full cowgate fire report - 2003

South Bridge / Cowgate : Edinburgh

Historical and Analytical Assessment of the fire-damaged buildings

by with

Illustrated by

Edited by

David Connolly

Morag Cross William Kay Rob Maxtone Graham

Kenneth MacFadyen

John A, Lawson

for The City of Edinburgh Archaeology Service

December 2002 May 2003

Addyman Associates Ltd

Capro BuildingCastlebrae Business Centre40 Peffer PlaceEdinburghEH16 4BB

Tel/Fax :: 0131-661-0123

Archaeology and Historic Building Services

Company No. : SC178907 / VAT Reg. : 694178785

South Bridge / Cowgate Fire : Edinburgh

Addyman Associates Ltd for CECAS i

Contents

Part 1 – The Site Record

1. Introduction

2. The Site

3. Methodology

3.1. Recording

3.2. Photography

Part 2 – The Archaeological Record

4. Building Analysis

4.1. The Site Plan

4.2. Cartographic Research

4.2.1. Ground Plans

4.2.2. Early Plans

4.2.3. The 18th century Mapmakers

4.2.4. South Bridge Scheme and Improvements (1780’s and the 19th century)

4.2.5. The Ordnance Survey

5. The Buildings – general discussion

5.1 Buildings 1 – 3

5.2 Buildings 4 – 6 & 12

5.3 Buildings 11

5.4 Buildings 13

6. Elevations

6.1 Elevation 1

6.2 Elevation 2

6.3 Elevation 3

6.4 Elevation 4

6.5 Elevation 5

6.6 Elevation 6

6.7 Elevation 7

6.8 Elevation 8

6.9 Elevation 9

6.10 Elevation 10

6.11 Elevation 11

6.12 Elevation 12

6.13 Elevation 13

7. Excavations

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Investigation

7.3 Summary


Addyman Associates Ltd for CECAS ii

Part 3 – The Historical Record

8 Introduction

8.1 Origins (15th – 16th centuries)

8.11 Introduction

8.12 Methodology

8.13 Land Development and Layout

8.14 Adam’s Square

8.2 The Adam’s Influence

8.21 Introduction

8.22 John Strachey and William Adam, 1729.

8.23 James Hamilton of Olivestob and William Adam.

8.24 John Adam and the Cowgate

8.3 Decline, Improvements and Development (19th – 20th centuries)

8.31 Streets

8.32 Adam Square and South Bridge

8.33 Hastie’s Close

8.34 Buildings 1, 2, 3 & 10

8.35 Building 3, The Bridge and Earlier Views of the Site

8.36 Buildings 4 &5/

8.37 Building 6

8.38 Building 7

8.39 Building 8

8.3.10 Building 9

9 Conclusions

10. Acknowledgements

11. Bibliography


Addyman Associates Ltd for CECAS iii

Figures :

Fig. 1. Location Plan

Fig. 2. Photo : View of Fire Site from Blair Street

Fig. 3. Photo : Methods of Photographic Collection

Fig. 4. Photo : Initial demolition detail of Site

Fig. 5. Photo : Courtyard of Building 12

Fig. 6. Site Plan – showing extant walls and wall lines, levels, elevation/building

locations and excavation.

Fig. 7. Composite View of Fire Site – View 1



Fig. 10. Phased Plan – Level 0









Fig. 19. Location of 16th/17th century wall lines (rectified and overlaid on present

ground plan)

Fig. 20. Location of mid 18th century structures (rectified and overlaid on present

ground plan)

Fig. 21. Location of late 18th century structures involving the South Bridge (rectified

and overlaid on present ground plan)

Fig. 22. Location of 19th century structures (rectified and overlaid on present

ground plan)

Fig. 23. Historical Map : Moryson 1566

Fig. 24. Historical Map : Rothiemay 1647

Fig. 25. Historical Map : Edgar, 1742

Fig. 26. Historical Map : Ainslie 1780 (prior to South Bridge)

Fig. 27. Historical Map : Clarke 1834

Fig. 28. Historical Map : Post Office 1840

Fig. 29. Historical Map : 2nd Edition 1867 OS Map of Area

Fig. 30. Elevation 1











Fig. 41. Photo : View showing complex phases of alteration – Building 13

Fig. 42. Photo : Roll moulding of c. 16th C date inserted into 1790’s construction.




Addyman Associates Ltd for CECAS iv

Fig. 45. Composite plan showing layout of tenement plots described in text

Fig. 46. Rothiemay Map of area.

Fig. 47. Historical Map : Moryson 1566

Fig. 48. Historical Map : Edgar, 1742

Fig. 49. View of Adam Square in the 1850’s.

Fig. 50. Laying of foundation stone for New College, 1789 : with removal of

Flodden Wall(?), Adam Square and half completed South Bridge

Structures.

Fig. 51. Robert Kay’s Proposal for Mirrored Elevation flanking the Cowgate Bridge.

Fig. 52. Photo : 1870 view showing corner of Adam Square, prior to demolition.

Fig. 53. Photo : 1870 view from Hasties Close of area around Building 11

Fig. 54. View of J & R Allan – 1901

Fig. 55. 1823 Elevation detail from Thomas Hamilton’s designs for buildings 4 & 5

Fig. 56. Sample selection of 19th century Petitions for development. (DoG archives)

– See Appendix 10.3


Addyman Associates Ltd for CECAS 1

South Bridge / Cowgate :: Edinburgh

Outline Historical and Analytical Assessment of the fire-damaged buildings.

Part 1 – The Site Record

1. Introduction

The element of the Cowgate project began with the contracting of

Addyman Associates Ltd by John Lawson the City of Edinburgh Council

Archaeology Service (CECAS) under his Project Management. The brief was

to continue the onsite investigation, historical research and to act as a point

of contact between the various heritage bodies and the onsite contractors

(Dalton Demolition, Will Rudd Davidson Engineers and the City of Edinburgh

Council represented by Robin A damson).

An archaeological presence was maintained on a regular basis, allowing the

recovery of photographic / analytical data to be recovered, where possible,

during the process of demolition and ‘making safe’ of the site. Meetings were

held twice weekly with the above bodies to make informed decisions as to

the practical retention of as much as the building fabric and the coordination

of archaeological recording with the down-taking of dangerous elements

within the fire damaged buildings.

Contiguous with the field works, historians were assigned separate time

periods from the 15th – 20th centuries and a major review of available

resources was undertaken. This review, although not comprehensive,

provided information that informed both the areas of significance that were

assigned a high priority of onsite recording and presented a wealth of detail

on the inhabitants, development and written material that pertained to the

site. The result of the historical survey has shown the potential for continued

work in this area and has highlighted the vast resource of cartographic,

photographic, documentary and pictorial data that is available.

Due to the confines of this project, the information within this report, although

by no means cursory, cannot be seen as exhaustive. The aim to record and

understand the sequence of development of this site has been a great

success, but as with so many ventures, the possibilities for further research and

analysis of this unique window into the development of Edinburgh are

endless.

Addyman Associates would like to dedicate this Report to the Firefighters who

prevented a greater disaster and the owners and occupants of those

buildings lost in the Fire, to whom this was a disaster. We sincerely hope that a

new period of this sites long and fascinating history will rise quickly from the

ruins.



Arthurs Seat

A701

A702

A703

Balerno Dalkeith

Musselburgh

Crammond Island

A78

A90Edinburgh

Waverly Station

Market Street

North

Brid

ge

South

Bridg

e

Cowgate

Potterro

w

Drummond Street

Lauriston Place

CastleHill

The

Mound

Princess Street

Canongate

Holyrood Road

Quee

ns

Dri

ve

Chambers Street

Figure 1 : Site Location

100 km

1 Km

10 Km

Edinburgh

Aberdeen

Inverness

North Sea

Glasgow

Site



2. The Site (Figures 1 & 6)

The site is bounded by South Bridge to the E, Cowgate to the N, Wilkie House

Theatre (formerly Cowgate Free Church) and the southern part of Guthrie

Street to the W, and the properties fronting onto Chambers St. to the S. For

the purposes of ease of description the principal structures that fall within the

site area have been numbered individually, 1 – 13. The buildings fronting onto

Chambers St (8 : Traffic Warden centre, 9 : Adam House, and 10 : Biblios Cafe)

were little damaged by the fire but are included for the purposes of

understanding the evolution of this part of the townscape. Likewise Wilkie

House, which escaped substantial fire damage, is included for the same

reasons. Each floor level within the site was assigned a number – Level 0 being

the street level on the Cowgate – due to the nature of the terracing, the

ground plan shows levels 0-2 as the site steps up twice to the south. The

actual limits of demolition however contains only one terrace step, as the

process of demolition and ‘making-safe’ was not required on any of the

buildings that fronted onto Chambers Street, (Buildings 8-10), Wilkie House

(Building 7) was also saved from demolition and Building 6 was reduced to 1st

floor level for safety reasons. The main site that is described within this report

consists of Buildings 1-5 & 11-13) (Figure 2)

3. Methodology

The nature of recording a site that was under a Section 13 order presented a

challenge for normal archaeological techniques; with the pressing

requirements to both opening the South Bridge to traffic and removing the

danger of further collapses, there was no time to spend time recording

elevations in the field using traditional techniques. (Figure 3) It was quickly

decided to digitally record all accessible elevations and ground plans, with a

view to analysing the data after the main works had been completed.

Mason Land Survey had carried out a Laser Scan survey (Figures 30 & 31) of

the major South Bridge and Cowgate elevations, which would allow

reconstruction, if required, of the façades. This survey was incorporated into

the interpretative report, though the façades were still in a raw data format,

with details of the elevations obtained from photography; both digital and

large format prints produced by the RCAHMS.

The task for Addyman Associates was to investigate the internal site elevations

as they became exposed, though often this meant that elevations were only

partially visible at any one time and in many cases were so badly collapsed

that no recording was possible at all. (Figure 4) Although most elevations

were covered during the downtaking process, only 13 elevations have been

presented within this report, as most informative on the site’s constructional

history.

It must be stressed that the information for a near complete reconstruction of

the site would be obtainable from the existing photo-survey, but to produce

such a report would, it is felt, add little to the present interpretation of the site.



Figure 2: View of site from Blair Street after initial collapse and demolitions

Figure 3: Example showing how we managed to record the demolition site



The following sections outline the procedures and methodology that was

used to record the site; this was a technique of recording buildings that were

in a dangerous state and provided limited access to the actual fabric.

(Figure 5) The achievement is the amount of data that was recovered, where

the alternative was the loss of most of the detailed constructional information

within the heart of a World Heritage Site. The stored information and

photographs would allow further study of these buildings if this were required.

3.1 Recording

To record a site using traditional methods was never an option for this

complex of structures. It was decided to achieve as detailed a record of the

elevations taking into consideration the fluid Health & Safety issues due to the

collapsing buildings, measure and note important features that may be of use

in the assigning of phase periods. It was never expected that the

archaeological investigation of the site would be able to provide a full record

of the area, but by cross referencing sources with historians and the detailed

examination of cartographic sources, it was possible to achieve an

understanding of the process of development from the origins of the site to

the day of the fire.

Each structure was assigned a building number a system that all contractors

involved on the site adopted. Within these there were the 8 Levels and both

rooms and elevations were assigned a unique number throughout the entire

site. Using this standardised system, it allowed the location of features (also

assigned a context number) such as a window, door or blocking, to be

located within the site as a whole. Normally, each constructional detail and

feature would receive a number, but the sheer volume that this would

produce in this case precluded this level of analysis. However, due to the

detailed photographic coverage, united with the accurate elevations and

ground plans, it would be possible to recreate most of the site and produce a

comprehensive feature analysis. (Figures 7 – 9)

A number of major elevations were recovered – and are described in detail

later. A plan has been prepared to show the location of these, and the

specific drawing number of the elevation will also be referred to within the

report. Many of these drawing cover multiple buildings and levels, but do

provide an overview for the understanding of the vertical developments that

have been carried out on this site.

The process of recording has taken place after the actual structures have

been demolished, but with the high quality of photography, the number of

photographs (some 1500) and the ability to create scaled photo-elevations

that measurements can be taken, this is not seen as a problem in the

comprehension of the long and complex structural history of the site.



Figure 4: Early demolition works of Building 3 ( Leisureland)prior to the collapse of the north gable

Figure 5: View of Building 12's rediscovered courtyard mostly obscured by demolition rubble

3.2 Photography

Photographic recording was seen as the only viable source of data collection

that was available to the archaeologists; however, the possibility of

recovering sufficient measurements from the site was seen as impractical and

dangerous.



A Photogrammetric Survey package was available that would make the task

of digitally capturing the site a practical option. The use of Photomodeler has

been shown on several occasions (Ossian’s Hall, Dunkeld (Report NTS 2002);

Dryhope Tower, Borders (Report Simpson & Brown 2002); Canna Church,

Canna (Report Kirkdale Archaeology 2000); Gylen Castle, Kerrera (Report

Historic Scotand 2002) etc to allow the rapid and accurate acquisition of

elevation data. The process involves taking photographs of an elevation from

at least 3 separate angles, though normally 8-12 photographs are taken to

maximise the coverage, after which a single diagonal measurement is

obtained. The photos are displayed on screen and the operator marks each

photo with the mouse, tracing and tagging features of interest. PhotoModeler

then combines the photos and locates the marked features in three

dimensions. The marks become accurately measured points, lines or polygons

in a single, unified 3D space. The result is a 3D model that can be transferred

to any graphics or CAD program.

A 3D model is a set of connected 3D points, which represent an object. Three

dimensional points have coordinate values for each of the Cartesian axes

(X,Y, and Z). The points in a 3D model can be connected by lines or by

triangular patches, called surfaces. These connections help the user to

visualize the three dimensions when the model is projected onto a flat surface

such as a computer monitor or a printed page.

No measurement technology can be perfect and all measurement involves

performing approximations. PhotoModeler is no different and has been

compared to other techniques of simple measurement such as using a tape

measure for linear dimensions and a theodolite for 3D measurements. We

have found that the accuracy of a Measurement Project is dependent on a

number of factors:

• the quality of the calibration of the camera and digitiser used,

• the resolution of the camera and digitiser used,

• the geometry of the camera positions, and

• the precision with which the user marks object features as they appear

in images.

For a project done with the high resolution Digital Camera (in this case a 6

MegaPixal Fuji S602) and with reasonable user care, PhotoModeler has been

shown to have a relative accuracy in linear dimensions of around one part in

two thousand (1:2000) for man made objects (with 95% probability). With

higher resolution medium format metric cameras accuracies as high as

1:10,000 have been demonstrated

Using the sub-pixel target marker greatly improves the last factor shown

above (precision of marking). Given that the other factors are taken care of

(good geometry, good camera calibration, etc) one can achieve 1:25,000 or

higher accuracy in a project that is all or substantially all done with sub-pixel

circular target marking.



A relative accuracy of 1:2,000 means that for an object with a 10m largest

dimension, PhotoModeler can produce 3D coordinates with 5mm accuracy

at 95% (two standard deviations) probability. It has already been shown that

this project has an overall accuracy of +/- 10mm over 10m, which in terms of

the rapid acquisition of points and photographs is an acceptable level of

accuracy.

(Eos Systems Inc. - http://www.photomodeler.com)



Trench 2

Area of detailedSurvey

0 5 25 m

Building 3

Building 2

Building 1

Building 11

Building 10

Building 10

Building 5

Building 9Building 8


Building 12

Building 13

Building 6

Building 7

Elevation Location & Number

Structure Unrecorded

Structure Recorded

06

01

02

05

09

03

11

1111

05

04

13

0607

08

12

06

10

Figure 6 : Site Plan as surveyed withLocation of Building Elevations withinReport and Building Numbers.



Part 2 – The Archaeological Record

4. Building Analysis

The buildings that were subjected to demolition and thus archaeological

recording were fewer than those initially affected by the fire. This was a

significant part of the brief, that as many structures as possible should be

retained, and WRD Engineers were responsible for the assessment of structural

integrity. The expertise they showed was most evident in the belief that

stabilisation of the Cowgate Façade was not an option, as the façade was in

immediate danger of catastrophic collapse; an event that took place only a

few days later. By the end of the field project, the buildings that fronted

Chambers Street had been retained, as damage was slight and it was

generally accepted that the integrity of these structures could be maintained

using ties and shoring where appropriate. The Buildings that were demolished

and subject to archaeological investigation were as follows;

Buildings 1 – 6 and 11-13. A total of nine distinct structures. (Building 6 – Wilkie

House, was preserved a Level 0, and recordings was confined to the upper

stories.

Figure 7 : Composite view of post fire site from Blair Street

Level 0

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

The Cowgate

Building 3

Building 4 Building 5

Building 11

Building 13

East West

Adam House

The main method of interpretation was the use of digital photography to

rapidly collect large numbers of photographs of the site prior to (and in some

cases, minutes before) the demolition. It was often the case that due to

internal collapse or methods of demolition, that an elevation would only be

partly exposed, and during clearance of rubble, portions of the fabric would

be lost before further photographic survey could continue. The most



frustrating problem was the inability, due to safety concerns, to take

measurements, or look more closely at certain elements. Due in the main to

expert help from Daltons Demolition, though, it was possible to utilise their

crane operated baskets to look over the site during the demolition.

Figure 8 : Composite view of post fire site from Adam House

Building 5

Building 6

Building 13

Building 4

Building 3

Building 2

Building 1

Building 11

Hasties Close EastWest

The photographic method for the recording of the site has already been

described in detail in section 3, however it is important to reiterate that the

recoding of this site was anything but conventional, with the actual analysis of

elevations taking place weeks after their demolition. It became clear from

early examination, that the main fabric of the site fell into the 3 broad

categories of

– ‘Late 18th Century’

– ‘Early to Mid 19th Century’

– ‘Mid to Late 20th Century’ alterations

Although the number of photographs taken does provide blanket coverage

of the Fire Site it was decided to reduce the number of fully recorded

elevations to 13 that would best represent the various building phases. (Figure

6). The need to reduce the vast number of elements that would be recorded

- it was also concluded that only major features would be numbered; Doors,

Windows, Walls, Blocking, Stairs etc. and there has been no attempt to

increase the detail past this level, though if this was required in the future, it

would be possible.



Figure 9 : Composite vertical view of post fire devestation

Co

wgate

Building 5room 5/108

Building 4 room 4/103Building 4 room 4/105

Building 12 room 12/106

Building 11Stairwell 11/123




Hasties Close

4.1 Site Plan (Figures 10 – 18)

At the time of the project, there were no detailed ground plans available for

the site: a monumental task in itself. The engineers WRD Ltd took on the task

of producing a series of initial plans and cross sections for each Level, based

on the information taken from building warrants, this however was shown to

be missing a great deal of detail. It was the best that could be produced

under the circumstances, and provided a base for all further work; these

plans were annotated and altered when required. Often areas were

inaccessible beneath demolition debris and a brief window of opportunity to

view the fabric would allow only the most cursory of examination; by having

these plans to start with allowed the collation of information that would have

been problematical in there absence.

Once the site had been cleared to ground levels, it became possible to

accurately map the site. A Total Station (Sokishia Set 3B) was used to collect

the data, which was processed and laid out in relation to OS datum an d Grid.

The OS Bench Mark used was found at the Head of the Cowgate as the

closest one to the site was in fact part of the elevation that collapsed on the

night of the 16th December 2002. The closed traverse showed an accuracy of

+/- 20mm in X,Y and +/- 5mm in Z height.

On compilation of final plan, it was possible both to tighten the accuracy of

the WRD plan and scrutinise the historical plans; matching features, structures

etc. This has been useful in creating a model of development for the past 5

centuries. The plan is the first time that each of the structures has been



accurately surveyed since the compensation plans of the 1860’s compiled

prior to the demolition of several structures on the site.

4.2 Cartographic Research

4.21 Ground Plans (Figures 10 – 18)

The ground and floor plans of this site show the phased development of the

site and as such are self-explanatory. Although there are 8 phases of

construction It is clear that the main elements of the site fall into 5 broad

periods of activity pre 1750s :: 1780s – 90s :: 1823 -1867 :: 1929 :: 1980s

Very little of pre 18th century fabric is visible above ground, with South Bridge

scheme removing the east half of the site and the City Improvements phase

removing the west. The 1929 J & R Allan period of alterations is confined to

internal modifications in the main, without any ground level construction

during this time.

It is clear however that the layout of the site bears out the notion that the

access routes, Closes and Vennels were the deciding factor for each phase

of construction, with the land ownership also playing an important part in

constraining the development. Looking carefully at the ground level plans, it

is easy to see the regular pattern of burgage plots that lie neatly against the

first terrace step, along the line of the vennel that linked Commercial Court to

Hasties Close.

The compilation of these ground plans was problematical in itself, as when

actual site observations were checked against the plans compiled from City

Archive records, the number of missing elements such as doors, windows was

high. In addition, there was no record relating to the relationship of the

buildings, such as butt jointing, which was crucial during the early phase of

the demolition procedure. Neither was there any record of the complex

series of blockings and more importantly flue systems; that allowed a fire to

spread through an intricate arrangement of voids.

It is also important to view the spaces between the buildings, as it is valuable

to understand spatial movement both internally and externally to the

structures, to put into context the number of uses and occupancy that this

site has undergone. It is interesting to compare the organic maze of

passages, stairs and courtyards that make up the western half of the site, with

the geometrically precise imposition of the South Bridge Scheme. Each

reflect the mindset and social history of the periods.

When the present day ground plan was rectified to the early plans and

elevations it became possible to trace the lines of the very earliest structures

on the site (see Figures 19-22) and understand the gradual development that

remained constrained by space and access, allowing the ghost of the 15th

century plan to remain. The one exception of course is the bold stripe across

the Cowgate of the South Bridge, but this to has been incorporated into the

warren of closes and vennels that are integral to the character of the

Cowgate.



8 phases have been identified and each feature is placed into the relevant

period:

Phase 1 - Pre 1750

Phase 2 - 1750-1785 (Adam Square)

Phase 3 - 1785-1790 (South Bridge Scheme)

Phase 4 - 1820’s (Tenements and Rebuilding)

Phase 5 - 1860’s (City Improvements and Chambers Street)

Phase 6 - 1890’s (J&R Allan acquisition)

Phase 7 - 1929-30 (Major Refurbishment to South Bridge Structures:

By Architect J. Motram)

Phase 8 - 1950’s – Present (Recent Structural changes)

All plans and elevations will show the colour-coded legend relating to these

phases. (See Figures 10-18)

Building 3

Building 4


Building 12

Building 2

South Bridge

Cow

gate

Room 3/001

Room 23

Room 24Room 25Room 26Room

27

Room 3/176

Room 4/005

Room13/013

Roo

m13

/011

Room 12/012

Room 12/015Room 12/181

Room 12/182

Ro

om

12/0

17

Room 13/010

Room 13/014

Room 12/018

Room12/016

Room 5/007Room

5/171

Room 5/172

Room 5/173

Room 5/009

Room 6/030

Room 5/008

Ro

om

4/0

06

Arca

de

Room

4/0

06

Room4/003

Ro

om

2/0

20

Ro

om

2/0

21

Room 2/022

Room 12/019Room 3/002

Hasties Close

1

2

3

4

5

67

8

9

10

11

1213

1415

1617

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37 38

39

40

4142

43

44

4546

47

48

49

50

5152

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

6263

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

Trench 2

Key To Phase Colours

Pre Adam Square pre1760

Adam Square 1760s

South Bridge Building 1780s

Tenement Building 1820s


J & R Allen 1890s

J & R Allen 1929 rebuild

Modern - late 20th century

12345678

0 10

metres

Level 0

Figure 10 : Level 0 plan (Phased) with feature numbers



South Bridge

Cow

gate

Hasties Close

0 10

metres

Level 1


Building 11

Building 10

Building 9

Building 4

Building 5

Building 6

Building 13

Building 12

Building 3

Room 11/065

Room 11/066

Room 12/032

Room 4/048

Room 4/177

Room 5/049

Room 5/174

Room 5/175

Room 5/050

Room 6/051Room 6/052

Room 6/053

Room 6/054

Room 13/055Room 13/031

Room 13/056

Room 12/057Room 12/058

Room 2/059

Room 2/060 Room 2/061

Room 2/062

Room 1/063

Room 1/064

Room 11/067

Room 9/068

Room 10/069

Room 10/070

Room 10/071

Room 10/072


114

124

484485

481

482483

105

106

107

108

109

110

111112

113

115116117

118

119120

121

122

123

125

126

127

128

132

133

134

129

130

131

135

136

137

138139

140141142

143

144

14

5146

?

?

