Calton Hill

Developed during the first third of the 19th century as part of plans for Edinburgh’s Third New Town by William Henry Playfair, this site addresses changes in topography within the city through the use of the Urban Picturesque. Consisting of neoclassical residential, commercial, monumental and public buildings – including Playfair’s Astronomical Observatory of 1817, Playfair and C.R Cockerell’s National Monument of 1822, and both Thomas Hamilton’s Royal High School of 1829 and Burns Monument of 1830, this site’s design linked the city with the port of Leith as its Piraeus, further advocating for Edinburgh’s sobriquet as ‘The Athens of the North.’  

Text by Kirsten Carter-McKee, University of Edinburgh

Video by Richard Anderson