contrast to today, it started out as a residential street with the first inhabitants moving in during the 1770s.
Why are Princes Street Gardens closed?
It is understood that the Scottish National Gallery applied to close off both the Playfair Steps and the upper path in East Princes Street Gardens to allow building works on an extension and remedy damp as well as drainage issues.
Why is Princes Street in Edinburgh called Princes Street?
At Pringle’s suggestion, the street was instead named Prince’s Street after King George’s eldest son, Prince George, Duke of Rothesay (later King George IV) as recounted in his 1767 letter to the Lord Provost of Edinburgh.
Where does the word Loch come from?
Loch (/lɒx/) is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
What is a close in Edinburgh?
In Edinburgh terms, these are known as “closes”; basically, very old, narrow, steep streets once replete with open sewers. Now home to bars, restaurants, and museums, they offer a true taste of historic Edinburgh.
Is there a city underneath Edinburgh?
Departure days. Descend into a section of Edinburgh’s legendary Underground City, where a population once lived in utter misery. Forgotten for centuries and only recently unsealed, this part of the vaults is known as Damnation Alley.
Why is Edinburgh so dark?
Most of Edinburgh’s sandstone structures were hidden by layers of black dirt by the 1950s, a legacy of home coal fires that earned the capital city the moniker “Auld Reekie.” The smoke darkened the stone and made it harder to clean.
Did Scotland have the Black Death?
In the 1340s, the Black Death wasted much of Europe and the Middle East, yet Scotland initially welcomed the onset of the plague.