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

9495

96

97

98

99

100

101

102

103

104

147 148149150

151 152

153

154

155

156157

158159

160

162

164

161

Door165

166

167

168

169

170

171 172

173



Adam Square 1760s




J & R Allen 1890s



123

45678


193 194

195

196

197

South Bridge

Cow

gate

Link Bridge

Hasties Close

Openarea

Openarea

Building 9

Building 10 Building 1 Building 2 Building 3

Building 4

Building 5

Building 6

Building 13

Building 12

Building 11

Room 10/073Room 10/074

Room 10/076

Room 10/079

Room 10/078

Room 10/080

Room 10/077

Room 10/075

Room 9/082

Room 9/081

Room 11/083

Openarea11/084

Room 1/085


Room 2/088

Room 12/089

Room 3/090

Room 3/033

Room 3/091

Room 3/179

Room 4/092


Room 5/094

Room 5/095

Room 5/096

Room 5/097Room 13/098


468469470

471

247

248

249

250

243

244

245

246

174175

176

182

183

184

177

178

179

180

181

185

186

187

188

189

190

191

192

198

199

200

201

202203

204

205206

207

208

209

210

211

212

213214

215

216472473

479

474475476

477

480

478

217218

219

220

221222223224

225

226

227

228229

230231232

233

234

235

236

237

239

240 241

242

348

467



Adam Square 1760s




J & R Allen 1890s



123

4567

8

0 10

metres

Level 2


164



South Bridge

Cow

gate

Hasties Close

Link Bridge

Building 9

Building 10 Building 1Building 2 Building 3

Building 4


Building 11

Building 6

Building 12

Room 3/101

Room 4/103

Room 5/108

Room 6/110

Room 6/109

Room 2/102

Room 1/124

Room 10/119

Room 10/120

Room 9/115

Room 10/113

Room 10/118

Room10/117

Room 1/125

Room 9/112

Room 13/111

Room 12/107

Room 12/106

Open area4/104

Room 4/105

Room 4/180

Room 11/122 Openarea 11/123

345

346

251

252

253

254

255256

257 258

259

260

261

262

263

264

265

266

267

268

269

270

271

272

273

274

275

276

277

278

279

280

282

283

284463 462465

464466

285

286

287

288

289

290

291

292

293

294

295 296

297

298

299

300

301

302

303

304

305

306

347

461



Adam Square 1760s




J & R Allen 1890s



123

45678

0 10

metres

Level 3


164

South Bridge

Co

wgate

Hasties Close

Building 3Building 1Building 10

Building 9

Building 11

Building 6

Room 1/126

Room 1/127

Room 3/128

Room 3/180

Room 3/129

Room 11/141

Room 10/136

Room 10/134

Room 10/135

Room 10/133 Room 10/132

Room 10/131

Room 10/130

Room 10/139

Room 10/137

Room 10/138


456457

307

308

309310

311312

313

314

315

316

317

318319320321322323324325326

327

328

329

330

331

332

333

334

335336

337

338

339

340

341

342

349

350

458

459351352353

354

355

460



Adam Square 1760s




J & R Allen 1890s



123

45678

0 10

metres

Level 4




South Bridge

Cow

gate

Hasties Close

Building 1 Building 3

Room 3/146

Room 3/145

Room 3/144

Room 1/147

Room 10/149

Room 10/150

Room 10/153

Room 10/152

Room 10/151

Room 10/154

Room 1/148

454

455

356357

358

359 360

361

362

363

364

365366367368369370371372373374375376377378379380381

382

383

384 385

386

387

388

389

390 391 392

393

394

395

396 397 398 399

400

401

453



Adam Square 1760s




J & R Allen 1890s



123

45678

0 10

metres

Level 5


South Bridge

Cow

gate

Hasties Close

Building 1Building 10 Building 3


Room 10/160

Room10/161

Room 10/163

Room 10/164

Room 10/162

Ro

om

10/1

65

Room 1/159


451

452

402

403404405406407408409410411412413414415416417418419

420421

422

423

424

425

426

427

428 429 430431

432

433

434 435 436 437

438

439 440 441



Adam Square 1760s




J & R Allen 1890s



123

45678

0 10

metres

Level 6




South Bridge

Cow

gate

Hasties Close


Room 1/168

Room 10/167

Room 10/166

Room 1/169

442

443444

445446

447

448449



Adam Square 1760s




J & R Allen 1890s



1

23

4567

8

0 10

metres

Level 7

South Bridge

Cow

gate

Hasties Close

Building 1

Room 1/170

450



Adam Square 1760s




J & R Allen 1890s



123

45678

0 10

metres

Level 8




Figure 20 : Plan showing possible 1700's structures overlay

Figure 19 : Based on Rothiemay’s (1647) and Morysons(1598) Maps of Edinburgh : Probable layout of structures on present site from 16th century date.



Figure 21 : Plans showing 1790's overlay

Figure 22 : Plans showing period 1823 overlay



4.22 Early Plans (Figures 23 & 24)

The Cowgate was first mentioned by name in 14291, though it is quite possible

that this new fashionable suburb had been in existence from at least the late

13th century. By 1529 the Cowgate is described as ‘where the nobility and the

chief men of the city reside, in which are palaces of the officers of state, and

where nothing is mean or tasteless, but all is magnificent’2.

The earliest cartographic representations of the Cowgate and indeed

Edinburgh are the engraved views of Moryson (1566) and Gordon of

Rothiemay (1647). The plan by the English spy Moryson, chose the vantage

point of Salisbury Crags, albeit schematised, it shows an otherwise accurate

portrayal of mid 16th century Edinburgh. It is clear that by this date, some 100

years after the creation of the Cowgate as a residential suburb the

development is well advanced in the area, a fact attested by the previous

documentary evidence that provides the evidence of lands being sold

off/subdivided and redeveloped (see section ****). The Flodden Wall,

originally constructed in the period 1513-1514, is a prominent feature of this

and other maps, which allows a certain degree of confidence when

matching structures with present features. It is clear that the Mansions of the

rich sit up-slope of the Cowgate, with Gardens to the south and residential

property built down slope to meet with the Cowgate thourghfare.

Rothiemay’ well known image of Edinburgh (Figure 24) once again shows the

site, 50 years later, showing that the area of the site is now an island of

gardens surrounded by ever encroaching tenement expansion. It is possible

to match the Closes from this map, and Hasties Close (a name that was only

given to this alley around 250 years ago3) The lands to the east and west of

the site are now almost completely built up, with housing, leaving an island of

untouched gardens that run back from the still extant Mansions.

1 RCAHMS, 1951, xli2 ibid. 3 The Place names of Edinburgh 456465465



Figure 23 : View of Edinburgh by English Spy, Moryson in 1566, showing approximatelocation of the site

Figure 24 : Rothimay’s map of Edinburgh with the site and present roads shown.

Chambers Street

Sou

thB

rid

ge

Site



4.23 The 18th century Mapmakers (Figures 25 & 26)

The first true street maps of Edinburgh are to be found in the 18th century;

mapmakers such as Edgar and Ainslie, surveyed the City (with admittedly

margins of error that are measured by the meter), showing every Close and

Street and allowing the Views of Rothiemay (1647), Moryson (1566) and the

Camera Obscura engraving by Sandby (1746) to be fixed within the present

layout of the Old Town. What is most evident is the expansion of building

work, over the previous 100 years, which coincides with the decline in fortunes

of the Cowgate from fashionable suburb to slum. It is interesting to note the

errors in scale when attempting to survey from the Cowgate to the south,

through the narrow confines of the Closes.

It therefore has been possible to reconstruct the street patterns for this period.

Matching structures from map to map and with the aid of documentary

evidence of tenement layout (see section 4.1 for details) placing the exact

position of walls and features is possible to an accuracy of +/- 500mm. This is

due also to the nature of the original burgage plots, which have, perhaps

surprisingly, remained intact to the present in the original frontage size of

approx 5 m.

Figure 25 : Edgar, 1742, prior to Adam Square

So

uth

Bri

dge

Chambers Street



Figure 26 : Ainslie 1780 (Surveyed prior to South Bridge).

Sou

thB

ridge

Chambers Street

4.24 South Bridge Scheme and Improvements (1780’s and the

19th century) (Figures 27 & 28)

The important cartographic evidence relating to the area from this period,

are the plans drawn up for the South Bridge Scheme and the affected

properties, ground plans of tenements from 1823 and the compensation plans

created for the 1860’s improvements.4 These are detailed in a way that was

not possible for the city as a whole. Accuracy was all-important, as each

inch was a financial issue. Drawing of tenement floor plans, and the designs

of Thomas Hamilton (see Figure 22) allow us an unparalleled degree of

accuracy in locating wall lines and features within the site.

4 DC6353 - 18th century with annotation of 1872, stating that the plan was

produced at meeting of Works Committee of Improvement Trust, 1872 signed

by David Cousin. Shows Tron Church to Adam Square, antedates South

Bridge. Edinburgh Central Library holds Boog Watson’s compilation of this

map, superimposed on 1852 1st edn OS map

2 plans of Adam Square and Cowgate, DC6319 copy c1930’s of survey before

South Bridge built - feuing strips/lots superimposed.

Plan showing east side of Bridge from Cowgate to College St pencilled in.



Figure 27 : Clarke, 1834, prior to Chambers Street construction

Figure 28 : Post Office 1840 Map of area, used to locate residents within the site.



4.25 Ordnance Survey (Mid 19th century – Present) (Figures 29)

The onset of Ordnance Survey mapping of the area, in the mid 19th century,

and subsequent editions, has been useful to a certain extent. However, as

most of the major building works in the area took place prior to the Ordnance

Survey it is of little use in the understanding of the development of the site.

However, tied with the Post Office maps, which are of limited use as accurate

plans, it has been possible to assign buildings to specific persons or uses,

which would allow the tracing of properties further back in time.

Figure 29 : 2nd Edition 1867 OS Map of Area



5. The Buildings – general discussion

As most of this has been covered in the previous section, in far greater detail this

section is included as a synopsis of the retrievable history as seen from a purely site

recorded project.

(Figure 6 for locations)

5.1 Buildings 1 – 3

These buildings can be seen as the most significant structure on the fire site as

they form the southern extent of the South Bridge Scheme of Robert Kay.

Sadly, with the collapse of the North Pedimented Gable Elevation, the last

major surviving element of the original building was lost. This section of the

South Bridge Scheme was begun in the late 18th century, as the final vision of

a unified scheme that stretched from the Tron and Hunter Square, along the

South Bridge and ending with Adam Square.

Although the original design by Robert Adam was rejected as too expensive,

Robert Kay continued the vision at least to create – one connected design,

every separate House makes only a part of the whole – The buildings were

symmetrically composed as palace fronts with simple pedimented endpieces

and centrepieces, with regular fenestration and arcaded ground floors. This

was the first major building project in Edinburgh where the concept of a

unified design was put into practice.

However, this design was soon compromised by the needs of commercial

properties and this (along with the North Bridge) allowed South Bridge to

become one of the most fashionable commercial thoroughfares in Victorian

and Edwardian Edinburgh. One has only to look at the roll of petitioners in the

19th century to see the difference between the rise of the great department

store; J & R Allan, and the number of pawnbrokers and gin shops in the

Cowgate to understand the contrast.

J & R Allan’s architect in the 1920s was J. Motram and under him the most

fundamental changes to the structures was undertaken; one of the most

radical changes until the present day. The greatest surprise was the Façade

(Levels 3-5) on the South Bridge being entirely of timber panel construction

that had been cleverly disguised as a Greek revival stone facing. It soon

became apparent that the entire internal structure of Buildings 2, 3, (along

with Building 11 and parts of Building 4) had been removed and a steel girder

frame inserted at this time (probably through the South Bridge Façade). The

grand Art Deco Interior now only resides in the original plans (RCAHMS) and

photographs, though the original 1790s interiors had been lost, albeit 70 years

ago.



5.2 Buildings 4 – 6 & 12

During the time of City Improvements in the early and mid 19th century, a

concerted effort was made to develop the Cowgate in a way that would

both raise the quality of life, and provide housing for the poor. The grand

Cowgate Façade, with the elegant arcade to visually join the elegant South

Bridge to the poverty stricken Cowgate; behind this façade were tenements.

These structures were built around 1823/4 by the as yet unknown architect

Thomas Hamilton for John Spittal, though they are still bedded directly onto

the medieval buildings they replace. Use and reuse of these structures has

led to level changes, blockings and openings, reorganisation of flues and

additional stories added. This has led to a warren of concealed cavities that

had a direct effect on the spread of the 2002 fire. This was best represented

in Building 12, where, in the west elevation it was possible to view a raising of

the roof to allow the attic to be converted into habitable space, a number of

blocked fireplaces and the insertion of joists directly into flue cavities (Figure

33)

Much of the original layout of the tenements survives the 20th century

remodelling, with the courtyard elevations (Figures 35, 36 & 37) retaining the

cast iron balconies that once looked out over an external court, with multiple

door entries for the various tenants. The south of the properties is still bounded

by a vennel that although subsequently covered and disconnected from the

Commercial Court to the east had formed a lateral link from Commercial

Court to Hasties Close. This ha d been incorporated into the more recent use

of the structure as a hallway, with Building 11 bounding it to the south.

The character of the buildings was very much intact, with multiple entrances,

communicating closes and passages as well as the internal stairwells leading

to various floors. The original buildings had been constructed to form a mixed

residential / commercial property. It was evident that this mix of use had

continued into the 21st century, though most of the property was used by The

Gilded Balloon; who even utilised the central courtyard as a theatre space

with the stage set against the west wall and bar above.

Building 6, on the west side of Hasties Close is built once again in the 1820s,

but more than any other structure on this site, reflected the exact dimensions

of the original burgage plots. The frontage on to the Cowgate is narrow (c.

5m) and it stretches back to the south. Presently the lower floor is used as the

bar for Faith Nightclub, though it is clear that the original 3 story structure was

increased in size in the early 20th century using glazed bricks, to increase the

storage space of the clearly commercial property. It has been mostly used as

a warehouse until recently.



5.3 Buildings 11

The building occupying the extreme south of the site that was subject to

demolition was well built in character. It was clearly adjoined to the existing

South Bridge structures (Building 1). It is interesting to note the total lack of

windows on the south elevation, which must point to the Chambers Street

properties being already in existence, placing it in the post 1860,s period. The

original use of the structure is difficult to infer, as the entire internal space was

removed during the 1929 refurbishment of the J & R Allan Stores. It is clear

that the original wooden floors correspond to the levels of the structures to

the south, but beyond this it is a presumption that it was some form of storage

property. There are no signs of fireplaces in any elevation, which also point to

a non-residential use.

It is interesting that the lower courses of the structure that the tooling seems to

conform to mid - late 18th century stonework, this suggests part of this wall is a

survival of a structure that would have been contemporary with the Adam

Square phase of the site – c. 1760s

5.4 Buildings 13

This structure is both the most interesting and most difficult to interpret

structure on the site. The distinctive dogleg plan of the south wall can be

traced back at least to the 17th century (using Rothiemay’s Map – 1647:

Figures 24). The problem arises in the large amount of remodelling that has

taken place on this structure; it is clear from the architectural fragments that

form the substantial part of the Hasties Close elevation (see Appendix 1.7)

that the main fabric dates to after 1800. The windows on the south elevation

are also clearly inserted during the mid 18th century; based on brick typology.

Though they themselves had undergone alteration in both the mid 19th

century and early/mid 20th century. The arched opening in the wall (now

blocked), with stairs leading to a now blocked door, represents an alternative

entrance into the building from Hasties Close, in addition to those internal to

the site itself. (see Figs 34 & 40)

The south elevation though does contain the earliest fabric on this site – and

although difficult to date without resorting to analysis of the mortar would not

be later than the 1700s.



6. Elevations

6.1 Elevation 1 – External East Facing South Bridge Elevation (Figure 30)

The main South Bridge Elevation was recorded digitally by Masons Land

Survey, using a Laser Scanner (Figure 12) and extends from level 3-7of this

frontage. Buildings 1, 2 & 3, prior to demolition this elevation was thought to

represent the Robert Kay Scheme, it quickly became apparent that this

frontage was in the whole an early 20th century rebuild. Only Building 1

retained elements that could be assigned to the 1780/90s phase of

construction.

The ground level shop fronts (Level 3) had removed all traces of the original

frontage. The architect for J & R Allan, a Mr J. Motram, had fronted this level

with polished black marble, and replaced the interior completely with a steel

girder frame in the 1920s. This renovation had also involved the removal of

the stone frontage and replacing it with a cunning subterfuge of wooded

panels, created to resemble stonework. Only during the demolition process

was the existence of this technical detail observed. The original roofline was

also raised to allow a further floor to be added (Level 6) which required the

removal of the original roof structure and the incorporation of the north gable

into the main wall fabric.

The rectangular raised angular moulded windows can only be glimpsed on

Level 5 of Building 1, with Level 4 windows matching those in Buildings 2 & 3 in

an art deco style. The Level 6 arched windows, although similar to those on

the same level as Buildings 2 & 3, are half the width. Building 1 also extends a

further story (Level 7) beyond the buildings on either side, to give the

impression that this structure was built with two equal flanking wings.

Building 10 to the south, is part of the creation of Chambers Street in the

mid/late 19th century City Improvements, it is attached to what was originally

the terminus of this side of the southwest side of th South Bridge Scheme and

occupies the area that would once have held Adam Square.

It is interesting to note that the original scheme would only stood 3 stories (and

an attic space) above the Bridge Level, though the sub levels extended

down a further 3 stories to the Cowgate. The geometrical symmetry of the

original design is quite evident and based on a simple cube, with an internal

measurement of c. 36ft, borne out by the distance between the original floor

levels of c. 12ft. Buildings 1 – 3 each retain an internal width and depth

measurement of 36ft and Robert Kay’s design basically involved the stacking

of 2 cubes, one above the South Bridge and one below, capped with a roof

structure with Pavillioned & Pedimented Gables at each end.

This 1929 South Bridge frontage was sadly both the most altered and most

interesting reinterpretation of the Unified Scheme, creating a self contained

unification that, although not conceived in the original design, retained its

spirit.



Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Level 6

Level 7

Level 8NorthSouth

Building No. 1Building No. 10 Building No. 2 Building No. 3

0 5

metres

Elevation Location

318

486487488489490491492493494495496

321324 319322325 320323326

376

414415

377

416

378

375

413

374

412

442

373

411

372

410

371

409

367370

405408 404407 403406

366369 365368

Figure 30 : Elevation 1. South Bridge frontage

Elevation 1

6.2 Elevation 2 – External North Facing Cowgate Elevation (Figure 31)

The main Cowgate elevation contains 4 main phases of construction /

development and contains elevations belonging to Buildings 3,4,5 & 6. There

was no requirement to record Wilkie House (Building 7), as damage was slight

and there was no threat of demolition to the fabric. This elevation was also

recorded by Masons Land Survey using Laser Scanners.

The east section of this elevation contains the much altered remains of R.

Kay’s Pedimented Pavillion Gables (Figure 36). This was one of 4 (3 are still

remaining) that flanked the Arch over the Cowgate and mirrored each other

across the divide. The original fabric was easy to identify, as was the outline

of the gable pediment, which dates to the final phase of South Bridge

construction in the 1790s. The upper level (Level 6) was extended in the

1920’s as part of J. Motrams redevelopment of the J & R Allan Store, turning

the attic space into useable floor space. A small half circle aperture, with a

square window light and ironwork balcony, penetrates this level. The cornice

work had been removed flush with the main wall previously, with only the two

angles at the east and west corners retained.



Figure 31 : Elevation 2. Cowgate frontage

Level 3

Level 2

Level 1

Level 0

Level 4

Level 5

Level 6

West

East

Building No. 4Building No. 3 Building No. 5 Building No. 6

South Bridge

Elevation 2

0 5

metres

Elevation Location

012 024 025 026 027 028 029 030 031 032 033 034 035 036 038 039

073

093

192

272

309

092

191

271

308

091

190

270

307

090

189

268

089

188

267

088

187

266

087

186

265

086

185

263

085

184

262

084

183

261

083

182

260

082

181

259

081

180

258

080

179

255

317

358

079

178

254

316

359

360

078

177

253

315

361

402

077

176

252

314

362

175

497

251

313

364

363

004003002001

Levels 4 & 5 contain 10 large rectangular windows with, though a small

rectangular window seems to have inserted between the two extreme east

windows on Level 5, and the second from the west, also on Level 5, had been

blocked with a blind stone facing. None of the windows have any form of

surround moulding, though the Level 5 windows have angular sills, while those

on Level 4 sit directly on a broad plain cornice band.

The windows on Level 3 of Building 3 (the street level of the South Bridge) are

arched with a false balcony and stone rails. The eastern window is no longer

present, leaving only 4 windows. This 5th missing window had been removed

during the 1920’s renovations, though a door remains in its place. The area

around this aperture is skinned in black marble, as with the rest of the art

deco exterior on the South Bridge ground level.

The Cowgate levels 0 – 2 are an exact match of the upper levels 3 – 5, with

arched openings on the street level and rectangular windows on the further

upper two levels. The western window on Level 0 has been built to provide an

entrance to Commercial Close. The west wall of this close formed the west

wall of the South Bridge Scheme and follows the line of an original medieval

plot boundary. The wall also supports the abutment wall structure for the

tenements located to the west.



The most obvious alteration on this section of elevation is the construction in

1929 of the Link Bridge, built to join the North and South J & R Allan stores at

Level 2. The Bridge is unusual in that it is constructed as a box girder form with

a facing of stone that should mirror the original construction. Although

designed to match the original, the Link Bridge has a much shallower arch

than the South Bridge Arch, and in addition removes the symmetry of the

original gable. Beneath the Link Bridge the original arched ground level

window still remains.

Thomas Hamilton designed the remaining listed Façade that extends to the

west along the Cowgate in 1823, being one of his ‘unknown’ designs during

his early career. Later he went on to be a leading Greek revival architect,

including the Old High School Building on Calton Hill. The Façade was

designed to extend the buildings into the Cowgate and originally had ground

level of arched windows and doors into shopping areas with 3 stories of

residential and storage above. Buildings 4 & 5 are part of the early City

Improvements scheme, and are designed to continue the simple elegance

and arcaded appearance of the South Bridge Structures. Hamilton has

cleverly drawn the eye down Blair Street with the illusion that the 1790s

Buildings extend into the Cowgate, in the hope of joining the ‘upper’ and

‘lower’ cities of Edinburgh. The fabric is of sandstone ashlar blocks, with slate

roofs. The extent of these buildings is bounded by Hasties Close to the West.

In the 1980s, the City of Edinburgh Council returned the pavement to the

original location by reopening the windows and doors on the ground floor

(Level 0) and creating an Arcade.

Building 6 is bounded to the west by Wilkie House and was originally a 3 story

building when built in the 1800s and overlies Hasties Close. The early 20th

century sees the building extended a further story (Level 4) with much of the

reconstruction completed with glazed white bricks, the frontage is still of plain

sandstone, with rectangular windows with no mouldings. The Ground Floor

(Level 0) has been converted into a Public House in the 20th century and the

original entrance to the Warehouse blocked on the frontage to the

Cowgate.

6.3 Elevation 3 –North Facing Elevation of Buildings 1 &11 (Figure 32)

This elevation begins in the east with the internal elevation of the Final Gable

end of the South Bridge Scheme. This would have been the match of the

elevation still extant the overlooks Hunter Square to the North, in this case the

view would have been over Adam Square. There are two basic periods of

activity that visible in this elevation, the original 1790s phase and the

remodelling of the interior by Motram in the late 1920s. Blocked openings

within the elevation (Levels 1 – 5 [382, 328, 304, 387, 388, 330, 332, 301, 300,

237, 239, 160 & 162}) show the arrangement of windows are an exact match

with those seen on the Gable elevation of the Cowgate (Elevation 2), the

main difference is the need to step up a terrace due to the slope to the

south. There is also the evidence for fireplaces on each floor, all now blocked

with brick. The raising of the roof level in the 1920s is evident on Level 6 with

brick being used to create another useable level; the original gable is visible



as the stonework beneath the brick. All the original joist holes are present,

and show the 12’ high floor levels used as part of the design.

During the redevelopment of the Site in the late 1920s, the buildings to the

south were already present and were part of J & R Allan. To aid movement

through the store, J. Motram penetrated the elevation with large openings on

Levels 1-5 joining the store buildings. It seems that the floor levels were mostly

removed during this phase and the entire interior was gutted, with a steel

girder frame built throughout this structure and Building 11. Surviving details

were the Art Deco side panels within the doorways, which could be closed at

the end of trading to secure the store.

Figure 32 : South internal elevation of Buildings 1 and 11

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Level 6

Level 7

Level 8


WestEast

0 5

metres

To the west is the south wall of Building 11, which has been abutted to the

1790s structure and is stone built. Unusually, this structure has no windows,

and would suggest that the Chambers Street buildings are already extant by

its constraint. Two vertical quioned channels are inset into the construction

from Level 4 – 2, the function must be drainage, and they are located at the

extreme east and west of the elevation.



Figure 32 : South internal elevation of Buildings 1 and 11

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Level 6

Level 7

Level 8

Room 11/065

Room 1/064

Room 1/086

Room 1/124

Room 1/126

Room 1/147`

Room 1/158

Room 1/169

Room 1/168

Room 1/170

Room 11/083

Room 11/083

Room 11/141

Room 12/107

Door445

446501

Door 420

Door 384

Door 329

Door 303

Door 236

Door 158

421

422

423424

425

426

427

385

340

387386

388 389382

383

327

328

330331

332333

305 304302

301

299

300

237

240blocking

239

160 162

159

Door 341

342

Door290

Door249

Door165

164

brick161

164


WestEast

Elevation 3

0 5

metres

Elevation Location

502

Original 1790's gable

1929 additions

Quoined channel

Quoined channel

Quoined channel

South Bridge

Three further 1920s openings [290, 249 & 165] are located in the west of the

elevation at Levels 1-3, they are directly comparable with those to the east,

being of brick/steel construction and stacked on above the other. A further

door was located on Level 4 at the top left, with the remains of stairways

burnt into the wall. Original floor joists were present, though once again the

structure has been gutted and an internal steel girder frame inserted.

6.4 Elevation 4 –East Facing Elevation through Buildings 11,12 & 4(Figure 33)

This north-south cross section through the site is a good indication on the later

development of the site, showing the Improvements Scheme and the

complex sequence of passages, Closes & Courtyards that now characterise

the area.

The southern section of the site contains Building 11 and a remnant of a small

close (part of Commercial Close) that joins to Hasties Close. This building

seems to be of one build, with angled openings/windows on Levels 2 & 3 [250



&289] and a doorway at Level 1. The build is of rough coursed sandstone with

cut quoins.

This building is recognisable as the United Secessionist Church of the early 19th

century, the doorway on Elevation 3 on Level 4 would be the entrance from

Adam Square, and the door [173] on Level 1 to Hasties Close would be a

secondary entrance.

Directly abutting this building to the north is a wall tipped with iron railings and

penetrated with a doorway, opening onto Hasties Close. This is the terminus of

the Commercial Close mentioned above.

To the north of this narrow close is a tenement – Building 12. This building

matches directly the tenement photographed in the 1870s (Figure 53). The

main construction must date to the 1820s as the form and build of the fabric is

typical of that period. The building comprises of 3 main stories (Levels 0 – 2)

and a attic space (Level 3). Raised at a later date to accommodate further

living space. A door has also been created in the top left of the new attic

space to connect with Building 13 to the west.

A significant portion of the elevation is part of the earlier fabric of Building 13,

mainly to the south. There is a later opening on the lower Level 0, where a

brick skin has been used to strengthen the early sandstone fabric. Fireplaces

appear on levels 1-3 with recessed cupboards along the south elevation. It is

possible that another blocked door is present on Level 2, central to the wall,

which may have been another connection with Building 13.

What was once the courtyard area (Room 015) has been bridged to connect

to Building 4. Level 0 & 1 were still open forming part of the Gilded Balloon

Stage Area, with the performance area below and a balcony bar on Level 1.

Levels 2-3 were breezeblock and brick construction and looked out to the

west onto a light well. (See Elevation 7) – only Level 2 contains 2 windows [214

& 213]. The support for this structure was of steel girder, and may be a

continuation of the 1920’s alterations.

Building 4 was sadly part of the catastrophic early collapse of the Cowgate

frontage it was only during demolition work that fragments of the elevation

were recovered at a lower level. However it is clear that this building was of a

similar nature to Building 12, as it shared the same courtyard to the south and

was part of the Thomas Hamilton building. With large rooms and high ceilings.

It seems that there were fireplaces and cupboards on every floor, with later

openings being cut through to building 5 as the change of use in the 20th

century required transverse movement. It is likely that the large opening on

Level 3 removed a fireplace, altering the dynamics of the original flue system.

The main fabric is of one build and consists of rubblework with dressed

sandstone copes and quoins. The roofline is as constructed, with a large

chimneystack that would service the large number of flues in both Buildings 4

& 5 on this elevation.



Figure 33 : West internal elevations of Buildings 11,12 and 04

Level 1

Level 1

Level 2

Level 2

Level 3

Level 3

Level 4

Level 0

Level 0

Elevation 4

Building 11

Building 11

Building 12

Building 12

Building 04

Building 04

Room 11/141

Room 12/107

Room 11/083

Room 11/065 Room 12/057

Room 04/180

Room 04/178

Room 12/058

Room 12/015 Room 04/005

Room 04/177Room 04/048

Room 04/093

Room 04/103

Room 04/006

Room 11/066

Room 12/018

Room 12/089

Room 12/0107

Room 12/017

67

102

483133

478

346

484

485

476

475

473

472

477

474

482

523

524

47

172173

250

348214

462503

504

465464

463466

213

264278

289

347

North

North

South

South

0

0

5

5

metres

metres

Elevation Location

Later rooflineEarlier roofline

It is clear that Buildings 4, 5, 12 and elements of Building 13 are all part of the

Thomas Hamilton design, with later alterations in the 1860s, 1920s and late 20th

century.



6.5 Elevation 5 –East Facing Elevation through Buildings 13 & 5 (Figure34)

This stepped elevation starts in the south with Building 13, the extreme south

elevation is stepped back to the east and contains part of the oldest

standing fabric. As with most of the early properties, this stands 3 stories plus

attic space. The lowest Level, Level 0, has been remodelled (pre 1750s) by

terracing into the slope (Room 014), the rough rubblework of the wall acting

as a revetting wall. The rest of the smaller elevation is of rubblework; the

upper section of the wall has been built up to hide the roofline. The lower

floor of Building 13 is at a basement level, with the ground to the west (Hasties

Close) rising steadily to the south.

The Level 0 along the length forms the east side of Hasties Close, and was

penetrated with 3 doors, now blocked and with a large arched opening [072]

to the north, which had been added in the 20th century to provide access to

the rear of the arcaded Cowgate elevation when it was returned to use as a

footpath in the 1980s; it must be remembered that the 1823 tenements of

Thomas Hamilton extended the frontage out into the Cowgate. The fabric of

this wall does contain elements of an earlier structure as can be seen in the

lowest courses of masonry seen from Hasties Close, but this has been much

reduced prior to construction of the 19th century Building 5.

Building 5 itself is constructed of random rubblework with originally 3 floors

(including the ground floor used for commercial properties). The building has

been extended in the late 19th century by alteration of the roof line to

accommodate an attic level (Level 3). The standard tenement layout is

clear, with fireplaces and inset cupboards.

Reuse of the space in the 20th century has led to the blocking of the fireplaces

and the modifications to room access.



6.6 Elevation 6 –North Facing Elevation (Figure 35)

Building 12 was constructed of rubble work fabric, with rough dressed quoins

surrounding doors and windows. The main fabric of Buildings 12 can be

securely dated to 1823/4. Level 0 has 4 surviving doors [052, 054, 055 & 056]

which would lead into the ground level of the property. Door [052] clearly

leads to a stairwell that would provide access to upper stories, as would

another door that should have been located where the bar opening [058]

had been inserted. The windows on Level 1 still retain the cast iron balconies

that refer to original construction of these properties around a central

courtyard. The elevation to the west shows the structure has utilised existing

fabric within building 13, as there is a clear break in build at Levels 2 and 3. It

is possible that the upper stories of this Building have been bonded to the east

elevation of Building 13 though it is unclear as to the exact reasoning behind

this constructional detail.

Building 13’s north elevation is exposed to reveal the raising of floor levels, with

an additional attic space. Level 2 is brick built against the east side, though

the west elevation is of rubblework. The structure over Hasties Close is clearly

later, and joins Building 6 to Building 5, with connecting rooms.

Building 6, although only recorded at Level 1/2 does show an interesting

constructional detail. Central to the elevation is a line of quoins which clearly

denote an extant building which has been widened to the west in the 19th

century. The position of blocked fireplaces and cupboards in the present

Room 054 shows the floor levels have been raised by c. 400mm during the 20th

century remodelling. The earlier build must date to a period prior to the

erection of Free Church (Building 7) in 1859 and was widened in the early 19th

century and heightened by 2 additional glazed brick stories in the late 19th

centuries.



0 5

metres

0 5

metres

Edge of recorded area




Figure 35 : South external elevation of Buildings 12 courtyard

Level 1

Level 1

Level 2

Level 2

Level 3

Level 3

Level 0

Level 0

Elevation 6

Building 12

Building 12

Building 13

Building 13

Building 06

Building 06

HastiesClose

HastiesClose

Room 12/015 Room 12/012 Room 13/013 Room 06/030

Room 06/054

Room 13/055

Room 13/098

Room 13/111

Room 13/058

Room 04/178

Room 04/180

East

East

West

West

Elevation Location

115

507

508

509

510

511

512

114

052

121

209210

285 286

123

122

054055

127128

129

131

056

057058

Roof line

Rebuild joint

Post medieval quoins

Hasties Close



6.7 Elevation 7 – East Facing Elevation of ‘courtyard’; Building 12 (Figure 36)

Elevation - levels 0 – 3. The main fabric of the elevation consists of masonry

[492] for levels 0 & 1 with a further level of brick [490] and an slate roofed [488]

attic space with 3 dormers [287, 486 & 487. A door [071] penetrates the

Level 0 wall, which would have originally connected through to Room 055

though this is now blocked [051]. This door would have been blocked at a

point in the late 20th century when the stage [494] was inserted, removing the

lower 0.70m of the door. The original floor level [495] would have been of

flagstone, as it was originally an external surface. Directly above this door lies

another aperture, which, although 2.00 meters in height, would likely be a

window with balcony as with similar windows seen in Elevation 4. Built directly

onto the wall head (perhaps reduced) of [492] is a brick wall [490], which is

confirmed as being constructed of bricks typical to the early 20th century. The

two windows [205] & [206] are contiguous with this construction. A drainpipe

runs down the north corner of this elevation, taking water run off from the roof

and sub roof level. The sub roof on level 2 [491] runs from this elevation to

meet Elevation 2 to the west. Constructed of wood and glass, it would have

allowed light into the area beneath, it seems that at some point after the

construction of the brick level 2 this skylight was formed, during a period when

the previously open courtyard was covered.

This elevation forms the west side of an internal courtyard between Building 12

to the south and Building 4 to the North. The widow on the first floor would

have originally possessed a balcony similar to those still extant on the south

elevation (Elevation 4). The structure dates mainly to the 1820’s period of

tenement construction, with an early 20th century brick level built directly onto

the wall head of the stonework fabric. It is interesting that the elevation to

either side extends to a height of the full 4 stories while the stonework here

[492] extents only 2 stories. It may be that some reduction has taken place

prior to the brick wall being built. The later 20th century sees the courtyard

covered, and a mezzanine bar over the stage is created, beneath the

rooflight. The remain of the floor can be seen as a scar and two joist holes

[493], this floor was reached by a stair in the north west corner of the

elevation from Level 0 to Level 1. More evidence for the later theatre can be

seen in the painted backdrop and raised stage level [494], which has now

been removed.



North

North

South

South

Stage level

Floor scar 493

Window 287

Window 205

Window 111

Blocking 112

Window 206

Brick 490

Rooflight 491

Stone 492

Door 71

Blocking 51

Stage 494

Floor 495

Slate roof488

Figure 36 : West elevation of Building 12 courtyard

Building 12

Building 12

Elevation 07

0 2

metres

0 2

metres

Level 0

Level 0

Level 1

Level 1

Level 2

Level 2

Level 3

Level 3

Window 486 Window 487

Drainpipe 489

Elevation Location

287



6.8 Elevation 8 – South Facing – Building 12, 13 (and south wall of Building 5)

(Figure 37)

The south facing elevation of the courtyard within Building 12 is of one main

build. The structures 4, 5 and 12 are all attributable to the 1823 phase of

construction. Building 3 (the 1790s South Bridge Structure is situated to the

east and the line of Hasties Close bounds the west side.

Within the courtyard there is a line of windows for Buildings 4 & 5, though the

windows [049, 048, 110, 109, 059, 060, 061 and 062] had been blocked during

the late 20th century. The stage for the Gilded Balloon to the west of the

courtyard and a stair to the mezzanine Bar also cuts across the windows 108 &

048].

Commercial Court [Opening to Room 003] cuts to the north joining the

Cowgate at Level 0, with Building 4 Levels 1,2 & 3 above. Most of Building 4

has been extensively redeveloped in the 20th century, both during the 1929

phase of J & R Allan refitting and in the later 20th century during use as space

for artistic venues. The main construction material is brick and steel girder. A

rubble work chimney stack survived from the original phase of construction.

To the west, the exterior of Building 5 remained fairly intact as per the original

1823 construction, though the western windows have been obscured by the

raising of the Building 13 to the south, at Levels 2 & 3.

This elevation relates to the external south wall of the early 19th century

construction of tenements within the Cowgate, around a courtyard (Building

12). It is clear though from lower wall materials and fabric make up, that the

structures that occupied this area were of similar size and layout.



West

West

East

East

Room 13/098

Room 13/111

Room 13/055

Room 13/013 Room 12/012

Room 12/015

Open to room 04/003

Room 12/058

Room 04/178 Room 04/092

Room 04/180 Room 04/105276275 277

204208207

513

203

110 109 106 105

280

525

279 open area

215 open area

059 060 061 062069070

049

108

107

048

brick partition

breeze block partition

iron girder

iron girder

Roof line

Open area

0

0

5

5

metres

metres

Figure 37 : North external elevation of Building 12 courtyard

Level 1

Level 1

Level 2

Level 2

Level 3

Level 3

Level 0

Level 0

Elevation 8

Building 12

Building 12

Building 13

Building 13

Elevation Location



6.9 Elevation 9 External West Facing - Buildings 1,2 & 3 (Figure 38)

This elevation shows the west exterior of the South Bridge Buildings (Buildings

1,2 & 3. The northernmost (Building 3) once again shows the alteration in the

Robert Kay Gable, where the original roofline was raised (Level 6). The main

elements visible within this Building belong to 3 distinct phases: The rough rubblework of the original South Bridge Structure (an elevation

that would not be seen from the Bridge itself) dating to the 1790s.

The 1823 Thomas Hamilton Tenement gable and chimney flue. (It is

probable that the raising of the roof was concurrent with this phase, as the

window [441] quite clearly respects the chimney but not the window [356]

within the original build, which was partially obscured by the flues).

The 1929 redevelopment of the J & R Allan store, the large opening on Level

2 [217] representing one of the many large apertures created through the

original fabric for movement around the store.

Building 2 had the entire rear elevation rebuilt in brick during the 1929 phase

of redevelopment the large arched windows282, 354 &400] were to allow

light onto a large stairwell. The blocking is mid 20th century and also

constructed of brick, it represents the utilisation of part of the stairwell as a lift

shaft, with the wheel house at Level 7 and the shaft running down the centre

of Building 2. This required the blocking of windows [454, 458, 451]. The

remainder of the elevation of Building 2 was also of brick with multiple

windows to bring light into the J & R Allan Store.

Building 1 elevation contained elements of both the original South Bridge

fabric, seen as the rough rectangular random coursed sandstone and the

brickwork related to the 1929 phase of J & R Allan. The blocked windows

[432, 394,448 & 335] relate to a stairwell, with exit on Level 8 at roof level. A

steel gantry was provided as a fire escape. The large openings, [22,136, 294,

334, 390] would originally have been windows in 1790, but were enlarged as

doors in the 19th century to provide access into Building 11.



0 5

metres

0 5

metres

Figure 38 : East exterior of buildings 1,2 and 3

Elevation 9

Building 4

Building 4

Building 12

Building 12

Building 11

Building 11

North

North

South

South

Elevation Location

Level 1

Level 1

Level 2

Level 2

Level 3

Level 3

Level 4

Level 4

Level 5

Level 5

Level 6

Level 6

Level 7

Level 7

Level 8

Level 8

Level 8

Level 8

Level 0

Level 0

450

449

447

448

428429

432

431

434435436437

441 440

439438

356 357

401400

399 398 397 396

393

394

391 390

334337

336

335

352351350

354355

257 306 297

296

298

294

248218

155

022

136

234217

456

457

?

?



6.10 Elevation 10 – West facing – Buildings 1,2 & 3 (Figure 39)

A substantial elevation still remaining intact to South Bridge Street Level. The

Allan Link Bridge spans the Cowgate to the north, and dates to the 1929

phase of alterations, the fabric of the bridge is however a clever façade

where the actual construction is of box girders faced with a stone cladding.

This bridge however does alter significantly the original lines of the South

Bridge, the false arch being lower and obscuring the original soaring arch

behind.

The fabric of the elevation to the south of the bridge is of rubble build and

can be confidently dated to a period c. 1789 – 90 as the print showing the

laying of the foundation stone for the New College (1789) (Figure 42) does not

show this section of the South Bridge Scheme. This elevation also shows the

first terrace step showing the significant level changes required to build

upslope to the south, with a c2.8m height difference between north and

south.

Building 3 - Level 0 in Rooms 001 & 176, Building 2 Rooms 021 & 022 and

Building 1 - Level 1 Room 064 all contain doorways [6, 7, 8, 15, 20, 153] that

lead beneath the South Bridge, it is however noticeable that the Bridge

structure begins c. 1m behind the wall and there is a significant gap between

the two, this reinforces the method of construction of the South Bridge

Scheme, where the Bridge and Buildings are built separately and are not truly

integrated into each other.

There are several fragments of earlier 16th/17th century architectural stonework

built into the main fabric (see Appendix 1.7)(Figure 42), which represents the

surviving remnants of the buildings that occupied the site prior to 1780.

Building 2 contains the largest concentration of this reused stonework, and

demonstrates the modular aspect of this extraordinary construction.

Examination of the ground plan and elevation quite clearly shows the entire

construction is based on stacking 2 cubes along the length of the Bridge,

Buildings 1 – 3 are but 3 separate elements in the whole Scheme.

Rooms 021, 061, 087, 028, contain fireplaces, showing these spaces were not

just used as storage, a surviving coal chute [222] in Building 3 Room 090 is

original and infers that Level 2 would contain the coal supply for the building

as a whole. It is possible that feature [230] in Building 2 Room 087 is another

blocked example, with another on Level 2 in Building 1.

Other openings within this elevation are mainly cupboard spaces.



0 5

metres

0 5

metres

Figure 39 : East section of site along south bridge frontage

Elevation 10

Building 3Cowgate Building 2 Building 1 Building 10

North South

Level 1

Level 0

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Level 6

Level 7

Level 8

Room 3/033

Room 3/001 Room 3/176


Room 3/090

Room 3/101

Room 3/128

Room 3/144

Room 3/155

Room 2/022

Room 2/087

Room 2/012

Room 1/064

Room 1/086


Room 1/126

Room 1/147

Room 1/158

Room 1/169

Room 1/170

Room 2/060

Room 2/061

Room 2/020 Room 2/062

Room 2/021

006007 008

014

015020

138 139 140 141 142 147

148

149 150

153

174498

499500

175 221

224

225

222

223

226227

230

228 231

229

318

486 488 489 490

491487

365

403

319

366

404

320

367

405

321

368

406

322

369

407

323

370 371 372 373 374 375 376

414413412411410409408

324

492

493 494

495

325326

442

South Bridgeground level

Building 3Cowgate Building 2 Building 1 Building 10

North

South

Level 1

Level 0

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Level 6

Level 7

Level 8

South Bridgeground level

Elevation Location

Alan Link Bridge



6.11 Elevation 11 – North Facing – Building 1 & 11 (Figure 40)

Figure 40 represents a composite elevation of the internal elevation of

Building 1 (south wall) the external elevation of building 11 (north wall) and

the lower part of building 12.

The structures from this point to the south represent the 1st major terrace level

on this site pre 1750. This line is significant in that it represents the historic

interface between structures & garden. The garden areas were gradually

developed during the 18th century, the last significant untouched area

becoming part of Adam Square.

The main elements of Building 1 are constructed during the period 1790-92

during the final phase of South Bridge development, however the main visible

structural elements date from the J & R Allan Store in the 1920s.

The floors from Level 1 – Level 8 are supported from the internal steel girder

frame. The partitions that were visible were constructed mainly of either brick

or breezeblock, representing work carried out in the late 20th century. A

significant part of the 1790s structure survives on Levels 2 & 3 with rubble built

wall fabric and doors that may originally have been recessed cupboards

[232].

Continuing to the west is the elevation of Building 11 that faces over the small

passage leading from Commercial Close to Hasties Close. Built in the late 19th

century the elevation has been remodelled during the Motram 1929 phase of

works. The elevation stands 4 stories high, beginning at Level 1, the earliest

section is at the lower right where there a section of wall fabric seems to

contain masonry that bears tooling marks of possible late 18th century date.

The rest of the elevation is constructed of sandstone rubblework with

sandstone quoins. The ground floor has 3 doors and two windows to the

interior.

Originally there would have been 5 windows on Levels 2 and 3, however the

1929 renovation removed 4 windows to the west, with the insertion of open

voids with steel girder surrounds [12/105 & 12/089]. This space runs through

the site south to north, interconnecting buildings 10, 11, 12 and 4/5.

Running down the centre of the elevation runs a fire escape, which extends

to a door on the 4th Level that has been inserted into the main wall fabric.

It is possible that the upper level is of a later date (possible mid 19th century in

date) constructed to raise the north elevation. It is significant that the

Photographer Archibald Burns notes this structure as being part of the United

Secessionist church of the 1820’s (though his photographs date to the later

half of the 19th century).

Included on this elevation is the lower level 0 of the terrace cut. This forms a

basement level for building 12. with windows to the vennel and coal chutes.



232

232

Building 2 Building 12 Building 13

Elevation 11

South Bridge

East

212

339338

West

063 064

076 075

065 074 Brick skin

118120

134

288516

517

Exterior of Building 11

291292293

Room 2/022 Room 2/019


Room 2/087

Room 2/088

Room 3/129

Room 3/149

Room 3/157

Room 2/102

Room 3/128

Room 3/144

Room 3/155

Room 12/182Room 12/018

Room 12/057

Room 12/089

Room 12/107

Room 13/014 Room 13/010

Room 13/031

Room 13/056

Room 13/057

Room 13/098

Room 13/111

Figure 40 : South internal elevation of Buildings 2,12 and 13

Level 1

Level 0

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Level 6

Building 2 Building 12 Building 13

East West

Level 1

Level 0

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Level 6

0

0

5

5

metres

metres

Elevation Location

Demolition rubble ramp



Figure 41: View of Building 13 illustrating the complex phases of alteration

Figure 42: Roll moulding of c. 16th C date inserted into 1790's construction



6.12 Elevation 12 – North Facing – Building 4 & 5 (Figure 43)

Central to Building 5 is a stairwell that although constructed during the 1823,

Thomas Hamilton period, bears a marked resemblance to previous post

medieval building lines in that area. It is apparent that although the structure

is of early 19th century date, the possibility exists that much of the fabric has

elements that are earlier. The arched opening [046] could well represent a

public passage through to an open court (now building 12).

The walls are of rubble build with doors and cupboards on each level. This

would represent an internal wall, as no windows are discernable. The Level 1

openings are over built with relieving arches similar to those seen in the rest of

the 1823 tenement elevations (see elevation 8).

The elevation within Building 4 to the east also contains the same elements

seen in the Building 5 elevation, and dates to the same period of

construction.

6.13 Elevation 13 – East Facing – Building 6 (Figure 44)

This elevation, as with Elevation 6 (Figure 17) was only recordable at Level 1

with another fragment to the south at Level 2. As with Elevation 6, the

noticeable features were the doors, windows and fireplaces, which no longer

respect the present floor level. An earlier floor line was clearly visible with

blocked doors [194] & [196] which must have led into a structure that

predated the Church (Building 7) to the west.

It became clear that the blocked window [195] was integral to a turnpike

stair, flanked on either side by the doors [194] & [196]. A series of quoins that

run down the extreme south of the elevation shows once again that this

structure has a significant survival of earlier fabric within what was presumed

to be a 19th century building. The main fabric was of rubble build, though

levels 3 and 4 were of glazed brick, when the building was extended in the

mid 19th century.

It is quite possible that the early building was of post medieval date, and had

survived partially within the Improvements phase of the 150s/60s. This would

indicate that early fabric still survives at Level 0 within the Wilkie House bar

area.



Figure 43 : South section through middle of Buildings 4 and 5

Elevation 12

Building 4

Building 4

Building 5

Building 5

West

West

East

East

Room 4/003 Room 4/005 Room 5/007

Room 5/009

Room 5/050

Room 5/094

Room 5/108

Room 4/048

Room 4/093

Room 4/103

Room 5/008

046 044

040

099

515

514100

101103104

200201202

Level 1

Level 1

Level 0

Level 0

Level 2

Level 2

Level 3

Level 3

0

0

5

5

metres

metres

Elevation Location



Figure 44 : West internal elevation of Building 6

Level 1

Level 1

Level 0

Level 0

Level 2

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4Room 6/143

Room 6/100

Flat roof

Room 6/053

Room 6/099

Room 6/109

Room 6/142

Faith Nightclub

Building 6

Building 6

North

North

South

South

Room 6/030

Room 6/110

Room 6/054

Elevation 13

094

519095

518

Plaster for later stairwell

520 Post Med turnpike

196

522

521 Blocking

197blocking

195 Blocked window

194

193

Earlier floor line

0 5

metres

0 5

metres

Elevation Location

Early fabric

Post Med early quoins

Stairwell



7. Excavations

7.1 Introduction

During the process of creating foundations for a bridge support structure

there was a requirement to monitor the excavation. This was carried out on

the 6th of March 2003 under the supervision of K. Macfadyen. The

groundwork’s consisted of a trench approx 4 metres long (North-South), 1.5

metres wide and 0.80- 0.9 m deep, within room 3/001. The trench was dug to

allow a substantial concrete and scaffold support to be built to support the

Allen link bridge across the Cowgate.

7.2 Investigation

The trench was located within room 3/001 on level 0, formerly part of the

Living Room pub, with the foundation footprint of the support determining the

trench outline and depth.

Following the fire and demolition the ground level deposits were a thin skim of

muddy debris overlying a concrete floor spread. This concrete was broken

through and lifted by a JCB fitted with a 1.2m-toothed bucket, the deposits

within the trench were initially cleared with shovels and occasionally with the

JCB bucket where it was deemed appropriate, and then cleaned by hand

for recording by photograph and a drawn record at a scale of 1:20. This

trench also allowed an evaluation of the below ground archaeology, which

will be a factor in any reconstruction on the site.

Trench 1

Figure 6 for location

Across the whole trench lay a 5cm thick concrete floor, which directly overlay

demolition/construction deposit (001). This (001) deposit was a mix of cream

coloured gritty crushed lime mortar mixed through with fragments of

sandstone rubble, some of which were chips from worked/tooled stones, also

mixed through were a few broken low fired red bricks. Recovered from (001)

was a small amount of glass, pottery of 18th/19th century date and bone/shell

as well as 2 coins (Both Turners of Charles I / II {small find 001}), this continued

over the whole trench in the northern half to a depth of 0.5m and within the

southern half to a depth of 0.8-0.9m.

The trench was bisected by a wall (002) running east west through the centre

of the trench, this was 35 cm wide at the exposed top and appears to be a

continuation of a wall stub within room 3/001 running east west from the south

bridge. The above ground parts of this wall may have been demolished after

the fire or it may have been demolished earlier to form a larger open area

within the pub. Whenever it was demolished it survives to just below the

ground floor surface. This walling steps out 10 cm to the north (003) from 50-

cm below current ground surface. While on its south face the elevation of the

walling is vertical although the lower section corresponding to the step out to

the north on the other face was unpointed as if it had been built up against



something. The rest of the walling exposed was pointed flush with a hard

cream/ white lime mortar.

Within the north half of the trench at a level with the top of (003) the make up

changes to a more dirty rubble/mortar deposit 012 with some charcoal mixed

through this continues down for 40 cm on to a “floor” 004 consisting of a

horizontal dark clay surface, the interface between (012) and (004) is very

clear. While removing the last of (012) spoil from within the trench the JCB

clipped this surface and revealed the underlying makeup of it (005), a mix of

lumps of yellow brown sticky clay mixed with dark brown clay and occasional

flecks of charcoal, the surface 004 does not appear to be cut by the wall

(002). To the extreme north of the trench a deposit of charcoal (006) was part

exposed by the JCB which form part of surface (004) within the north of the

trench. This was excavated through quickly with a shovel, and it proved to be

a deposit of 5-10cm thickness of compressed layers of charcoal and ash

(sample kept No. 002) below this was a compacted deposit of reddish burnt

looking stony clay (018) which was not excavated.

Within the south half of the trench layer (001) extends for the whole depth of

the trench (90 cm) with some charcoal deposits (007) exposed at the foot of

the wall (002). An outcrop of undisturbed banded natural clay and bedrock

(011) was exposed at the extreme south of the trench. The only feature of

archaeological interest noted within this half of the trench is a lump of

masonry (009) of unknown purpose. This is composed of unworked red

sandstone blocks bonded with a fairly loose cream lime mortar (sample kept

No.001). A lump of soil (008) to the masonry’s immediate north may relate to

this feature.

Cut into (001) were a number of modern service pipes, many obviously

serving beer taps within the bars

7.3 Summary

Within this evaluation trench it was hoped to get an idea of the survival and

depth of any archaeological deposits within the Cowgate site, which will be

an issue for the reconstruction of the site. In this trench at the northeast corner

of the site the deposits primarily appear to be related almost entirely to the

construction of the south bridge at least for a depth of 0.8m, with modern

services shallowly inserted into these deposits. To the extreme south at about

0.8m down was an outcrop of undisturbed natural 011. The only feature

thought to pre date the building of the south bridge was a lump of masonry

009 exposed in the base of the trench but not excavated, which was about

0.8-0.9m down.

The depth of the foundations determined the depth of this evaluation and

within the excavated trench the pre south bridge archaeology is apparent

from the surface, with earlier layers well preserved.



Part 3 – The Historical Record

8 Introduction

Beyond the stone and mortar, the bricks and slate that formed the shell of the

structures destroyed and damaged during the Cowgate Fire it is important to

remember the importance of those that actually populated this space.

Three historians were contracted to further research the main periods of

activity on this site. Rob Maxtone-Graham deals with the original land-owners

and tenants of the 15th and 16th centuries who looked to the Cowgate as a

fashionable suburb of overcrowded Edinburgh. William Kay then analyses the

influence of the Adams brothers on the townscape, with their concept of the

South Bridge scheme and impact on both the developing New Town and the

ghettoisation of the, by now, slum inhabitants of the Cowgate. Morag Cross

finishes with the 19th and early 20th centuries with the Edinburgh City Council

sweeping away the medieval slums with improvements in buildings and

sewage, as can be seen in the Thomas Hamilton tenements that stood until

today, this period also witnessed the transformation of the South Bridge with

the construction of a vast department store with the changes in the structures

that that entailed.

Only by understanding the people who shaped this site, is it possible to make

sense of the surviving remains, and give clues to the possibilities that still lie

beneath the ground. This sad event is but another chapter in the history of

the Cowgate, a history that spans at least 600 years of occupancy and use.

8.1 Origins (15th – 16th centuries)

(from -- Development of mediaeval land-holdings in Edinburgh’s Cowgate by Rob Maxtone

Graham, extracted by the author)

8.11 Introduction

A study was undertaken to identify the owners of the tenements

affected by the fire at the earliest period from which reliable records survive,

and to gain information on the layouts and divisions within each tenement,

and within the block as a whole. The Protocol books of John Foular, covering

the period 1500-1534, provided the vast majority of over 300 Sasine references

which were used to map the whole of the south side of the Cowgate, from

the Pleasance to Candlemaker Row, before concentrating on the block

between Robertson’s Close and College Wynd.

The research threw up far more than the initial remit, and has provided

invaluable information on the life and times:- genealogy, legal processes,

social history, biographies of many key players, the wealth of the area,

financial dealings, mortgages, marriages, Reformation martyrs, philandering

clerics and much more.

The history of the area in the pre-reformation period was inextricably

linked to the Church, and especially with the Kirk of Field, whilst the southern



end of the later ‘Mr Adam’s new building’ possibly stood on the site of

Darnley’s murder in 1567.

8.12 Methodology(Figures 45 & 46)

Sasine extracts printed in Protocol books generally take the form :-

‘A’ inherits (or buys) rights to a tenement, or a land within one, from ‘B’. The

land transferred is usually geographically defined as having the Cowgate (in

this case) to the north, ‘C’ to the west, ‘D’ to the south and ‘E’ to the east,

producing a piece of a jigsaw-puzzle. Extrapolating the analogy further, the

corner pieces were arranged first, followed by the street frontage, then the

backlands, until all pieces were accounted for and placed. The internal

corners were then identified, enabling contiguous tenements to be mapped

from Robertson’s Close to College Wynd, then working towards the centre.

The southern boundary of most tenements was the vennel or passage leading

from the Place of the Friars Preachers to the Kirk of Field, or it’s cemetery. This

ran along much the same lines as Infirmary St and the south side of Chambers

St. Some sixty volumes of other sources were consulted to produce brief

biographies and genealogies of many of the owners.

8.13 Land Development and Layout (Figure 45 & 46)

Tenements 1 & 2.

George Dykson. (1508) The first tenement is bounded by the vennels

leading to the Friars Preachers to the east (Robertson’s Close) and south (Inf

St), Cowgate to north and another of his own lands to the west. The second

land has William Murray to the west. No divisions were noted, other than the

mention of two Dikson lands. Considering its situation on a wynd, it is most

likely that development had already taken place up the whole length of the

street; the lack of divisions appearing in the sasines may well just mean that all

the buildings were still owned by Dikson. This situation may well have

continued in future centuries, as for a long time the close was called

Dickson’s. The second land probably stretched as far as the east side of Sth

Niddry St. The combination was possibly as wide as three lands (c.15m).

Tenement 3.

William Murray of Tulchadam, Master Thomas Dikson. In 1510 Murray

pays off his wadset (mortgage) to Henry Creichton and sells the tenement to

Dikson, brother of George, above. Judging from Thomas’ other dealings, he

doubtless bought the debt to gain the property. (Appendix 1.2).

The tenement is described as “All and haill the land, tenement, forland

and bak land, with the yard, orcheart and pertinentis of the samyn….”, lying

between George Dikson on the east, the Bishop of Dunkeld to west, and the

lands of Bristo (the other side of the vennel) to south, so another full-length

tenement. No divisions were noted, but the above description shows

significant development in the northern half of the tenement, and

arable/amenity ground to the south. It is probable that the stone-lined pit

unearthed in 10 Sth Niddry St in the 1990s was the Cowbill-stane or vat for

steeping malt attached to the properties in this tenement, or possibly Dunkeld



next door. Tracking the title-deeds forward from this period could probably tell

us about subsequent divisions and development.



Figure47 : View of Edinburgh by English Spy, Moryson in 1566, showing approximatelocation of the site

Figure 48 : Edgar's map of 1742, showing the previously undeveloped garden backlands that were to form Adam Square.

Future site of Adam Square



Tenement 4.

Bishop of Dunkeld. This tenement only receives mentions in charters

involving neighbours to east and west, so very little is known about it. As there

were four, possibly five, Dunkeld Bishops in the period 1500-34 (Appendix 1.2),

the transfers of the land to the next incumbents will doubtless have been

recorded, but no source has been found amongst surviving archives. It

probably lies under South Bridge, but the western part may be within the fire

site.

Tenement 5.

Thomas Cameron, Thomas Johnstoune, Sir John Dikson. In 1498,

Thomas mortifies his tenement to the Chapel of St Catherine’s altar in St Giles,

and dies by 1503. His successor in 1531, another Thomas Cameron, mortifies

the tenement to Sir John Dikson in various stages. In 1520, William Johnstoune

inherits a part of it from his father Thomas, alias ‘Calsamaker’ (pavement or

road maker); Raperlaw’s Wynd is to the west, Cameron’s land to north and

east, and a passage or land to the south. It would not appear to reach as far

south as the vennel. In 1531, the wester half of the tenement is mentioned

separately, together with a yard and garden.

The Bishop of Dunkeld lands to the east, Raperlaw’s land or transe to

west and the way to Kirk of Field to south; in this case this is thought to be the

passage from Raperlaw’s wynd to the Kirk mentioned below and above. The

final transfer to Dykson assigns any remaining fermes and profits to Sir John,

whom failing to William Dykson, whom failing to Master Richard Boithuell,

younger, and gives them powers to ‘ditrenzie’ the tenants, if necessary. (See

biogs) This tenement lies west of South Bridge, and was at least two lands

wide.

Tenement 6.

William Raperlaw and others. His land first mentioned in 1471, Raperlaw

died between 1498 and 1502, but no mention is made of his successor in the

26 references found for the tenement until 1561, when it is held by Sir John

Castellaw. From the number of sasines involving lands within it owned by

other people, it would appear that he had feued most of it before his death.

He had also mortgaged portions of it, and granted ground-annuals to various

folk, including the mortgage lender.

Numerous references also place Raperlaw between Thomas Cameron

and Francis Inchecok on the west, with a transe or wynd running up the

middle to join a passage running eastwards, then turning south to the Kirk of

Field. There are also references to a well within the tenement being used for

brewing purposes as late as the 18th century.

West of the wynd, lands are owned by several folk; Symon Law, William

Batholomew, David Craig, Agnes Walklot, Patrick Howburne and Alan Park.

East of the close, we find Elizabeth Bishop, John Cornewall and Raperlaw’s

own lands.

In 1511, a Raperlaw wadset is redeemed by the transfer of a land to

the western neighbour, Francis Inchecok. This would appear to have lain east



Site

Figure 46 : Rothimay’s map of Edinburgh overlaid with tenement boundaries in red..

Figure 45 : Based on Rothiemay’s (1647) and Morysons(1598) Maps of Edinburgh : Detail in red shows location of Tenements referred to in section 8.1

Hasties Close

Raperlaw /Commercial Court

T=Tenement

T8

T8 T7 T6 T5 T4

T7 T6 T5 T4

of the close, before becoming part of Inchecok’s tenement. This land may

well be the odd protrusion skirted on the east by a close, shown in both Edgar

and Ainslie (close 26), although Ainslie quotes close 25 as Raperlaw’s. This is



doubtful, as Raperlaw’s wynd is known to have reached the Kirk of Field and

close 25 is a dead-end.

This tenement would appear to be three lands wide at the street

frontage, but retains little land to the south, apart from the wynd, which lies at

the heart of the fire-site.

Tenement 7.

Francis Inchecok. Described in 1505 as ‘two adjacent tenements’,

extending as far as the cemetery of the Kirk of Field to the south, Raperlaw to

east, and several neighbours to the west. Francis would appear to have kept

most of the built lands himself, as no divisions are noted, whilst there are

references to ‘forelands and yard’ owned by him until 1530-32 when he

wadsets it to William Liberton. The southern lands in the garden area would

appear to have been individually sold off well before 1520, when Sir John

Dingwall buys up these parcels and consolidates them to form a garden.

(Appendix 1.2) These include contiguous lands, owned by Margaret Dewar to

the north and Elizabeth Nymmyll to the south, surrounded by Inchecok lands

to north, south and west, which may have been within the developed site,

but they cannot be placed accurately. These tenements lie in the western

end of the fire-site and, in addition to the land gained from Raperlaw’s

tenement in 1511, would appear to have gained garden ground from it

previously.

Tenements 8, 9, 10.

Various Owners. These heavily developed tenements are those just

west of the demolished section of the fire site, but were obviously seriously

affected by the fire; they lie between College Wynd and Hastie’s Close. The

Sasine information supports later cartographic evidence showing closes

entering this area from the north and west, so the block has been analysed as

a whole. It is approximately three lands wide, and may well have been

previously owned by the Liberton family, as they hold ground-annuals for

many lands within the block.

Richard Scot, alias ‘Stabillar’, owned the N-W corner site in 1509,

bordered by Patrick Richartson to the east (who sells to James Johnstone in

1512) and David Vocat and the Grammar School to the south. John Cowart

owns a land within Scot’s tenement in 1522, as did the Abbot of Jedburgh

and William Stallis. James Robison, Adam Lutfute and Agnes Walklot would

appear to hold lands within Richardson’s tenement, which is described as

holding lands ‘built and waste’ in 1509.

Next to the south was the Grammar School and its house & grounds,

the fore-runner of the High School built in 1587 in High School Wynd. The

headmaster in 1509 was Master David Vocat, and in January 1511-12, five

bursaries were awarded by the treasury, enabling Walter Stewart, Sandy

Kennedy, baillie Vere’s son, Simon Graham and Lord Lyle to attend the

school at a cost of £5 10s each for half-a-year’s board and fees, plus

significant sums for their clothing. The building had become unusable by 1555,

and the school was housed in Cardinal Beaton’s house from 1553-1570.



Thomas Welche is south of the school, possibly with further Richardson

land to the east. Simon Gorgy owns a land in the S-W corner of this tenement.

South of Welche lay John Bullok, whose tenement lay in the backlands,

as the Hamilton tenement (below) extended on the street (College Wynd)

frontage as far as Gorgy. A member of the Quhite (White) family may have

had land in the tenement.

Sir Patrick Hamilton of Kincavill owned the next extensive tenement, it

having belonged previously to Sir William Lamb. Containing cellars and

outside stairs, it had a back-yard with a dyke separating it from Inchecok’s

lands to the east.

The Vache (Veitch) family held the next tenement, which had a ‘T’

shape with a small frontage to College Wynd, but extensive backlands, each

‘evin als braid’, one quoted as containing a ‘forhous and bak hous’. Andrew

Auld owns the lands in the N-W corner, and John Dee those in the S-W corner,

which possibly contained his ‘tavern’, in which some charters are signed.

This Dee tenement was divided into north and south parcels by 1516,

the southern one being 8 ells long and 6 ells broad, with a back yard to the

east.

Finishing off the block, we find the S-W corner site changing hands

many times, including ownership by the Craft of Tailors, Howisons, Wilson, Raa

(Rae), Sir Alexander Coupar. This land is described as beside the gate to the

Kirk of Field at the head of the wynd. See Appendix 1.2 for information on

occupants. By 1635, all ten tenements have passed out of the ownership of

the families concerned, but the pattern of ownership remains similar, with

tenements in the middle of the block still having single overall owners of some

distinction, and corner/wynd sites with many divisions.

8.14 Adam’s Square (Figures 47 & 48)

Master Matthew Ker, Sir John Dingwall. The roots of what became

‘Adam’s Square’ lie in the early 16th century, when most of the southern parts

of tenements 5 to 10 are bought up and consolidated into a single unit, which

remained largely undeveloped until the arrival of South Bridge and Chambers

St.

Dingwall’s land is described in 1530 as ‘the yard or land of the Virgin

Mary, founded by Master John Dingwall’. Master Matthew Ker began the

process of buying up wastelands for a mansion, buildings and garden for the

Provost and Chaplains of the Kirk of Field, of which he was Provost, in 1511

(which may well have been the site for the prebendary’s house blown up in

the 1567 Darnley murder). He purchases lands just east of the point where the

present Infirmary St dog-legged north at the corner of the old college.

Rothiemay, Edgar and Ainslie all show buldings in this corner. These lands had

Raperlaw, Master Thomas Dykson and Sir George Walklot to the north, as well

as an E-W passage leading to Raperlaw’s Wynd. One land has the Bishop of

Dunkeld to the east, the other Archibald Kincaid.



In 1518, he buys the remainder of the Vache tenement above,

mortifying it to the Kirk once more, via chaplain Sir Robert Lille. By 1525, Master

Richard Bothwell is Provost.

In 1520, Dingwall further increases the Kirk’s holding, by buying the

Nymmyll and Dewar lands mentioned in Inchecok’s tenements, then sells

them on to another chaplain, Sir Alexander Coupar, but retains the life-rent.

He obtains the rest of the Inchecok backlands later the same year, and again

passes them to Couper, who by this time had also obtained the Howison

corner site from the Craft of Tailors. This may well be the site of the Provost’s

mansion mentioned above, but built further west than originally planned. The

archived drawing of Darnley’s murder scene clearly shows the Provost’s

house beside the gate to the kirk, with the remains of the Prebendary’s house

to its east and several more buildings to the north, going downhill. The

drawing also shows the ‘theives raw’ dog-legging to the north at this point,

enabling the possible pinpointing of the Prebendary’s house as on much the

same site as the later Adam building, and the Provost’s house on the corner

of College Wynd. The priests’ chambers shown on the drawing to the north of

the murder scene could well have been the Nymmyll/Dewar lands in

Inchecok's tenement.

The holding now stretched from College Wynd to the back of

Robertson’s Close, showing that the square was a relatively undeveloped

single unit long before the Adams came along. Dingwall’s extensive

philandering, occupations, scandals, benefices and wheeling-dealing will be

dealt with under biographies. An extraordinary character amongst many

other well documented inhabitants. This entire Kirk holding was presumably

transferred to the University when it was founded in 1583, the Kirk lands having

been bought by the council from Penicuik of that ilk in 1563.



8.2 The Adam’s Influence

A Documentary Account of the South Cowgate Property of William and John Adam.

By William R. M. Kay

8.21 Introduction(Figure 49)

Although William Adam, architect (1689-1748) had commercial property

interests in Edinburgh from at least 1715, for some years afterwards his familial

and professional centre was based in Fife in his native Linktown of Abbotshall,

adjoining the south bounds of Kirkcaldy.

Having been ‘bred a Mason’, it was this designation that was usually applied

to his professional standing for some years after he first appears in the records

in 1710. As early as 1719 however, Adam is first distinguished as ‘architect in

Kirkcaldie’. This metamorphosis was not an instantaneous or even straight

chronological progression, and in most early correspondence Adam is

referred to variously as ‘measson in Abbotshall’, or ‘mason in Abbotsgrange’.

In 1723 he is referred to as ‘Architect and mason in Linktown’, and in the same

year, to all intents and purposes (with one or two later notable exceptions),

Adam had dropped any personal association with the builder’s yard, winning

universal recognition as ‘architect’.

By this date Adam was already spending a considerable part of his time in

Edinburgh, as the meteoric rise in his workload and professional status

required attendance on a number of patrons and building operations on the

south side of the Forth. Many of his aristocratic patrons retained town

residences in Edinburgh in addition to their country estates, and it was no

doubt partly as an expedient for attending these patrons efficiently that

Adam required a base in the capital. In 1723 Adam might also have felt the

political imperative for attaining the status of resident following petitioning on

his behalf by patrons to have him appointed architect under the ‘Town’s Bill’

for raising an Ale Tax in Edinburgh for public works.5 Although this bid failed,

Adam’s move to the capital was inevitable.

Before the start of the building season of 1723 much of Adam’s surviving

correspondence addressed to his patron Sir John Cerk of Penicuik, is

composed in the ‘Links of Kirkcaldy’, but from the spring of that year it is clear

that Adam maintained some kind of occasional base in the capital as is

made clear in in a letter of 6 May 1723 in which he mentions a drawing board

‘Left...at My Quarter att Canongate Head, one Deacon Hart a wright’.6

A similar kind of arrangement seems to have existed at the premises of John

Ramsay, merchant in Edinburgh, and brother of Mr Andrew Ramsay of

Abbotshall. In 1725 Adam is still styled ‘Architect at Kirkcaldy”.7 Yet about the

same time, many of Adam’s surviving autograph letters are addressed simply

5 NAS GD18/4722: Willaim Adam to Sir John Clerk, Craigiehall, 28 March 1723. 6NAS GD18/4724: William Adam to Sir John Clerk, Floors, 6 May 1723.7NAS RD2/119/2: Protest Hugh Bennet, mason in Samuelstown agt. William Adam, 2

September 1725. Original bond dated 25 January 1725.



from ‘Edinburgh’ implying that he had some kind of settled address there

Figure 49 : Adam Square frontage, 1850s, during the occupancy of the Watt Institute& School of Art(now Heriot Watt University)

Figure 50 : Laying of the foundations for the New College, 1789. Note Adam Square and thehalf completed South Bridge Scheme. The building in the foreground containstraces of the Flodden Wall.

known to his correspondents. Certainly by late 1726 he is formally recorded

as ‘architect in Edinburgh’.8

8 NAS RD13/82/309: ‘Contract of Feu ‘twixt Mr Alexr Gibsone of Durie and Wm. Adam

and Jerome Robertson’.



Thus, (according to his grandson) in 1725 William Adam had aquired ‘a house

situated close to the southern end of the South Bridge on the Westside’. This

intelligence is somewhat intriguing as research in the usual archival sources

has revealed no surviving evidence for the actual purchase of property there

by him there at this date; although it is entirely possible that if the date 1725 is

given credence, that his residence might have been in the form of a lease for

which the absence of a formal record is not unusual. An extraordinary trail of

coincidence and synchronicity now unfolds.

In 1723 a William Adam aquired for £120 Scots per annum, a three year tack

or lease from John Callendar of Craigforth of ‘Ane dwelling house and Celler

thereto belonging Lying on the south side of the street opposite to Nidderys

Wind in Edinr.’9 At this date the property was occupied by one Jean Ogilvy,

merchant, but it actually belonged to Callender’s wife Elizabeth Thomson.

From examination of the original warrant, however, it is clear that the lessee is

not our architect, but the deposed church minister of Humbie, now turned

printer.10

In 1726 William Adam, architect acquired the house and twenty-nine acres

estate of North Merchiston just south of the city, from John Lowis; but there is

no surviving correspondence to or from that place at this period to suggest

that this became Adam’s Edinburgh base. In 1728 Adam became a burgess

of Edinburgh, which implies residency; but it is not until 1729 that firm

documentary evidence specifically places William Adam, architect, as at a

specific address in the city itself. The earliest known specimen of

correspondence addressed to him there is dated 26 June 1729, directed to

his house ‘opposite the foot of Nidderys Wynd’ on the south side of the

Cowgate.11 This tallies nicely with the first legal document concerning Adam’s

ownership of property there.

8.22 John Strachey and William Adam, 1729.

At London, on 8 November 1729, John Strachey Esquire of St Margaret’s

Westminster signed a Disposition of his ‘great Back Tenement’ and pertinents

on the south side of the Cowgate in favour of William Adam [Appendix

9NAS B22/20/83: Original Warrant ‘Tack ,John Callender to Mr William Adam & John

Cunninghame’, 26 March & 4 April 1723. Registered in the Minute Book of the Burgh

Register of Deeds B22/10/9, 7 July 1727. 10 Fasti Ecclesianae Scotiae, I, 376, lists William Adams (1676-1730), Minister of Humbie;

M.A. Edinburgh, 16 Sept 1695; schoolmaster of Prestonpans, ordained 16 April 1701;

demitted 4 Nov 1714 after an acrimonious relationship with church authorities.

Commenced business as printer in Edinburgh. Committed to Tolbooth in 1717 with

Walter Ruddiman for printing a pamphlet entitled Now or Never; liberated after two

days. Died 13 Dec 1730 aged 54. Married 1704 Janet dughter of William Thomson,

writer, Edinburgh.

Adam’s partner in the Cowgate property transaction was John Cunningham, copper

smith, no doubt manufacturer of printing plates. Adam’s son William printed the early

works of the poet Allan Ramsay.11 NRAS 2177.872, TD 85/139 (Hamilton MSS): Hugh Hamilton to William Adam.



1.31].12 By the terms of this Disposition Strachey bound himself ‘to relieve and

skaithless keep the said Mr William Adam and his foresaids and the lands and

others above disponed from all Cesses, taxations publick burdens ground

annual and others whatsomever due out of the said Tenement of Land and

others preceeding the term of Whitsunday last past which is hereby declared

to have been their entry thereto’. It would seem quite clear then, that William

Adam gained formal possession of this property on 15 May 1729, one of the

traditional quarter-days in the Scottish fiscal calendar.13

The hypothesis that Adam might previously have been renting rooms at this

address is somewhat compromised by the revelation in Strachey’s disposition

that the property was then occupied by Collonel Alexander McKenzie, Lady

Gleneagles & Christian Wylie.14 From later evidence it is clear that the building

was commodious, so perhaps Adam had some existing arrangement to

occupy Strachey’s own apartment there, as both men were already

acquainted through business, and in recent times the need for Strachey’s

professional presence in Edinburgh appears to have ceased. Before

examining the detail of the Strachey /Adam Disposition, we might pause

briefly to set their relationship in context.

Strachey was a senior office-bearer of the Company of Undertakers for

Raising Thames Water in York Buildings, more commonly known as the York

Buildings Company. Following the 1715 Jacobite Uprising, this London-based

company diversified into speculating in the purchase of fofeited estates in

Scotland from 1719. On 15 August 1722 John Strachey received a

commission as the company’s attorney for the purchase of these estates and

was dispatched to Scotland to negotiate settlements.15 To facilitate his

business, on 21 January 1723 he purchased property on the south side of the

Cowgate from the heirs of John Wright, merchant.16

One of the principal forfeited estates aquired by the company was that

formerly belonging to the Earl of Winton. This included the coal and salt works

of Tranent and Cockenzie which at first the Company attempted to run for

12 NAS B22/20/107/2: (Warrant) Disposition, John Strachey to William Adam, 8

November 1729. Registered Edinburgh, 20 June 1754.13In the Strachey/Adam Disposition the date of entry is plainly stated; however, from

subsequent documents relating to further property acquisitions in the Cowgate by

Adam in 1738, it is apparent that sale of a property (and therefore ownership) may

be concluded many months in advance of actual formalisation of new ownership

appearing by a Disposition and/or Sasine; thus, some caution must be exercised as to

precising dating of transfer. Such discrepancies are particularly notable in the

property transactions made by John Adam for the site of his new buildings in the early

1760s - see main text pp13-14 , and notes 35 & 36. 14Ibid. It is not known whether these sitting tenants remained for any time after

Adam’s acquisition of the property.15 NAS RD2/116/2: Commission York Buildings Company to John Strachey, registered 5

September 1722. 16NAS B22/2/22, 6 December 1723: Disposition, The Heirs of Alexander Wright to John

Strachey, 26 January 1723, in which Strachey is referred to as ‘armiger’ ( i.e. one who

is entitled to a coat of arms; an esquire). This Disposition is also cited in NAS

B22/20/107/2: (Warrant) Disposition, John Strachey to William Adam, 8 November

1729. Registered Edinburgh, 20 June 1754.



itself. From 1716-1719 the saltworks were managed by a William Adam,

previously confused with the architect.17 This saltgrieve was removed from

the estate by the York Buildings Company and appointed by John Strachey

as factor on the forfeited estate of East Reston.18 Coincidently, prior to 1727

Archibald Robertson, brother-in-law of William Adam, the architect, had

been appointed the York Building Company’s manager of the coal and salt

works on the Winton Estate which probably prepared the way for Adam’s

subsequent presence.

In the spring of 1727 William Adam architect, embarked on a trip to London

where he remained until well into the autumn. While there, he entered into

Articles of Agreement with the York Buildings Company on 9 August for a

lease of the entire coal and salt works of Tranent and Cockenzie, to which

formal entry is declared as Michaelmas (11 November) 1727.19 Two years

later, alterations to the terms of the Agreement were drawn up in a Contract

granted by the Company’s Governor, Colonel Samuel Horsey, and dated at

Beltonford 22 December 1729, where it was witnessed by (amongst others),

one Henry Strachey, factor for the York Buildings Company in Scotland, and

certainly a near relation of John Strachey who had disponed his property in

the Cowgate to Adam just over six weeks earlier.

Adam was to have a prominent and lifelong association with the York

Buildings Company, and whether he became acquainted with John Strachey

through the Company or vice versa, both are inextricably linked with Adam’s

entrepreneurial interests as well as his quest for a permanent base in the heart

of Edinburgh.

John Strachey’s Disposition of 1729 in favour of Adam contains a

considerable amount of detail concerning the nature of the property as

purchased by Strachey in 1723 from Alexander and Agnes Wright, son and

relict respectively of the deceased John Wright, merchant. In turn, John

Wright had acquired the subjects by a Disposition of 10 September 1709

granted by the Incorporation of Wrights and Masons of St Mary’s Chapel, who

were proprietors of other adjacent property in the Cowgate.20

The extent of the subjects aquired by Adam in 1729 are summarised as ‘All

and haill that great Back Tenement of land, back and fore under and above,

with the haill vaults, cellars, office houses, garrets, parts, pendicles &

pertinents thereof with the walls and gavells of the same, with the yeards,

stable and well therein lying on the south side of the Cowgate of Edinburgh’.

The boundaries of this site were as follows:

17C A.Whatley ‘A Saltwork and the Community: The case of Winton, 1716-1719’,

Transactions of the East Lothian Antiquarian and Field Studies Society, 18, 1984, pp.

45-59. 18NAS RD 2/117/2: Tack, Strachey & Adam, 22 March 1723. 19NAS RD13/73: Contract betwixt the York Buildings Company and Mr William Adams,

1729. Registered RD3/188, 12 July 1733. 20Cited in NAS B22/20/107/2: (Warrant)Disposition, John Strachey to William Adam, 8

November 1729. Registered Edinburgh, 20 June 1754. The Disposition by the

Incorporation of Mary’s Chapel in favour of John Wright, merchant, was registered in

the Burgh Court Books on 21 J anuary 1710.



On the west by the‘Tenements of land sometime belonging to John Wright

Slaiter Burgess of Edinburgh and now to Alexr Wright his grand & heir,21 and

the closs or Vennall commonly called Raploch’s Closs’; on the south by ‘The

Common wynd or passage leading from the College of Edinburgh to the high

school thereof and Lady Yester’s Church’; on the east by ‘the Tenement of

Land Closs and yeard belonging to the heirs of the deceast Thomas Hamilton

of Olivestob sometime one of the Baillies of Edinburgh’; and on the north by

the ‘Tenement of land & Closs belonging to the said Incorporation [of St

Mary’s Chapel] now or sometime possest by William Harper Vintner Burgess of

Edinburgh & his subtenants & Mrs Johnstone Indweller there’.

The garden itself was bounded by stone dykes on the east south and west,

with an entry on the south side. Additionally, Adam acquired the ‘trees &

bushes growing therein, The Sun=dyall, [and] Rolling or Smoothing Stones built

and lying in the same’.

At the northern end of this plot lay the ‘great Back Tenement’ which became

Adam’s Edinburgh residence. This had no frontage to the Cowgate, but lay to

the rear of buildings owned by the Incorporation of Mary’s Chapel and was

entered ‘from the forestreet of the Cowgate by the Common passage

through the Tenement of Land belonging to the said Incorporation as the said

Closs or passage presently lyes’. This entry into the court of the tenement lay

directly opposite the foot of Marlin’s Wynd which led south down to the

Cowgate from the High Street by a dog-leg behind the Tron Church.

Curiously, although Adam’s address is sometimes given as ‘opposite the foot

of Marlin’s Wynd’,22 much more frequently the location is given as ‘opposite

the foot of Niddry’s Wynd’ or even occasionally opposite ‘Kinloch Close foot’

although the latter two lay somewhat further east than the entrance to

Adam’s property as it stood in 1729. Perhaps the explanation is simply that the

passage from Niddry’s Wynd was the more passable and commonly used.

The Disposition of 1729 reveals that Adam’s house was bounded on the west

by Raploch’s Close and the tenement of Alexander Wright, and was joined

to the rear of the Incorporation’s tenements by mutual gables ‘on both east

and west sides of the Closs’, thus making its footprint definable with some

certainty on Edgar’s map of 1742, with interpolation of further legal

documents relating to Adam’s acquisitions, and Ainslie’s map of c.1781 which

confirms the positions of Raploch’s Close and the entry to Wright’s tenement

through Wrights Close - both closes left unnamed by Edgar.23 The exact line

of the mutual gables is not shown in Edgar, but later surveys relating to the

proposed South Bridge of 1785 indicate that these gables were situated at

the point where the north jambs of the rear buildings decrease in breadth.

[Figure 31];

21From this it is inplied that John Wright, slater, it is the father of John Wright merchant,

and that as heir to both Alexander Wright is the grandson and son respectively.22 His address is given thus by a Mr Rolland writing from Dunfermline on 26 October

1741: ‘To Mr William Adam Esquire Architect att his house south syde of the Cowgate

opposite to Marlins wynd Edinburgh’. NRAS 1454, Blair Adam MSS, TD 77/142/1494.23The shared responsibilities in relation to these mutual gables are ‘at length

mentioned in the Disposition ’ of 1709 granted by the Incorporation to John Wright.



Within the close and forecourt of Adam’s tenement lay a well for which he

was liable for half the expense of ‘Cleansing thereof & furnishing Chains &

buckets thereto’ and for ‘paveing, mending & Cleansing the said Closs’.

Special provision had to be made for access to the westmost ‘vault or Cellar

under the said great Tenement through a back house belonging to the said

Incorporation by the door on the Southside of the well within the Closs, The

said entry not to be above three foot in breadth, and the hight only of the first

jesting and no further west than the door to the said Cellar or vault’.

The stable and offices also acquired in the Disposition might be identifiable on

Edgar’s map of 1742 as the two smaller buildings at the south end of the

garden at its south west and south east corners. Buildings of very similar

aspect are depicted in the Gordon of Rothiemay view of 1647, and might

conceivably be survivors from that time.

The other larger building represented near the south east corner of the

garden, is probably the new tenement built by John Wright, merchant

sometime after 1709, and entered from the south at the end of Raploch’s

Close. This tenement alone was expressly not disponed to Adam, but

remained in the ownership of Wright’s son Alexander.

As part of the transaction it was agreed that Adam would not be allowed to

build walls or other structures ‘within eight foot of the walls of the said other

Tenements belonging to the said Alexr Wright lying on the west of the

Tenement hereby disponed so the lights of the said tenements not hereby

disponed may always be damnified or prejudjed’. Correspondingly,

Strachey, no doubt horrified at native practice, had already provided for the

installation of iron ‘stanchers’ in the first storey windows of Wright’s tenements

overlooking the yard and garden so that Wright ‘his forsaids and their Tenents

are thereby debarred and secluded from throwing out anything from their

windows into the said yeard under the pain of being lyable in dammages as

the Law directs’.24

This was the extent of Adam’s Cowgate property until a second phase of

aquisitions in the late 1730s. It is unclear whether the footprint of the back

tenement buildings as shown in Edgar’s plan of 1742 reflect any alterations by

Adam. Some correspondence between him and the Incorporation of Mary’s

Chapel in 1733 and 1735 points to minor works in levelling the close and

inconveniencies caused by troublesome neighbours.25 The solution to the

latter was that Adam proposed he should rent both the little tenements

involved, and place tenants of his own choosing.26 In 1745 Sir Robert

Henderson of Fordell occupied one apartment in Adam’s tenement,

consisting of a dining room, drawing room, five bedrooms (each with an

ajoining closet), kitchen, pantry, two cellars and two attic rooms.27

24Compare this with accusations of similar behaviour by the Adam household from

the very building disponed by Strachey. See note 26. 25NLS Acc. 7344/1: William Adam to Joseph Wardrop, 24 January 1733; Minutes of the

Incorporation of Mary’s Chapel, 22 & 24 december 1733. 26NLS Acc. 7344/1: William Adam to Joseph Wardrop, 9 December 1735.27 Colvin, Howard A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects (London, 1978) 58.



8.23 James Hamilton of Olivestob and William Adam.

By 1738 an opportunity arose for Adam to expand his property eastwards by

taking in the majority of the neighbouring burgage plot. In a Disposition in

favour of William Adam dated 13 April 1738 Mr James Hamilton of Olivestob,

Advocate, and his wife Mrs Margaret Chiesly granted receipt of £110 Sterling

paid to them by Adam as the ‘agreed worth and value’ of the yard or

garden lying southward of Hamilton’s ‘Tenement of Land on the south side of

the Cowgate of Edinr.’28 [Appendices 1.32 & 1.33]

The boundaries of the plot disponed to Adam are described with great clarity

and precision, and are worth quoting extensively. The area is defined on the

south ‘by the Lane or passage leading from the College of Edinburgh to the

Church Commonly cal’d Lady Yester’s Church’; on the east ‘by a wall

Running from the south east corner of the said Garden to the south west

corner of the Malthouses lately belonging to Joseph Cave Ingraver in

Edinburgh Now to the said William Adam which wall described divides betwixt

the Garden belonging formerly to the forsd Joseph Cave on the east side

Now to Mr Charles St Clair Advocate and the Garden now disponed and also

the said east boundary is Continued Northward from the south west corner of

a little Jamb or Gallery belonging to me the forsaid Mr James Hamilton now

standing on the North East side of the said Garden And from the South East

corner of the said Gallery along by the South end of the same And from

thence along the West wall of the said Gallery to the North West corner

thereof where the East boundary ends at an area commonly cald the Closs

which Closs enters from the Cowgate by an arched Entry & is bounded on

the East and North sides by the tenements belonging to me the said Mr

Hamilton of Olivestob and on the West side by a part of the houses or lands

belonging to the said William Adam and the Incorporation of Mary’s Chapell’;

on the west ‘by the Garden & houses formerly belonging to John Wright

Merchant in Edinr. and disponed by him to John Streachy of London Esquire

and by the said John Streachy to the forsaid Wilm Adam which West

boundary betwixt the two Last mention’d Gardens is by a wall Carried on

from the South West corner of the Garden now disponed Northward to the

South East Corner of the house now belonging to the said Wilm Adam and so

Northward by the East wall of the said Wilm Adam’s House untill it ends at the

Southend of a ruinous Toofall now belonging to Me Mr Hamilton which

terminates the Northend of the forsaid Garden and so Joins to the west

boundary of the Closs before described’.

Virtually all of this is readily discernable in Edgar’s map of 1742, with the

exception of the west garden wall mentioned as separating Hamilton of

Olivestob’s garden with that already owned by Adam since 1729. [Figure 48]

It would appear that Adam had taken this down shortly between its

acquisition in 1738 and the first measured survey by Edgar. Confirmation of its

former position may be deduced from Rothiemay’s 1647 plan (Figure 46) of

28NAS B22/20/107/1: Disposition Mr James Hamilton to William Adam, 1738. Registered

20 June 1754.



the area in which dividing walls between these ancient burgage plots are

clearly shown.

Adam had now secured a second entry from the Cowgate to his holdings

through the close between his and Hamilton’s house. This close led into a

courtyard somewhat larger than Adam’s existing court to the west. It is not

named by Edgar or Ainslie but might logically be associated with Hellistob’s

Land ( a corruption of Olivestob’s Land) which appears in some sources.29 It

eventually formed a main entry into what later became known as Adam’s

Square.30

In 1738 the entrance to the close must have been restricted, therefore

accommodation was made in the Disposition for Adam at his own expense to

heighten the gateway from the Cowgate by raising the arch and the floor of

the room over the pend and by lowering the pavement ‘if it shall be found

necessary by the said Wilm Adam so as to be ten feet and a half...whereby a

Coachman sitting on his Coachbox may pass under the roof’.

The latter took cognisance of the possibility that Adam might develop the

garden area; but, there were limiting clauses applied to the transaction. In all

time coming Adam or his heirs were not allowed to erect any edifice in the

garden within sixty feet of the south wall of Hamilton’s tenement, but with the

proviso that Adam and his heirs should nevertheless ‘have power and and

liberty to add Closets or Rooms to the Eastside of his own house on the

Westside of the Garden But so as these Closets or Rooms shall not reach

beyond sixteen feet and a half Eastward from the East wall of the said house

including the thickness of the new wall and not to encroach upon the Closs’.

Some building work was certainly envisaged, as Hamilton resigned the ‘Stones

and Materialls’ of his ruinous ‘Toofall’ (lean-to) at the north west side of the

court, and a ‘high wall in the Closs’ so these might be demolished and the

area of the close enlarged. Similarly, the materials of the vaults in the garden,

the stairs to and within the garden, and its walls were included in the

transaction. Besides the removal of the west wall of the garden evident by

Edgar’s Plan of Edinburgh in 1742, it is transpires (as explained below) that

William Adam did build, and in so doing incurred the displeasure of Olivestob,

even though the building seems not to have been within the bounds of the

garden disponed, and therefore the terms of the Disposition.

The Trustees of Josph Cave and William Adam, 1738.

29See the schematic diagram of closes in Gilhooly, J., A Directory of Edinburgh in 1752

(Edinburgh, 1988). The relationship of the closes on the south side of the Cowgate

west of Robertson’s Close is probably inaccurate given the suggested position of

Adam’s Land which in reality lay between Hastie’s Close and Hellistob’s Land.30 In a petition to the Dean of Guild dated 28 June 1766 William Wemyss WS raised a

complaint against John Adam, David Campbell WS, and Patrick Crawford WS. The

petitioner was a proprietor of cellars in the close belonging to Olivestob’s Land which

have been rendered waste by the families and of those petitioned against ‘throwing

Nuisance and Dirty Water’ from the windows of their respective properties...Mr Adam

has only a servitude of an entry tho’ the Closs which he acquired from Mr Hamilton of

Olivestobe, at purchasing his garden, now the area of the Lord President’s House’. Ex

inf Dorothy Bell.



In Hamilton of Olivestob’s Disposition of 13 April 1738 in favour of William

Adam, part of the east boundary comprises ‘a wall Running from the south

east corner of the said Garden to the south west corner of the Malthouses

lately belonging to Joseph Cave Ingraver in Edinburgh Now to the said

William Adam’ This statement at first appears to confound the chronology of

Adam’s aquisitions, as the surviving documentation relating to the transfer of

Cave’s property is dated 29 June 1739.31 [Appendix 1.34] There were

however, extenuating circumstances in relation to this transaction. Cave

seems either to have been incapacitated or bankrupt, which might have

drawn out the normal legal process. Alternatively, the latter date as stated

might represent the date of the act of the Sasine following upon the precept

contained in the original Disposition rather than the date of the Disposition

itself. What is beyond doubt, is that Adam had actual possession of Cave’s

property by the spring 1738.

Cave is recoreded as ‘Ingraver in the Mint’ by Hamilton of Olivestob, and

‘Brewer’ in the Sasine in favour of Adam. The Mint was located near the foot

of at ‘Gray’s or Mint Close’ [Edgar], on the north side of the Cowgate halfway

between the site disponed to Adam and the Cowgate Port to the east.

In this document one of the earliest formal appearances is recorded of ‘John

Adam eldest lawfull son for and in name of the said Mr William Adam

Architect in Edinr as [his] attorney’. Among the three Trustees who granted

the disposition to Adam on behalf of the creditors of Cave, was Doctor

Robert Lowis, Physician in Edinburgh - probably a relation of John Lowis of

North Merchiston from whom Adam had acquired that estate in 1726.

The subjects disponed to Adam by the trustees comprised ‘a Brewarie a

Brewing house Kiln and Stable sometyme fallen down as also all and haill the

fore and back Closs with free ish and entery to the said Brewing house from

the wynd called Mellross or Robertsons wynd and sicklyke an well Malt Barn

and Steep Lying upon the south part of that Tenement which belonged to the

said Joseph Cave and a Chamber and two Lofts above the saids Barns and

which were sometyme fallen down as the samen were possest by the said

Joseph Cave & Lying and bounded conforme to the interest right and

Infestments of the samen Lying within the burgh of Edinr. on the south syde of

the Cowgate’.

At the same time the Trustees granted Dispositions of the lower and upper

and lower houses formerly possessed by Cave to Mr Charles Sinclair of

Hermistoun, Advocate, and to Sir John Inglis of Crammond. Sinclair also

acquired the garden to the south of the Brewary buildings. Through this

garden ran water pipes from the well of the Brewary to the Malt Steep to

which Adam had sole rights. Provision was made for Adam to renew or repair

these pipes (but not to add to the existing number) providing he made good

any disruption to the garden.

Additionally, Sinclair retained a right to ‘Carry up a stone Gavill consisting of

two foot thick in a streight Line from the south wall or partition of the wester

closet to the east Syde wall of the house fronting from Robertsons Closs & that

31NAS RS27/130 ff.75r - 78r: Sasine in favour of William Adam dated 29 June 1729;

registered 12 May 1744.



from the ground to the Top if he thinks fitt The said Mr Charles Sinclair...always

throwing a pend or two pends over the breadth of the Malt Barn so as the

Malt Barn may not be encroached upon or prejudged thereby’. A condition

of any such alteration was that Sinclair was obliged to maintain the roof

above the Malt Loft as well as the house, and that the doors between the

garden and the Brewarie were ‘condemned’ at his expense. Sir John Inglis in

turn, had acquired a cellar on the south side of the Brewary, with the right of

shutting up its existing opening and ‘stricking out a door to the wynd’.

Before division Cave’s property was valued at £8160 Scots. In 1744 the

portion transferred to William Adam was valued at £2830 Scots for the

purposes of a policy Adam had with the Edinburgh Friendly Insurance

Company against Losses by Fire.32

Although no detailed boundaries are given in the Disposition of 1738 to

compare, the site is readily identified on Edgar’s Map of 1742 [Figure 48], and

this remains the same in the revised vesion issued by Edgar in 1765.

Documentary evidence confirms that Edgar’s plan of the site already reflects

building operations by William Adam on the site of Cave’s derelict barns; and

this helps explain both the difficulty of interpreting some of the narrative of the

Disposition relative to Edgar’s plans, and the relatively high insurance

valuation in 1744. In a document of 30 July 1750 James Hamilton of Olivestob

agreed to accept in settlement from John Adam, £18 and ‘certain

reparations agreed on betwixt him and me in the laigh Story of the Gallery

belonging to me Contiguous to the Gardens disponed to me to the

deceased William Adam Architect his father, and which was damnified in its

lights and ayrways by buildings made by the said William Adam’.33 As Adam

had entered into quite distinct clauses in Hamilton of Olivestob’s Disposition

of 1738 prohibiting building within given distances, it would appear that the

offending structure must relate to the erection of the west range of buildings

on the site of Cave’s old maltbarns adjacent to Olivestob’s property.

By 1738 therefore William Adam’s property extended from Raploch’s Close on

the west to Robertson’s close on the east - a very sizeable urban plot by any

standards. Whatever plans he had for the site were probably not fully

realised. The reasons are unclear, but from 1739 he was embroiled in a

dispute with Lord Braco over the building of Duff House at Banff. This

difference led to a lawsuit in 1743, bringing financial and personal strain on

Adam which continued until his death 1748. In the interim, the Uprising of

1745 created an air of uncertainty uncond ucive to speculation.

8.24 John Adam and the Cowgate

Following William Adam’s death, some years elapsed before any further

expansion took place in the Cowgate site under the ownership of John

Adam. In the Window Tax and Annuity Rolls for Edinburgh in 1752 under the

heading of ‘Adam’s Land’, John Adam as resident householder is recorded

as having 46 taxable windows in his property, putting him in the top three

32NAS B22/18/2, ff. 7v - 9r.33NAS B22/20/121/3: Copy Receipt Discharge & Ratification, by Mr Hamilton of

Olivestob of the buildings next his Gallery. Dated 30 July 1750; registered 18 January

1765. One of the two witnesses to the document was Robert Adam.



largest private dwellings in the burgh.34 But within a few years Adam was

selling off parts of the Cowgate property. In 1758 a of part of the great

tenement overlooking the mutual close with Olivestob’s Land to the east was

tenanted by the father of Patrick Crawford WS, the latter buying the flat in

1760.35 Similarly, a fleeting glimpse of the great tenement is afforded by the

documentation drawn up when another part of the great back tenement

was sold by John Adam in 1765 to Miss Mary Cheap.36 [Appendix 1.35]

In a Disposition dated 2 December 1765 ‘John Adam of Maryburgh Esquire

Architect in Edinburgh.. with the Special Advice and Consent of his Trustee

Allan Whitefoord of Ballochmyle Esquire’ sold to Miss Mary Cheap, daughter

of the deceased George Cheap Esquire Collector of his Majesties Customs at

Prestonpans:

‘All and Whole that Dwelling House lying on the South side of the Cowgate in

Edinburgh opposite the foot of Marlins Wynd consisiting of Two Storys, the first

containing a Kitchen a Dining room and Drawing room with Pantry Closets and other

Conveniencys, The Second containing three Bed chambers three Closets and other

Convenienceys’.

The entry to the property is given as an ‘arched Entry an gate-way’ leading

from the Cowgate to a ‘plain Stone Court’ in which included in the sale lay

two vaulted cellars under the court and a vaulted coalhouse and a vaulted

ashhouse on the south wall of the court.37 The dwelling thus sold was ‘formerly

possest by the said John Adam and made the west part of his Dwelling house and is

Separate therefrom by a Mutual partition in both Storys’.

Thus we hear of the old Adam household for almost the last time. In granting

the west part of it to Miss Cheap, rights were assigned to her of ‘free ish and

entry to the premisses from the Cowgate by and through the Arched entry

and Gate way that leads to the new buildings lately erected by the said John

34Gilhooley, Directory, p. 71. The others are Lord Milton (54); The Marquis of

Tweeddale (56); Lady Haddington (56). the other residents of Adam’s Land in 1752

are given as Lady Baird, John Dickie Jnr, James Lesslie, Alexander Boswall painter,

and Walter Colville baxter.35 Dean of Guild Record: Answer for Patrick Crawford, 6 March 1767 in the Petition

and Complaint by William Wemyss WS v John Adam architect, David Campbell WS

and Patrick Crawford WS, 28 June 1766. 36NAS B 22/2/60: Sasine in favour of Miss Mary Cheap, 1 January 1766. 37Confusingly, but almost certainly coincidentally (as the Adam/Cheap Sasine of 1766

definitely uses four distict words ‘a plain Stone Court’) Gilhooley (see note 19) shows

a ‘Plainstone Close’ (given in tandem with Scott’s Land on p70 of his Directory)

between Adam’s Land and Hellistob’s Land in 1752. This Plainstone Close might be

identified as the precursor of Aitken’s Close named from 1758, exactly opposite the

foot of Niddry’s Wynd, and later continued as South Niddry Street (Book of the Old

Edinburgh Club, 1923, Vol.12, 147). The order of closes in Gilhooley is derived partly

from taxation rolls, so it is possible that the exact positions on the ground are not quite

as represented in his diagram. Explanations might be constructed either on the

premise that Gilhooley cited Brown & Watson’s Map of 1793 as a source for close

names (see BOEC as above), or that Adam’s Land is dealt with in the tax collection

quarters only once, commencing at the minor westmost plot bought by William

Adam in 1738 from the Trustees of the Creditors of Joseph Cave, which had an entry

from Robertson’s Close.



Adam and through the plain Stone Court that leads to the Dwelling house

and Cellars before mentioned’. From this it is unclear whether this gives two

rights of access; one from Adam’s Court (immediately east of Wright’s Close),

and another by the entry further east again (acquired in 1738), which leads

into the large open area in front of John Adam’s ‘new buildings’.

The New Buildings erected in 1761-2 occupied the ground to the east of

Hastie’s Close, and largely within the area immediately south of west half of

William Adam’s great tenement.

Initially, a warrant to erect a new building was granted by the Dean of Guild

on 24 March 1761, but by 1 July Adam had acquired additional tenements

and subjects between his area and Hastie’s Close that brought about a

change in position and plan.38

The dates of the following documents serve well to demonstrate the lapse of

time that might ensue between the actual date of purchase of a property

and the date of formalising the details. Adam’s new buildings were already

erected by the time the documents for acquiring the ground were

concluded.

Principal amongst these aquisitions was the property Disponed by Alexander

Sutherland, Brewer [Appendix 1.36] who in addition to other subjects not

related to the site of Adam’s new building, sold :

‘All and haill that Malt barn sometime possest by Charles Robertson Brewer,

thereafter by Mrs Bennet Brewer, thereafter by David Wright Merchant, Lying within

the Burgh of Edinburgh on the South side of the Kings high street of the same called

the Cowgate upon the East side of the Closs called Hastie’s Closs, with the Kiln and

Coble pertaining thereto, and the Well upon the west side of the said Closs called

Hasties Closs, with the other Well upon the East side of the Bakehouse, and at the

head of the Closs called Raploch or Rapperlaws Closs, Bounded as ffollows Vizt. By

the said Closs called Hasties Closs upon the West, by the woodstead disponed by Mr

Thomas Moffat Minister of the Gospell at Newton To the Incorporation of Baxters upon

the South, By the Vennel leading from the College wynd to the head of the said Closs

called Rapperlaws Closs on the East, and by two houses sometime possest by William

Hastie Writer in Edinburgh upon the North parts, Reserving always to the Tenants &

possessors of the Subjects in Hasties Closs disponed by the said Mr Thomas Moffat to

the said Incorporation of Baxters, and of the other Subjects in said Closs which

belonged to him, The use of both of the Wells above disponed. Which last

mentioned Malt Barn, Kiln, Coble and Wells were purchast by my said deceast Father

from the said Mr Thomas Moffat’.39

38Edinburgh Dean of Guild Petitions. Both variants of the plans are missing. Ex inf

Dorothy Bell.39 NAS B22/20/121/1: Disposition Alexander Sutherland in favour of John Adam, dated

25 January 1762; registered B22/2/59 ff 231r-233v, 18 January 1765. There are also

two Inventories of writs accompanying this Disposition relating to Moffat and

Sutherland: B22/20/121/1 and B22/20/121/5.

Adam assumed responsibility for all levies payable on these properties from 15

February 1762.



Pertinent to this transaction is a Sasine to John Adam following upon a

Disposition dated 20 August 1765 by James Cunningham and James Craig,

Deacon and Boxmaster respectively of the Incorporation of Baxters

[Appendix 1.37] by which Adam formally acquired:

‘All and haill that bake house and oven with the wood loft above the same and

other pertinents, sometime pertaining to Patrick Wallace son to the deceast Patrick

Wallace Baxter in Edinr sometime possest by John Fleeming and others thereafter by

Archibald Punton Baxter and Jean Wilson relict of William Hill Baxter, thereafter by

other members of the said corporation as their Tenants lying in the Southside of the

Cowgate of Edinburgh And on the Eastside of the Close called Hasties closs bounded

betwixt the house belonging to Mrs Ferguson Merchant on the North, Hasties closs on

the West, The closs called Raplochs closs on the East, And the stone Tenement which

belonged to Mr Thomas Moffatt minister of the Gospel at Newton on the South parts,

Together with well on the East of the said bakehouse As also a laigh house in the said

Burgh joining the said Bakehouse, and which is the whole ground story of the said

stone Tenement which belonged to the said Mr Thomas Moffat sometime possest by

Mathew Oliphant thereafter by the Tenants of the said Bakehouse and their servants,

As also a little house sometimes possest by Charles Laurie Soldier in the City guard,

thereafter used as a wood loft for the said Bakehouse, and which is the Northmost of

the two houses in the first story of the said stone land, As also All and haill that area or

piece of waste ground used as a wood stead or yeard by the Tenants of the said

Bakehouse lying at the head of said Raplochs closs, and bounded by the Vennel

leading to the Colege on the South, The lands which belonged to William Adam

Architect on the East, The Malt barn which belonged to the said Mr Thomas Moffat on

the North, and Hasties closs on the Westparts, And are all parts of the Just and equall

half of the lands and others which belonged to the deceast Mr Alexander Cairncross

Minister of the Gospel at Dumfries’.40

Edgar’s revised plan of the city in 1765 also incorporates the site of another

dwelling house subsequently built by Adam in 1767, a few feet to the north of

the new building, on the east side of, and and fronting Hastie’s Close. This is

referred to in his Petition to the Dean of Guild dated 24 February 1767 for

which the warrant drawing survives.

Yet even this may not be the final picture, as other manuscript plans relating

to the Adam properties in the Cowgate, not revisited for this account, are to

be found in the Blair Adam MSS.41

On completion the new buildings were sold to private purchasers including

Lord President Dundas.42 The buildings are amply recorded in the many

40NAS B22/2/59: Registered sasine in favour of John Adam, 3 September 1765. 41 These drawings were seen by me some years ago. Subsequently the archive was

closed. The references are:

NRAS 1454, Section 6:

/3. Plan of Mr Adams Subjects in the Cowgate, 1769.

/4. Ground plan of tenement on west side of Robertson’s Close. Endorsed ‘Plan given

in with Mr Adam’s Representation 2nd. Aug 1770. 42 The Rt. Hon. Lord President, Lord Gray, Lord Kames, Mr Charles Sinclair and Mr

Robert Chalmers are the petitioners in a representation made by John Adam to the

Dean of Guild in September 1765 for permission to bring a water pipe from the cistern

at the Society to a cistern to be erected on Adam’s property in Hastie’s Close over an

old well.



surveys and proposals relating to the building of the South Bridge. Some of

these show changes to the Adam properties since recorded by Edgar in 1765.

Ainslie’s map of c.1781 appears (at least as far as the Adam property is

concerned) to be based on Edgar. However, part of an an unattributed

large scale measured survey relating to the South Bridge proposals, shows the

area in great detail.

In this, the west jamb of William Adam’s tenement appears to have

undergone some refiguration: fronting the street on the west side of Adam’s

Court is now a free stan ding house with a semicircular stair tower on its south

elevation. This also appears on other surveys of 1785.43 The buildings on the

site William Adam had bought from the Trustees of the creditors of Joseph

Cave in 1738, and shown by Edgar in 1742 and 1765, have now been

replaced with a long building 49ft. 6in. x 18ft. 6in. on an east-west axis and

with a shaped wall in front. Hamilton of Olivestob’s little square Gallery at the

northeast corner of the garden has also been removed.

While John Adam’s new buildings survived for over a century, most of the

great back tenement and others acquired by William Adam in the 1720s and

30s were compulsorily purchased and demolished to make way for the south

bridge in 1785. The history of this is narrated fully elsewhere.44 (Figures 50 & 51)

Figure 51 : Robert Kay's design for the mirrored elevations that face each other overthe Cowgate. The existing gable elevations are close to these initial sketches.

43Fraser, Andrew, G., The Building of the Old College (Edinburgh, 1989). The survey

poduced by Robert Kay and illustrated pp 64-5, Figs 3.11 & 3.12, shows this apsidal

feature, but unfortunately is unresolved in its rendering of the west side of Adam’s

great tenement. See also The Trustees Plan of 1785, p 66, Fig 3.13; and Robert Adam’s

proposals 1785, p 68, Fig 3.16.44See particularly Fraser, Andrew, G., The Building of the Old College (Edinburgh,

1989).



8.3 Decline, Improvements and Development (19th – 20th centuries)

By Morag Cross

The history of this city block was examined using both contemporary and

modern sources. There is a wealth of documentary information about the

buildings and their inhabitants, from valuation rolls to the census records from

1841 onwards. Post Office and Street Directories and Dean of Guild plans also

enabled an idea of the social, commercial and topographic changes to be

traced. The histories of the individual buildings have been traced where

possible, numbered according to the scheme assigned in Addyman (2002).

See Figures

8.31 Streets

The street patterns of this area of Edinburgh have been reworked twice in

recent times. The building of the South Bridge and associated structures, and

the second by the City Improvement Trust after 1866-71 occasioned the first

change. Among the numerous photographs of the site, the most haunting

images are those taken by Archibald Burns, between Martinmas (11

November) 1870 and January 1871. They show the filth and desolation of the

boarded-up closes, bearing the removal notices of the decanted inhabitants

(Edinburgh Central Library). These pictures have been widely reproduced,

and variously dated and attributed (e.g. taken by Burns, 1871, NMRS B31896,

32006; from the RIAS Collection, unattributed but taken c1860, McKean, 1992,

45). Rodger (2001, 425) proposes that they are by J C Balmain, for the

Improvement Trust in 1866 (although the Act was only passed in 1867, ibid,

433)). Balmain began business in 1898, suggesting that Burns is a more likely

candidate (Torrance, 2001, 7).

The eviction and removals notices visible in most views, give a terminus post

quem for the pictures. In one photograph, of the Gaelic Church from College

St (ECL 14458), the notice appended to the wall seems to refer to the

Edinburgh Improvement Act of 1867 (also visible on image 3, Horse Wynd

looking North from College St, with the same bill on the right, ECL 14459). The

lone horse and trap in some of the pictures may have been the

photographer’s, but the correct attribution is not helped by the initials AI (A A

Inglis) beside the captions. Burns’s business was taken over in 1876 by Inglis,

who also traded under Burns’s name from 1876-80 (Minto, 1974, 3). Details of

Burns and Inglis business, based in Hill and Adamson’s original studios in Rock

House, are given in Stubbs (2001, 16) and Torrance (2001, 11, 25).

The bare trees in front of Minto House, west of the church, and slush on the

ground, suggests that the Central Library’s suggestion of winter 1870/1 is

probably correct (Contact prints and City Improvement Trust minuted extract,

1871 in album QYDA 1829.9 (866)). The poverty of this physical environment is

too extreme to be picturesque, but the pictures cannot convey the stench

constantly remarked upon by social campaigners like the Cowgate Free

Church. The “atmosphere being most oppressive and sickening,” there were

“bad smells, especially in warm weather...(and) a raw damp,” (Taylor and

Dickson, 1880, 51, 57). Henry Johnston ennumerated the often medieval



drainage conditions in each of 159 closes in the Old Town in 1856 (NLS,

APS.1.77.122). Peter’s Close, and Dick’s Close, between College Wynd and

Horse Wynd (ie immediately west of Wilkie House, building 7) were described

by Johnston as “149. Peter’s Close leads to a byre. Entry and all most

disgusting. There is a large dunghill in it...to breed a pestilence...150. Dick’s

Close - Low, dark, filthy, and abominable “ (ibid, 37).

This left a void between the anecdotage and antiquarianism of Daniel Wilson

(1891) and J Grant (1882), and the urgent campaigns waged by sanitary

reformers. The city medical officer HD Littlejohn’s Report on the appalling

sanitary conditions of 1865 (NLS, NE.11.a.11) was supplemented by the interest

architects like John Honeyman took in their own ability to make a material

difference (eg, his paper on “The dwellings of the Poor...the Housing of the

Working Classes...”delivered in 1885). This was also antithetical to the attitude

of Lord Cockburn, whose famous Letter of 1849, some critics regarded as

treasuring rather more of the Old Town than was fit to live in (Rodger, 2001,

427). Some of the other propagandist pamphlets and novels of slum and city

life are discussed in Noble (1985). In 1883, a local historian explained that

“houses, intended formerly as family mansions, having been let out in small

portions, consisting sometimes of a single room” which were now occupied

by whole families (Hunter, 1883, ii). This led to sewage lying in closes and

stairs, causing “noxious effluvia” and disease (Johnston, 1856, 4). By habitual

exposure the inhabitants, and charitable workers, became innured to such

conditions.

Rodger (2001, 415-458) describes in detail the impact of what he calls “social

consciences” upon “civic consciousness...and the built environment,” (ibid,

415), with the background to the Edinburgh City Improvement Act of 1867.

As Rodger points out (ibid, 427), this example of “municipal socialism” saw the

“big three Scottish cities lead the way in slum clearance. Their own

Improvement Acts gave to Dundee in 1871, Edinburgh in 1867, and Glasgow

in 1866 the powers to purchase, clear and redevelop central slum

areas...”(Best, 1968, 340). The moving spirit in Edinburgh was Lord Provost

Robert Chambers, after whom Chambers St was named (and whom Marwick

believes saw the scheme “merely as an expedient for the administration of

recognised public utilities”, 1969, 36). Further histories of the redevelopment

of the Old Town are given in Wood (1974, 51-3), Smith (1980, 99-133) and

Gordon (1979, 178-181). Cousin and Lessels, architects to the Improvement

Trust, recreated a pastiche of the architecture to be destroyed, in a Scottish

baronial style that today informs tourists’, and natives’ views of what

constitues a specifically “Royal Mile” and “Old Town” streetscape (Walker,

1985, 148-52; Rodger, 2001, 435, 438, 475-6). The ultimate result was Patrick

Geddes’ “idealised representation” of the genuine article, Ramsay Gardens

(Welter, 1999, 66-7).

David Cousin (d 1878) was the Edinburgh Superintendent of Public Works from

1847, and laid out master plans in Mayfield and Newington. He also erected

the Edinburgh Corn Exchange in the Grassmarket, and numerous churches.

Cousin officially became architect to the E dinburgh Improvement Trust (with

whom he had already been working) in December 1867, but felt that he

needed assistance due to his poor health (D Walker, 2003). In March 1868,



John Lessels (1809-83) joined him as co-architect to the Trust. They produced

the Trust’s master document, The Plan of the Sanitary Improvements of the

City of Edinburgh (1866) . The details of the Chambers St programme are

given in Rodger (2001, 432-3, where Cousin is referred to as “Cousins”).

The City Improvement proposals show Chambers St and Guthrie Street

overlaid on the existing scheme, which would cause the eastward

displacement of College Wynd (Central Library, Edinburgh City Improvement

Plans 1866 Sheet 3, Streets 9, 10 (Guthrie St), 11 (Chambers St) and 18).

Although the utilitarian 4-storey tenements in Guthrie St look unremarkable, by

their commissioning, the Trust “created the precedent for municipal housing

in the city,” (Rodger, 2001, 433). Copies of elevations for the new buildings

are found in the NMRS (eg EDD/566/1, Cousin’s elevation of the Phrenological

Museum; A39282/po, D Rhind’s elevations of the School of Arts, 23-5

Chambers St). The thoroughfare first appears in the Dean of Guild plans in an

application for the School of Arts on 18 May, 1872.

Chambers St replaced North College St, (Figure 52) being much wider and

allowing proper vantage points for the new Industrial Museum (later Museum

of Science and Art) and Playfair’s (and Rowand Anderson’s) modified

northern elevations of the Old College. The first Director of the Museum was

George Wilson, brother of the archaeologist, writer and artist of “Memorials of

Edinburgh in the Olden Time,” Sir Daniel Wilson (Wilson, 1860, 408-9, 422, 449).

For Chambers St, and Buildings 10 and 8 (74-5 South Bridge and 1-3 Chambers

St), the architects used a French/Italianate style laid down by City

Superintendent David Cousin. The “round-headed windows and mansard

roofs with iron cresting that still (give) dignity to most of the north side of the

street,” (Fraser, 1989, 335). This was reminiscent of the design chosen by

Alexander Mackison, city engineer for Dundee, after the Dundee

Improvement Act replanned the crossing at Commercial St, Murraygate and

High St after 1872. Mackison may have been aided by Lessels (D Walker, pers

comm), but the overall impression of both buildings is similar (that in Dundee

being described as “so many yards of pattern book architecture” in “The

Builder,” (McKean and Walker, 1984, 42). This versatile “facadism” was

judged fitted for many uses along Chambers St. As in Dundee, it concealed

and unified shops, offices and public buildings.

The confident statement of civic dignity that emerged might inadvertently

have been Edinburgh’s answer to the cultural quarter in South Kensington

built with the proceeds of the Great Exhibition. Chambers St housed the new

premises of the Watt Institute (the origin of Heriot-Watt University), Tron Free

Church, Phrenological Museum, Minto House School of Medicine and the

Church of Scotland Training College, as well as the University and National

Museum of Science and Arts.

There was, inevitably, a counter-reaction to the wholescale demolition

advocated by the Improvers. As part of this, the first paper published in the

first volume of the Book of the Old Edinburgh Club was a “Provisional List of

old houses remaining in High Street and Canongate,” (Home 1908, 1-30).

Realising that improvement did not have to equate with razing everything,

Home suggests “a united and vigorous effort” at conservation is required



(ibid, 2) Even in the course of writing, Home notes houses that are being

demolished, eg in Fishmarket Close (ibid, 20). Thomas Hamilton, architect of

Buildings 4 and 5, was himself a contributor to the ‘restoration’ of John Knox

House in 1853 (Gifford et al, 1984, 208), saved as a sanctified relic of the

sainted Presbyterian, but its misnomer enabled its preservation and gives an

idea of what was lost.

8.32 Adam Square and South Bridge

The planned residential developments on the south of the City, which

included Brown, George, Argyle and Adam Squares, are discussed in A J

Youngson (1966, 68-9). Adam Square was an early example of a unified

facade design, concealing several buildings. It was soon truncated on its

east side by South Bridge. In its original conception by Robert Adam, the

South Bridge “gave the first clear demonstration to architects in Scotland of

the full potential of a classically designed street,” (Rowan, 1997, 74). As finally

built to the plainer, cheaper designs of Robert Kay, the backs of the buildings

to Cowgate (ie building 3), Blair Street and Niddry St were unadorned. The

opportunity to “carry the design round all sides of a building...(as in) Randolph

Crescent,” so praised by John Betjeman (1972, 28) as a Scottish characteristic,

was not fulfilled. The development of South Bridge has most recently been

studied by Fraser (1989; 2003) and Rowan (1997). The last feus on the eastern

side were sold in February 1800, where Thins booksellers stood (Grant, 1882, I,

375). The occupations of those applying for building warrants in 1800 shows

that the buildings are still under development. The petitioners (usually the

builders) included three listing their occupations as ‘builder’ (see Plan

appendix 1.5).

The Square does not seem to have been photographed intentionally, but it

appears in the background to at least two photographs (one detailed under

Hastie’s Close)(Figures 52 & 53). Archibald Burns’s Improvement Trust pictures

are accompanied by a map showing his viewpoints, from which it can be

seen that his picture no 22 (taken from North College St looking diagonally

north east towards the outer, south face of Adam Square; Central Library

photo no 14, 481) shows the three-storey houses on the corner, with tall

chimneystacks of coursed ashlar. Copious notes (by William Cowan) given in

the original album (Central Library album QYDA 1829.9 (866) 42374, p22)

supply further information locating Hastie’s Close between two houses. This

suggests that the southern end of a building shown in image 23, where it was

photographed from the north, is also shown in the present picture no 22 (see

under Hastie’s Close). The houses with tall chimneystacks appear to be the

side of Adam Square to North College St, from which railings also divided it.

The evolution of Adam Sq is detailed in Mowat (2002). From 1859, the

Edinburgh Young Men’s Christian Institute occupied the Square (Hunter, 1883,

142). Different institutions housed in the Square, including the Watt Institute,

are discussed in Grant (1882, I, 376, 379-82; II, 275).

The Anderson Institution in Glasgow, forerunner of Strathclyde University

(Fisher, 1994, 266) inspired the formation of the Edinburgh School of Arts in



1821. This later became the Watt Institution, the predecessor of Heriot-Watt

Adam Squarefrom the south west.

Photographer : Archibald Burns : 1871

Sout h

Bridge

Cowgate

H a s t i e s C l o s e

A d a mS q u a r e

View Taken from

Figure 52 : Burns Photograph of Adam Square from North College Street, 1871

University, indirectly linking both 1960’s foundations (Kaufman & Blomfield

2002, 22-3). The impetus was to provide affordable science classes for

tradesmen, who, when “brought to think, (do) not remain stationary..” but

“are at once ushered into a new world” of better understanding the

principles of manufacturing and machinery. Beyond the philanthropy, the

end product was also a more efficient worker (Hunter, 1883, 140-1). The

school was based in the bow-windowed townhouse Pentreath has linked

(through the quotation of window forms) with the design sources for

Kininmonth’s Adam House (1995, 105). A former pupil and later lecturer,

George Wilson, described the students as “two hundred stout fellows...rising

tier above tier, piled to the very ceiling,”, mostly self-educated artisans

(Wilson, 1860, 307-9).



One of the founders , Professor James Pillans (former headmaster of the High

School) was the son of the printer who had worked in Hastie’s Wynd. Pillans

and Wilson’s printing firm subsequently produced textbooks for the School of

Arts (Pillans & Wilson 1925, 72, 107).

“The building of the New Town and ...South Bridge...effectively destroyed

Adam Square’s attractions as a residential area for the well-to-do,” (Mowat,

2002, 99). By the late 1780’s, the upper classes had moved to the New Town

(discussed in Youngson 1966). Between 1803-5, a bookseller and two

surgeons altered premises in the Square (it was near the original site of the

Infirmary, as well as the University). Grant (1882 I, 379) mentions one of them,

Dr Andrew Duncan, Physician to the King, regular pilgrim to Arthur’s Seat on

May Day, and recipient of a public funeral. He owned no 72 (DoG Petn T

Sime, 18 Apr 1844: PO Dir 1840-1, 211). On purchasing their own building in

1851, the School of Arts erected a statue to its inspiration, James Watt (Dean

of Guild, 6 October, 1853). It was removed to Chambers St with the School,

and has now been moved again to the campus at Riccarton.

Mowat notes the “certain professional distinction” lent by the residence of

Rev Archibald Brown at no 75 (Mowat mis-locates him to no 73, Mowat, 2002,

99; PO Dir 1855-6, 69; ibid, 1863-4, 392). However, Brown not only lived here,

but also ministered here. The 1st edition OS map of 1852 shows the Original

Secession Church between Hastie’s Close and Adam Square. The Church

had its principal entrance in the Square, not the Close - a Mr Lindsay was the

pursuer, and Spittal’s Trustees the defenders in a case involving the church in

Adam Square in 1844 (DoG, date of extract 7 June 1844). Unfortunately, the

plans and papers concerning this are missing from the Dean of Guild

collections, and no record of the church’s original appearance has yet been

traced. The church was little noted, being mentioned by Stevenson (1851,

313) and Hunter (1883, 142), but few others. In 1842, the constituent Burgher

and Antiburgher branches of this dissenting movement merged, to form the

Original Secession. This church was the result of multiple schisms and unions

over disagreements about oaths, the national Covenants and articles of

union (history given in Cameron, 1993, 637). The majority of the Original

Seceders joined with the Free Church in 1852, but the Adam Square

congregation persisted alone.

This congregation first met in the School of Arts, Adam Square in 1842.

Archibald Brown joined them from Kirriemuir in 1843, but saw his flock split

“owing to a diversity of sentiment respecting the lawfulness of Sabbath-

schools” in 1857 (Scott, 1886, 331). The dissenters erected a church in Victoria

Terrace, and the remnant section sold the old building to the Improvement

Commission and moved, with Rev Burns, to South Clerk St (PO Dir 1874-5, p23,

Brown listed at 32 South Clerk St). After his death, some rejoined with Victoria

Terrace. The majority of the Seceders joined with the Church of Scotland in

1956 (Cameron, 1993, 637). The outline of part of the church walls is

preserved in later building lines, at the south side of building 13 and the area

of building 11. This northern part of the church is contiguous with the

Improvement Commission “limit of Deviation for Streets nos 10 & 11

(Chambers St)” shown on Sheet 3 of Edinburgh City Improvement Plans 1866,

Streets 9-11 and 18.



Further details of individual buildings in Adam Square are contained in

extracts from the Dean of Guild sources. The elevation of Mr Sime’s house at

no 73, shows a typical Georgian 3-storey over basement townhouse

(probably in the Square’s NW corner). A two-storey “saloon” was added to

the rear in 1844. A woman, Margaret Spottiswoode, carried out alterations to

create a carriage sales room from an auction house at no 69-70 (both nos

given). She had probably inherited the house from John Spottiswood, who

had a “carron warehouse” there in 1805 (PO Dir 1805-6, 127). This was a

specie of ironmongers, selling the high-quality cast (as opposed to old-

fashioned wrought) iron goods of the Carron Ironworks in Falkirk (G Bailey,

pers comm). Such goods included fire surounds, pans and ranges suitable for

the new houses. Margaret let no 69 to William Inglis, coachmaker, after

widening the central arched window and installing a metal grating as a

bridge over the basement area to admit carriages (DoG, extract 16/7/1840;

1844-5 Dir, 69). They were displayed, like used cars, in “a row of carriages on

each side.” That her neighbours were innkeepers and licensed victuallers

suggests that the spirit of the Cowgate was spreading up Hastie’s Close.

.

8.33 Hastie’s Close

This street has been extensively documented, with modern photographs in

the NMRS. Johnson described it as “well causewayed, with a good surface

drain” in 1856 (p37). It ran down the rear of Adam Square, suggesting that

the square may be depicted in one of A Burns’s City Improvement Trust

images from 1871 (Dr A Fraser, pers comm). The view of Hastie’s Close from

College Wynd (which lay to the west), no 23 in the series of 26 pictures.

(Visible on the World Heritage Trust website, L Cairns, pers comm.; also in the

Edinburgh Room, Central Library, photo no 14,483) may show the western roof

level, chimney, dormer and advanced centrepiece of the School of Arts on

the extreme left. Part of Old College appears in the right side of the

background, and what may be the west, rear tenement in Hastie’s Close in

the centre, with a built-up brick chimneystack, possibly indicated on the 1852

OS map as a projection on the buildings to the west of the lettering “Close”.

The map showing the viewpoints used in conjunction with the original prints

(Central Library, photos 14,482, 14, 483; album QY DA 1829.9 (866) 42374, p23,

p24) suggests that this is an accurate identification. The newer, regular

tenement has lower buildings in front of it (to the east), which may be those

shown in the view, no 22, looking north, down Hastie’s Close.

The printing firm of Pillans and Wilson was situated in Hastie’s Close between

1796-1803, having previously been in Nicholson Street. By 1804 they had

moved to Riddell’s Court in the Lawnmarket. The firm was founded in 1775 by

James Pillans, who was a Seceder, and an elder of their Nicholson St meeting

house. This firm has been overshadowed by Andrew Symson’s more famous

premises in Horse Wynd, at the start of the 18th century, depicted by Wilson

(1891, II, 142) and photographer Archibald Burns (Edinburgh Central Library

Photo 14,469, neg no 92021/2/10). Pillans and Wilson printed religious tracts in

the 1820’s, and continued to be associated with the Secession Church (NLS

Scottish Book Trade Index, www.nls.uk/catalogues/resources; Pillans & Wilson

1925). A breakaway congregation of the Secession Church later had a



meeting house in Adam Square. Pillans and Wilson are still extant, but do not

preserve archives from this period (Mr H MacLeod, pers comm).

Adam Squarefrom the north west.

Photographer : Archibald Burns : 1871

South

Bridge

Cowgate

H a s t i e s C l o s e

A d a mSq u a r e

View Taken from

Figure 53 : Burns Photograph of Hasties Close and Adam Square, 1871



8.34 Buildings 1, 2, 3 & 10J & R Allan’s department store/1-3 Chambers St and 74-85 South Bridge

The present building 10, on the corner of Chambers St, was designed by John

Paterson and John Lessels in 1873 for John Smith (Walker, 2003; Dean of Guild

date of extract 31 Oct 1873; Petitioner, John Smith). John Paterson’s and

John Lessels’s elevation of this building, with the mansard roof, dormers and

window architraves has been copied by the NMRS (EDD/566/2).

In a serendipitous instance of synchronicity, the firm that became J & R Allan

was originally founded by Sir James Spittal, builder of the tenements in the

Cowgate, which were lately occupied by the Gilded Balloon. The brief

history of the firm is given in Gilbert (1901, 215-20) and Marwick (1959, 135).

Spittal founded a firm of silk mercers, or dealers in fine textiles, in 1807. In 1822,

he is less glamorously described as a haberdasher, living at 11 Nicolson Sq

(Directory 1822-3, 337). He applied to make alterations to the rear of 60,

South Bridge in 1825, which had been the premises of T & J Blackwoods,

haberdashers (Dir 1806-7, 20). Apart from Spittal’s property speculations, or

investments in the Cowgate (detailed under buildings 4 & 5) in the 1820’s,

there are apparently no other warrants granted to him, or for the premises at

84 South Bridge in the 1830’s. The early indices do not include street numbers,

and buildings can be hard to locate without extracting the individual plans,

which present reasons of economy and scale render impractical. Adjacent

premises, at 85-6 South Bridge, were altered in 1823 (by James Anderson) and

in 1838 (by Adam Bell). This building, which has preserved its southern facade

to the Cowgate, is now occupied by Edinburgh City Council as offices and

an advice shop.

An action was raised by one John Cameron regarding 81 South Bridge in

1839, who may have been a paper manufacturer, based at 79 South Bridge

(1840-1 Dir, 211). At this period, 74-84 South Bridge included such well-known

names as John Keiller confectioner (probably in Adam Sq, which was listed at

68 South Bridge), Melroses grocers, John Spittal, an agent (sometimes an early

form of banking and insurance officer or franchisee), teachers, the True

Scotsman publishers, and shawl manufacturers. The most pretentious entry is

for a carver and gilder “to the Queen and Duchess of Kent” (Victoria’s

mother). This was mainly in the area occupied by Building no 3 (although on

Kirkwoods map of 1817, no 81 South Bridge may extend into building no 2).

Other alterations were carried out: to no 80 in 1841; by the grocers Andrew

Melrose at no 83 in 1841 (plans extracted as A60685, NMRS, listed as being for

John Taylor; who has signed the lower right hand corner. The Dean of Guild

petitioner (usually the person applying for the building warrant) is Andrew

Melrose, 15 July 1841; the elevation legend is inscribed “that shop ...belonging

Andrew Melrose”), showing the insertion of two three-pane flat-headed shop

windows, with a central two-leaved glazed doorway, and a wooden fascia

with scrolled volutes above. The round-headed windows and doors of Robert

Kay’s original terrace are indicated on the neighbouring buildings). Another

applicant was Hannah Cameron, one of several female petitioners, at no 81

in 1853 (soon after occupied by a watchmakers), and again in 1868 (by now

including the Scottish Freeman Magazine’s offices and Rombach Bros, as well



as a printers and pawnbrokers). Another woman, Jane Smith, planned

alterations at no 80 in 1856 (a toy warehouse in the 1860’s). Other petitioners

are listed in the Dean of Guild plans list extracted at the end of this report.

Various different owners occupied the same premises at 84 South Bridge,

maintaining the same trade in silken goods and fabrics. Spittal and Son were

succeeded by Christie and Alexander in 1840 and expanded the business by

the 1850’s (Gilbert, 1901, 220). They incorporated 82 and 83 South Bridge,

dealing in mourning and gentlemen’s wear. Lawrence Robertson also lived as

well as worked on South Bridge in the 1840’s. By the mid 1870’s, now trading

as Alexander and Macnab, Charles J Alexander also occupied 81 South

Bridge. Their advertising described them as drapers, outfitters, and “The

cheapest house in the Trade for carpets, curtains, beds and furnishings,”

(Directory 1874-5, 3). C J Alexander carried out further building work at no 82

in 1872, and Hugh Paterson to no 77-9 at the same time. In 1876, the firm

became Meldrum and Allan (Gilbert, 1901, 220).

The Allan brothers acquired control in 1883. (Figure 54) By 1885, they had

bought no 80, expanding south along the bridge (Directory 1885-6, 5).

Addyman (2002, vii) describes how the street frontage was redesigned (but

probably later than c1860), with cast iron and plate-glass vitrines, pediments

removed and dormer windows inserted to provide additional warehouse

accommodation. The company’s advertising in the Post Office Directory of

1894-5 (also reproduced in Gilbert, 1901) proudly shows the premises as a

panorama on both sides of the Cowgate arch; only the central shop

doorways preserve a portion of the original arcading as fanlights. The Allans

amalgamated C & T Hodge on the North side of the Cowgate arch, and J

McIntyres in Nicolson St.

The Allans formed a limited company in 1897 (the minutes of their board

meetings now form part of the House of Fraser Collection n the Scottish

Business Archive, Glasgow University (HF33/1/1/1/1). The first board meeting

was held on 1 June 1897, with Robert as Chairman. By the third Ordinary

General Meeting, in February 1899, James had retired and was replaced by H

Speedie. Two thousand shares were put in trust for employees, and the

registered office of the company was at 84 South Bridge (ibid). They

expanded after the First World War, and in 1920 purchased “the adjoining

drapery and general warehouse business of Paterson and Smith to build an

extension. These ambitious plans were almost immediately overshadowed by

accusations of profiteering and demands from shop assistants for substantial

wage rises to keep pace with inflation and for a shorter working week,” (Moss

& Turton, 1989, 117). In 1928, the firm was purchased by the Scottish Drapery

Corporation, who also owned Pettigrew & Stephens and Dalys of Glasgow,

and J W Blair of Edinburgh.

A H Mottram became “house architect” to the company in the 1920’s.

A(rthur) Hugh Mottram (1886-1953) (Scotsman, 13 March; The Builder, 20

March, 1953) was an assistant to Sir Raymond Unwin, the garden city pioneer.

Mottram worked on the “new town” of Rosyth, and was interested in housing

reform, working with various housing associations, as well as being president

of Edinburgh Architectural Association. He established the practice of



Mottram Patrick in Frederick St in 1930 (D Walker, pers comm; Bailey, 1996,

132; Thomas 1996, 210). Due to his earlier work with J B Dunn and J L Findlay,

who also worked for Jenners store, many of Mottram’s drawings are part of

the Dunn and Findlay Collection in the NMRS. The Scottish Drapery

Corporation commissioned an extensive redesign of what were still essentially

Victorian premises, to bring them into the machine age. The plans, which

mostly date from 1929-32, (see archive appendix 1.4) show, among other

developments:

• alterations to floors below South Bridge street level and openings in

walls, stair to street level, Aug 1929 (E26432);

• new saloon in place of cash room, Sept 1929 (E26430);

• dining room on top floor of nos 77-80;

• shopfitting schemes for ground floor drapery and linen department,

with glass fronted cabinets and drawers (E26422);

• hair dressing salon with private cubicles (E26423);

• the ground floor millinery and corsetry department, projecting out over

the Cowgate frontage above present building no 4 (E26424);

• the insertion of an arcade of obliquely-angled display cases and

octagonal island units at the entrance on the corner of 74-5 South

Bridge (now Biblios Cafe/Bar) (EDD 880/36 & 37).

Photographs taken of the shopfitting and the art deco black granite-clad

shop fronts, with small round grilles under the windows, can be seen in a series

of photographs by F Sage & Co (NMRS, B78868-9, C21001-6), dated c1925 in

the catalogue. They are quite possibly later, as they show the return facade

to Cowgate at South Bridge level, shown in EDD 880/34, dated 1933; and

along South Bridge from nos 77-84, planned on EDD/880/26, dated c1932.

The arcade at 74/75 South Bridge photographed by Sage, is planned by

Mottram in Jan 1933 (EDD 880/33). William Gauldie designed a similar arcade

in 1935, for D M Brown Ltd on the corner of Commercial St and High St,

Dundee (Dundee D o G plans, 80-18, Vol XI, p21). Another one remains at the

Kelvin House drapers, in Dumbarton Road, Glasgow, as a “period piece” of

shopfront design. Some of the polished black granite cladding can still be

seen on South Bridge (eg on building 10, 74-75 South Bridge and on ‘Gossip’

clothes shop, and 1-3 Chambers St). The wooden-framed period doors and

windows with bands of horizontal panes (at no 85-7) may be from this time, if

they are not from a later reinstatement of the property. The Dunn and Findlay

Collection may hold relevant elevations.

It would appear more likely that F Sage & Co’s photographic album (NMRS)

was made as a record of the newly refurbished premises at the same time as

a promotional/souvenir brochure was also commissioned. This is entitled

“Grand Opening of Extended Premises...Mon 25 Sept 1933” (Edinburgh

Central Library, YHF 5429 A41J, C58006). The reverse illustrates the Arcade,

which “by its dimensions and its artistic setting... has become the topic with

the Ladies of Edinburgh...” The same booklet shows the restaurant, with “the

new scheme of furnishing” and the enlarged bay windows on the first floor of

building 3, which survived until the fire.

Another fire saw Turnbull and Wilson reconstructing their shop in 1934 at 60-62,

South Bridge. One characteristic feature of the Cowgate was the addition of



a lower, or subsidiary, enclosed bridge to the main archway over the street.

This was not the only example nearby - behind Jenners in Meuse Lane (two

examples; 1925 one has single window with broken pediment on ionic

columns) and across West College St (Fraser, 1989, 337) are other “Bridge of

Sighs” models. The bridge connected the warehouse levels of Allans

departments, and was built in 1929 (DoG plans, date of extract 26 July 1929,

along with other alterations between 1929 and 1933, including new shop

fronts and arcade at 1-3 Chambers St, Jan 1933). The enclosed corridor

bridge merited a mention in the Scotsman (24 October 1929), and has added

further melodramatic gloom to this atmospheric underpass. There have since

been suggestions that the original profile of the main bridge should be

restored.

The minutes for the 55th AGM, June 1951 show that the Company had a

trading profit of £32,303, a slight decrease on the previous year. In a

presciently topical note, the minutes record that trading “has perhaps been

influenced by fears of shortages and higher prices. If the war in Korea and

the expansion of the rearmament programme continue, there may well be a

shortage of supplies and the rise in prices may result in consumer

resistance...conditions are too uncertain to make any forecast of this year’s

results,” (GUA, HF33/1/1/1/1, pp113-116).

Hugh Fraser bought the group in 1951 for almost three million pounds. The

company was paying fees for architectural alterations in 1951 of £263/5-, and

spent £143 1 on repairs and renewals. In 1952, over £3000 was spent on repairs,

perhaps as a result of Fraser’s takeover (GUA, HF33/3/1/1, sheets 3, 5). In

early 1953, the company of J & R Allan Ltd, was wound up voluntarily by the

Chairman, Hugh Fraser. Frasers opened a new food hall in 1954, and inserted

lift shafts in 1957. The store became part of the Arnotts group in 1971, along

with D M Brown in Dundee, which has also been recently redeveloped (Moss

& Turton, 1989, 135, 177, 217; GUA HF33/1/1/1/1, Special Resolution 30/1/1953).

Building 1 included the premises of Style and Mantle, about whom less

information has been available. They also carried out alterations c1929-32,

the plans being part of the NMRS Dunn and Findlay Collection. They applied

to reconstruct shops after a fire at 1-3, Chambers St and 74-6 South Bridge

(later J & R Allen’s property) in July 1929 (Dean of Guild plans). They inserted

new floors with extensive new structural steel supports by “Constructional

Engineers Redpath, Brown & Co” of Edinburgh. The architect on NMRS EDD

880/44 is listed as M K Glass, of Newcastle. The structural sequence here

could be elucidated by the extraction of some of the DoG plans. On

Mottram’s elevations for Allan in 1933, Style and Mantle occupy 75, South

Bridge, and still appear to retain an Edwardian-style window arrangement,

despite their recent planning applications. (Figure 54)

Later uses of these buildings can be traced in building warrant applications,

including an amusement arcade (1984), cafes, and a public house (1983).



Figure 54 : J & R Allan Store, as depicted in 1901. with the store in the 1950s (below)



Cowgate

8.35 Building 3, The Bridge and Earlier Views of the Site

235-7 Cowgate preserved its Adamesque facade to the North, rising through

seven floors to its raised wallhead parapet. With the Living Room pub at

Cowgate level, the orientation of the building turned through 90 degrees

between the overhead and underpass streets. The integral carriage arch led

from the Cowgate to Commercial Court, the north gable wall being listed

category “C”. With its twin opposite, it framed many views of the

impoverished Cowgate traversed by Robert Kay’s viaduct, in a literal

demonstration of ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ social stations. The fire site may be

illustrated in the background to some of these views, such as Thomas

Shepherd’s drawing “South Bridge from the Cowgate,” engraved in his

“Modern Athens displayed in a series of views...or Edinburgh in the Nineteenth

Century,” published in 1829 (An earlier version by J Storer, 1818, is shown in

Fraser 1989, 80). Fraser identifies the views as looking east, suggesting that the

predecessor to Spittal’s shops is just visible at the extreme right edge of the

image. The building’s details are, unfortunately, quite obscured.

The wallhead was altered along South Bridge and the original pediments

were removed. They survived nearly intact on the gable of 85-7, and on the

north side of no 84. At 84 South Bridge, the outline of the pediment was built

into the raised roof line with its balustrades, which was probably added during

one of Allan’s building campaigns in the early 20th century. In the illustration

in the 1894-5 PO Directory, the gable is intact. By A H Mottram’s Cowgate

elevations of January 1933, (NMRS EDD 880/34) the gable wallhead has been

squared off. Allans applied to make alterations at no 84 (Building 3) in 1906,

1920 and subsequently.

8.36 Buildings 4 &5/Gilded Balloon/233 Cowgate

The Gilded Balloon theatrical and comedy venue brought international

media attention to the site of the Cowgate fire. It opened in 1986, but the

buildings had a long previous history and a distinguished designer. They share

their architect, Thomas Hamilton, with George IV Bridge and the Royal High

School. The two adjacent 4-storey tenements presented a uniform facade,

both with arcades of six openings to the street. Building 3, to the east,

covered the entrance to Commercial Court in the heart of the complex.

Ainslie’s map of 1800, and a late 18th cent map (reproduced as SC761559 in

the NMRS) show the typical street pattern of the old town, long narrow lands

running back from the Cowgate. There are three buildings between Hastie’s

Close and the rear of the South Bridge structures (now building 3). The central

of the three buildings is further divided into two properties (the east side of

South Bridge is not yet built). The detail in Ainslie, 1801 is more general, but by

Kirkwood’s map of 1817, the construction of South Bridge has reduced three

lands to two to the east of Hastie’s Wynd (which ran up from the Cowgate

behind the west side of Adam Square, to North College St).



Figure 55: 1823 Elevation detail from Thomas Hamilton’s designs for buildings 4 & 5note the arcaded shopfronts on the Cowgate Street Level.

Hasties CloseBuilding 5Building 4

In 1823, James Spittal, a silk mercer and future Lord Provost, “to the

admiration and envy of his neighbours, opened up handsome saloons to the

back along the line of the Cowgate,” (Gilbert 1901, 229). The architect of

building 4 was the rising star of the Greek revival, Thomas Hamilton (1784-

1858), who initialled the plans as “TH Jnr,” (extracted plans in NMRS, A60589 &

A60588; DoG, petitioner J Spittal, warrant dated 19 June 1823; date of extract

28 June 1823). (Figure 55) Although omitted from Colvin’s list of Hamilton’s

work, the architect did undertake a number of small commercial

developments in the 1820’s (I Fisher, pers comm; D Walker, pers comm;

Colvin, 1995, 454-5; Rock, 1984, 2). Among these were premises in George St

for W and T Blackwood, publishers. Spittal’s two uniform buildings anticipate

Hamilton’s treatment of “a unified facade for both shops” for Blackwood’s in

1829 (ibid, 48). This saw the far grander “use of twelve fluted monolithic Ionic

columns across the facade” (ibid), with a full entablature, rather than Spittal’s



flat pilasters between stone arches with simple archivolts. Rock (1984, 46n)

identifies the same segmental arches used again in Arthur Lodge (1830), also

attributed to Hamilton.

Hamilton was concerned with improving access to the old town to prevent its

economic and social stagnation (he worked on proposals for the “earthen

Mound,” Robertson, 1932, 83; Rock, 1984, 15-21). While working for Spittal,

Hamilton was also involved with drafting proposals for what would become

George IV Bridge (executed by the first Edinburgh Improvements Commission

after 1827), and the magisterial Royal High School (Youngson 1966, 156-9,

166-72).

Although it may be fortuitous, the rhythm of the Cowgate arcade openings

might reflect Hamilton’s interest in streetscapes and town planning. From the

top of Blair St, the shopfront arches lead the eye across the Cowgate, and link

up the east and west sides of Blair St in one almost-continuous “narrative,”

now interrupted by Commercial Court. There were originally eight arches to

building 4, forming four doors and four shop windows. The eastern two have

been removed, but this would give fourteen arches when completed across

building 5. The arcading thereby acted as a unifying link between the wider

arched windows running down the hill, a literal eye-catcher. That this was

deliberate is suggested by the legend on the original Dean of Guild drawing,

“Elevation fronting Blair Street,” (Building 4, DoG elevation dated April 11

1823).

The initial proposals were for a flat frontage, which was amended to the

present intrusion into the Cowgate at an oblique angle (NMRS A60588,

showing the changes inserted on a paper strip overlay). This followed closely

the uneven, but oblique building line of the previous tenements. Hamilton

proposed to introduce more regular fenestration (with rooftop cupolas) and

include a curved, or bowed corner on the east side to Liberty Court (a

passageway). The eastern elevation to Liberty Court showed the gables of

the four-storey front and rear blocks, linked by a lower courtyard range (DoG

section A-B, extracted 28 June 1823).

Liberty Court has not been included in Harris (1996), Boog Watson (1923), nor

in the gazetteer to Kirkwood’s map of 1817 (Commercial Court is omitted

from both, but appears in Gray’s 1834 Directory, p180 at 247 Cowgate.

Boog Watson (1923, 145-6) has Liberton’s Close as an alternate designation

for Hastie’s Close.

In James Spittal’s petition of 1823, the tenement on which he wishes to

“demolish all old buildings and build others” is bounded by properties which

were “sometime pertaining” (ie possibly many decades earlier), to named

proprietors. These included the Masons to the east, Alexander Cairncross,

minister in Dumfries to the west, and the way leading to the Church of St Mary

the Virgin in the Field on the south (ie North College St). As the church was

ruinous in the 1560’s, the other names may be similarly antiquated (Fraser,

1989, 32). Alexander Cairncross (1637-1701) had been “laite minister at the

(Trinity) Colledge Kirk,” from 1663, and was translated to Dumfries in 1668. He

later became Archbishop of Glasgow (Fasti I, 132; II, 265; Wood 1950, 53).



Spittal’s neighbours to the south, Fairbairn’s Trustees “feel they have already

indulged him by allowing him to encroach upon their back area” in building 4

(DoG, Answers for Trustees, 4 Mar 1824). The signatories as “conterminous

proprietors” of 14 April 1823 include J Anderson, J Cameron and J McGlashan

(the latter running a more refined cabinetmaker’s on South Bridge, and an

auctioneer’s below in the Cowgate).

In 1824 Spittal petitioned for the construction of building 5, beside Hastie’s

close (NMRS A60586, SC754540). His builders, Thomas Ponton and David

Paton, erected a facade uniform with building 4 (which is described, as of 4

Mar 1824, as being “presently erecting”). The elevation shows the familiar

arcade, which housed shops, with a low arched pend to Hastie’s Close on

the west(DoG plans, date of extract 6 April 1824). The plans are unsigned, but

are also attributed to Hamilton (Rock, 1984, 2, 4n).

The building was delayed by a dispute with the estate of a deceased

bookseller, John Fairbairn, whose property lay in Adam Sq to the south.

Fairbairn purchased his property in 1801 (Sasine, 10 June 1801), and it would

appear to be no 70 Adam Sq (1804-5 Dir, 97; further investigaton of the Dean

Of Guild petitions and in the Register of Sasines would clarify this). Spittal

wanted to “square his property” with the rear wall-line of building 4 to the

east. This involved transgressing onto Fairbairn’s “too fall which they have

fitted up as a bedroom above and a henhouse below, erected on the site of

a malt kiln,” (DoG, Replies for J Spittal, 11 Feb 1824). The lean-to seems to

have been built against the old party wall, which was six feet wide at the

bottom, lying north of Adam Sq. The argument was resolved by the erection

of a single, mutual gable, paid for mostly by Spittal.

The inventory of the title deeds of Mr Fairbairn’s property (at the north end of

Adam Square) includes the sale by the Incorporation of St Mary’s Chapel in

1710, the sale to William Adam in 1729, the disposition to John Adam in 1763

and his sale to the South Bridge trustees in 1787. Further deeds are listed,

taking the property (south of building 5) into the early 19th century.

Spital also applied to erect a “ware-room,” lit by a cupola, behind 60 South

Bridge in 1825 (following South Bridge’s retention of consecutive numbering,

no 60 is on the east side, before Drummond St - see Gent, 1949, 65-6). James

Spittal was Lord Provost from 1833 to 1837, gave his name to Spittal Street,

and had an unremarkable administration, being “mild and conciliatory”

(Whitson, 1932, 115). It is noteworthy that Spittal is associated with the fire site

twice over. He also founded the firm at 84 South Bridge which eventually

became J & R Allan (Marwick, 1959, 135 ).

The two Cowgate tenements had been built with attention to classical

detailing and the proportions of the windows, but subsequent inhabitants

were less high-status. Some of the later occupants of these or adjacent

buildings in 1840 (street renumbering makes identification inexact, and is

beyond the scope of this report) included two cabinetmakers, an ironmonger

and Mary O’Brien, one of three women trading as “brokers” (out of 21 on the

same page for Cowgate, 1840 Dir, 156). Willison Glass, town-crier also lived at

no 233. Most of the other businesses in the Cowgate were spirit dealers,



cabinetmakers and a few brewers. In the 1870’s, Patrick Dillon, furniture

broker occupied 233 and lived at 235 Cowgate, sharing premises with a

cabinetmaker and upholsterer. In the 1890’s, the tenants were Gilhooly and

McDermott, who do not list their occupations. The Irish surnames “reflected

the heavy concentration of Irish in central Edinburgh. It was they who were an

easy target and often criticised for the numerous beershops and brothels in

the ill-lit closes...” (Rodger, 2001, 424). In the 1851 census, 29 % of the working

population of the Old Town was born in Ireland (Gordon, 1979,178).

In the 1930’s and until the 1970’s, the area was used for goods delivery by

Allen’s and Arnotts. The later adaptations of the buildings included part of an

amusement arcade extending from South Bridge level (1984), bars and

restaurant use (1980’s), and a picture framer’s workshops (1990). Artistic and

theatrical ventures moved into the premises, including the Gilded Balloon in

1986. In the 1980’s, the arches were opened up and the pavement and

street front recessed behind the previous building line. This widened the

pedestrian area and created a covered arcade, which was “C” listed.

8.37 Building 6229 Cowgate/former Palace Cafe/Wilkie House theatre extension

Dr Dorothy Bell has pointed out the dangers of uncritically accepting pictorial

evidence for the appearance of buildings before the use of photography

(1999). However, with 229 Cowgate, the physical remains themselves

supplement an engraving of the facade. The frontispiece of Taylor and

Dickson’s History of the Cowgate Mission (1880) shows an accurate (if

overscale) representation of the church facade, with the part of the building

to the east, a three-storey, almost-certainly three-bay tenement with a

central door on the ground floor. Before its destruction, building 6 had been

heightened by the addition of two storeys. The change in walling was visible

in the west gable, showing the divide between the lower stone and upper

white glazed brick (NMRS photographs E32710, E32650). The modern Hastie’s

Close was entered through a covered pend at the eastern side of this

building, and had retained the same number (231 Cowgate), from 19th

century street directories (eg 1840 Directory, p156). The caption on a

photograph of Hastie’s Close refers to actors’ Hansom Cabs making their way

to the Operetta House stage door, off the Close. How this was accomplished

with the steps shown on the 1877 OS map is not clear, but there may have

been other approaches to the performers’ entrance.

This building was probably numbered 229 Cowgate in the 1875-6 PO Directory

(p270), the only address between Cowgate Free Church at 227, and Hastie’s

Close at 231. In 1840, Peter Mallan, broker (pawnbroker or furniture dealer)

occupied no 229, succeeded by Alex Crerar, spirit dealer (one of at least 14

brewers and spirit dealers listed in the Cowgate in 1863), who was still there in

1894 (PO Directories 1840-1, 156; 1863-4, 329; 1894-5, 403).

The People’s Palace Mission next door remedied the situation by “adapting

the premises...of a reformed public house...(as) a very effective counter

attraction to the drinking shops,” by opening the Palace Cafe staffed by

volunteers. This provided not “free meals, but cheap meals” to the locals



(Annual Report, 1934, 16). The late 1920’s/early 1930’s photographs in the

People’s Palace Mission Annual Reports show the cafe with a plain glazed

frontage, panelled door, and the westernmost arch of building 5 still partially

blocked. The polished wooden gantry and bar of the pub remained inside,

now decorated with a tea urn and flower vases. Today, some timber pilasters

and ionic capitals of the pub frontage are still extant.

In 1936, a new single-storey purpose built cafe opened to the west of the

church, on the corner of College Wynd (Annual Report, 1936, 4-7). This

included a Women’s Room, or parlour where they could attend sewing and

other classes. The original Cafe (building 6) became a play centre for

children unable to be accommodated in the already-full children’s club

rooms upstairs. (ibid, 10). In anticipation of later artistic uses, art students

contributed murals to the refurbishment.

The Mission continued to use the buildings, until the closure of nearby hostels

and lodging houses around 1961, which removed those who had formed

their later clientele. In 1962, they wrote “the Cowgate is quiet, almost

deserted. Twenty...years ago it may have been ..poverty-stricken..but (it was)

vital,” (Annual Report 1962, 3). The church moved the focus of its social

programme elsewhere. Building 6 finally became part of a bar and club,

owned by Festival Inns Ltd. Building warrants had been granted for extensive

renovations in 2002, the latest application being in October shortly before the

fire.

8.38 Building 7Cowgate Mission and Territorial Free Church (217-27 Cowgate)/ Wilkie House Theatre/ Faith

(207 Cowgate)

The Free Church established a mission in Cowgate in 1852-3 (Ewing, 1914, II,

3). The parent church, the Free New North Congregation, Forrest Road were

pursuers to the Dean of Guild Court for permission to build at 215-7 Cowgate

in July 1859. The New North’s own architect had been Thomas Hamilton (“The

(North) church was...in no way pleasing, Dunlop, 1988, 92), builder of the

tenements at 233 Cowgate.

The congregation in “this destitute district,” where “vice and immorality

abounded in every stair and close,” (Taylor & Dickson, 1880, 34, 37) raised

sufficient funds to lay their new church’s foundation stone on 26 September

1859. A buried glass ‘time capsule’ included church histories and three

contemporary newspapers. In the 1875-6 PO Directory, the church is at 227

Cowgate. The church occupied the site of two single-storey shops, a

confectioners and cabinetmaker (Taylor & Dickson, 1880, 34; 1840 Directory,

156).

The first minister was John Pirie (1825-94), a former schoolteacher in Roslin. The

active mission of the Cowgate Free Church included combating the very real

problems of widespread extreme poverty and alcohol abuse. The church

was designed by Patrick Wilson, the architect of the more elaborate, and

genteel, South College Street UP Church of 1856. Described as “routine Dec”

(Gifford et al, 1994, 225), the building cost £2397 and seated 573 (at a time

when nearly 600 attended the Sunday Schools, and pew sittings were



routinely rented to raise funds). Although it was designed in a deliberately

economical style, the broach spire and varied window forms allowed Wilson

some stylistic flourishes. A London man gifted the bells in 1860 (Taylor &

Dickson, 1880, 32-5).

By 1864, the church already required repairs due to wet rot in the floor (not

aided by lack of drainage in the area, see Johnston, 1856). In 1872, the

church purchased ground at its south end, which had been cleared by the

City Improvement Trust. The south wall of the church was “in critical

condition,” by 1877 “owing to the accumulation of rubbish caused by the

removal of old buildings.... and formation of Guthrie street...the surface water

had saturated the wall and endangered its stability...producing bad smells..”

(Taylor & Dickson, 1880, 57). Conditions were so extreme that they caused

members to faint and become ill. Various plans were made to extend the

overcrowded accommodation, until they were forced to move temporarily

into the Operetta House at 5 Chambers St in 1877.

“The Builder” of Feb 22, 1879, records the enlargement “from designs by

Messrs Thornton Shiells and Thomson. These will not affect the elevation

towards the street, but the interior will be greatly improved both as regards

effect and light...”(p211). This included lenghthening the church by 19 feet.

The additions were necessary to accommodate the Sabbath Free Breakfast

and People’s Palace Mission, an early church-run social service and outreach

programme. “Originating in mid-December 1874, a product of the Moody-

Sankey revival of that period...(the Mission involved) continuous active service

among the very poor...every evening of the week,” (Ann Rep 1936, 4). The

Mission ran playgroups, educational classes, Sunday Schools, youth

organisations and seaside outings during the early 20th century. Clothes

donations and subsidised food canteens were also organised. The relative

level of poverty can be guaged by the attendance of 32, 591 people at the

free meals after Sunday Services in 1913. Twenty years later, attendance was

still 12, 331.

The appearances of the Church and fire site are seen in pictures in the

Mission’s Annual Reports, which in 1934 show the facade much as it exists

today. In 1936, a six-bay, single storey charitable cafe was built to the west,

on the site of the present 205 Cowgate. The free Sabbath breakfast ceased

in the early 1950’s, and the redevelopment of the area led to a loss of

population. The Mission was no longer viable, and around 1960, the church

was sold to the University. The Mission continued to use the Cafe until the

early 1960’s.

The congregation united with College Street and Pleasance United Free

Churches in 1910, to form Union UF Church, worshipping in Patrick Wilson’s

other building in South College St. The successor congregation finally moved

to Muirhouse Church in 1961 (Dunlop, 1989, 428-432).

The Cowgate building became Wilkie House Theatre, where the University

Settlement altered the cafeteria in 1983 (Warrant 83/1690, Building Control).

Further alterations were made in 1998, and in 2002 before the fire.



8.39 Building 8 Traffic Wardens Offices/7-8 Chambers St

This was intended as part of the parade of educational and institutional

buildings on the north side of the new link between George IVand South

Bridges. It was designed by David Cousin, City Superintendent of Works, and

built by John Lessels in 1885, Cousin having died the previous year. Described

as “three bays of unmodified Cousin elevation...(with) punchy detail,”(Gifford

et al, 1984, 223), it bears an inscription above Guthrie St. In an elaborate

pedimented surround, is inscribed “Near this spot stood the house in which Sir

Walter Scott was born 15th August 1771; Memorial Tablet erected by the

Town Council 1887; Sir Thos. Clark Bart Lord Provost; James Lessels Archt.”

(James was the son of Improvement Trust architect John Lessels, and this may

be refer to the frame design, Gifford et al, 1984, 353). College Wynd

migrated eastwards in the changed topography of post-Improvement

Cowgate (Fraser, 1989, 336), and has been replaced by the upper section of

Guthrie St. College Wynd, originally Kirk o’Field Wynd, was photographed by

Archibald Burns, where a reminder of its ecclesiastical past can be glimpsed.

About 1842, Daniel Wilson describes the ogee-arched window, shown

obliquely in picture ECL 14, 473, (no 14 in Burns’s publication). “A

curious...window, and fitted with an antique oaken transom and ...shutters

below.” On the adjoining tenement, he has drawn “an elaborately

decorated Gothic niche” which has survived the “transformation from a

Collegium Sacerdotum...to a brewers granary and a spirit vault...” (Wilson,

1891, II, 140-1, 154). William Cowan has transcribed these passages into the

original photograph album, but the Gothic niche is not apparent in the

pictures (album ECL qYDA 1829.9 (866) 42374).

In 1945, 6 Chambers St was the District Registrar’s Office. Before the war,

Edinburgh Police had used a former church in Jeffrey St as a training facility.

Following the purchase of Tulliallan Castle by the Home and Health Dept in

1950, police training was reorganised. Chambers St became the Edinburgh

City Police Training School, Recruitment and Special Constabulary Depts, with

a police-clothing store at no 8 (PO Dir, 1945-6, 660; Dir 1950-1, 643; Archibald,

1990, 28; A Cross, pers comm).

The police retained use of the building until the late 1970’s, when they moved

training to their Fettes headquarters. The premises are currently used as Traffic

Wardens’ offices.

8.3.10 Building 9 Adam House/Gaiety Theatre/Operetta House

The history and design sources of Adam House have been extensively

documented by B T Pentreath (1995). The examinations hall of Edinburgh

University, it was designed by William Kininmonth and erected between 1950-

4. The facade, contained on the narrow site left by the demolition of the

Operetta House, is a diminutive, if crowded reinterpretation of Adam’s Old

College. The more spare, modernist treatment of the elegant rear elevation is

revealed for the first time by the demolition of the surrounding buildings in

Cowgate.



The site at 5, Chambers St was originally the Gaiety Music Hall, built in 1875 for

Carl Bernhardt (Peter, 1999, 27; not yet included in the 1875 PO Directory,

260). The manager, J G Crovelli, realised that the opening performance by

“Lady Don” was under-appreciated. “(She) seemed to be suffering from a

severe cold...” and “Noises of all kinds were raised from the pit,” leading to

her indignant departure from the stage (University Theatre Souvenir

Programme, 1955). Robert Young and William Stewart applied to demolish the

third easternmost tenement in Chambers St in August 1874, probably near this

site. In the immediate vicinity in 1875 were the Argyle Brewery, and Watt

Institute.

“The name of Moss Empires is synonymous with the variety business,” (Peter,

1999, 9), but it is less well known that Sir Edward Moss, a native of Edinburgh,

managed the Gaiety as his first theatre from 1877 (Baird, 1964, 14-15; Bell,

1998, 178). He revived its fortunes, which had seen the bill become

increasingly downmarket. He bought adjacent shops, and “the University

Hotel above the theatre...to house his artistes’” (ibid, 27). Moss made several

applications for alterations to the theatre, adding to the south upper gallery in

1880, and further alterations in 1881 and 1882. As mentioned above, the

Cowgate Free Church found Moss a sufficiently respectable manager to

lease the building for services for three years while their own church was

being refurbished.

The collected research of Mr G Baird , Edinburgh Theatres, Cinemas and

Circuses, 1820-1963 (1964, repr 2000, Edinburgh) contains a more detailed

history of the ownership and entertainments repertoire of the Operetta House,

including extracts from advertising (ibid, pp 125-30). Internal photographs

show it to have held galleries, supported on cast iron columns, beneath a

ceiling toplit by cupolas. A band of glazing ran round the auditorium at

clerestorey level, the panes following the curve of the arched roof (Central

Library, photos of demolition, nos 3054 to 3056, July 1950; duplicate NMRS,

B67346, showing stage, erroneously dated as 1954). The (as yet unnamed)

architect was following the contemporary fashion for iron-framed buildings

exploited to full advantage in Captain Francis Fowke, R.E.’s Royal Scottish

Museum of 1861-75, which also sat along Chambers St.

Known first as the Operetta House, then the Gaiety, Moss sold it in 1892 (Baird,

1964, 125), and it was renamed the Operetta once more. Moss had imported

top London acts, but in 1897 it was advertising “Sam Hague’s Minstrels” for

seven nights (Scotsman, Jan 20, 1897, p1). In 1906 it became a cinema. Moss

built up a large chain of variety theatres (including the Empire Palace in

Nicolson St), which continued after his death in 1912, to comprise a touring

circuit of 38 venues by 1932.

From 1939 until the 1948, the theatre was used as a furniture store, before

becoming the headquarters for the new National Health Service Insurance for

Edinburgh in 1948. It was demolished in July 1950 (Central Library photos nos

3054-6). Hastie’s Close led to the courtyard containing the stage and scenery

dock doors and rear exits. The yard’s gate piers, at the half-landing where

the Close turned west (shown in Central Library Photo no 16.202), survived the

construction of Adam House.



The theatrical tradition of the site was continued by performances in Adam

House’s basement University Theatre, which opened with “Daughter of the

Dawn” by the University Dramatic Society in August 1955. In keeping with the

Adams’ Greek sources of inspiration, the play was “after”Aristophanes. A

University Press Release from 1955 describes the building’s name as “a

graceful tribute to the memory of Robert Adam, whose home was in Adam

Square...The new building...rises 66 feet from Chambers Street...each storey

contains a large hall (one has) a special ballroom floor and the top storey has

been fitted for use as an Art Gallery...” (Baird, 1964, 129). It seems apposite

that the architect of Adam House, W H Kininmonth was following an earlier

namesake associated with the site. In 1840, his predecessor, one A

Kinninmont, a shawl manufacturer, had a shop at 80 South Bridge.

Figure 56 : Sample selection of petitioner list

Highlighted red are the entries for J & R Allen, including the entry for the Adam/Allen bridge ( dated 1929) over the Cowgate.



9 Conclusions

The disastrous fire of 8 December has resulted in the destruction of a highly

important sector of the historic fabric of the City of Edinburgh. Historically this

area is of the greatest interest. Not only does the site contain one of the few

undeveloped areas of the Cowgate – with the boundaries and substantial

surviving fabric of the tenements available for study – but has been directly

affected by a some of the most significant 18th and 19th century

developments of the Edinburgh Townscape - the Adam Square and South

Bridge schemes; and the creation of Chambers Street respectively.

The destruction has provided an unusual opportunity to undertake a

comprehensive salvage recording exercise in conjunction with an equally

comprehensive study of what are clearly extensive historic records. The study

is unusual, as a thorough examination of the evolution of a large unit of

townscape throughout its history in a little studied (for the pre-1750 period)

area of the City. An additional future dimension to the study will be the

archaeological examination that will need to take place in advance of the

redevelopment of the site.

The small excavation that took place in advance of required safety work

showed the existence of extant archaeological deposits beneath the

foundations of the South Bridge structures (buildings 1-3) and it is more than

likely that this represents an indicative level of survival of historic remains.

It is clear that the understanding of the space between the buildings, and the

layout of the pre fire structures has been integral to the comprehension of the

site as a whole. Structural surprises have been enhanced by detailed

examination of the historical record, placing elements into context.



10. Acknowledgements

Many thanks are due to Morag Cross, Robert Maxtone-Graham, William Kay,

and James Simpson for their help in the historical understanding of the

buildings within the site area and their extensive research into the history and

available resources referencing the site

Thanks are due to Dr Andrew Fraser for the benefit of his extensive knowledge

and research into the South Bridge scheme.

Diane Watters of the RCAHMS very kindly provided much assistance, as did

Ranald McInnes of Historic Scotland, Robin Adamson of the City of Edinburgh

Council who calmly oversaw the whole site, John Lawson of CECAS who

acted as a forgiving Project Manager, all at Will Rudd Davidson, especially

Paul Ross and of course all those working for Dalton Demolition who supplied

both goodwill and mechanical help in the recording process.

For Section 7 :

The staff at NLS, including the Map Library, Edinburgh Room at Central

Library, AK Bell Library, Pat Dennison at Edinburgh University, Sheila Millar &

Ruth Calvert at Midlothian Local Studies, Richard Hunter at Edinburgh City

Archives,

For Section 9 :

I would like to thank the following people for their assistance in researching

the history of the Cowgate site: Dr Andrew Fraser, University of Edinburgh; Ian

Nelson, Andrew Bethune, Edinburgh Central Library; Diane Watters and Ian

Fisher, RCAHMS; Prof David Walker, Edinburgh; the staff of Edinburgh City

Archives; the staff of Glasgow University Archives and the Scottish Business

Archive, University of Glasgow; Chatriona Hossack, Edinburgh City Council

Development Dept; Linda Cairns, Edinburgh World Heritage Trust; Alan Cross,

Training Sergeant, Scottish Police College; Hamish MacLeod, Pillans & Wilson,

Edinburgh; Geoff Bailey, Falkirk Museums.



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full cowgate fire report - 2003

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