The East EndThe East End
WHEN a city is built on hills, good bridges are crucial. Lord Provost
George Drummond, the driving force behind Edinburgh's expansion in the
eighteenth century, identified construction of a bridge across the
valley to the north as a key element of the ambitious plan for a New
Town.
The North Bridge that effortlessly leaps the valley today is not the
original. The bridge is, however, a most impressive engineering feat,
particularly when viewed from below. Those crossing the bridge on foot
have a splendid vantage point from which to observe the castle, the
The group of carved figures on the east parapet of the bridge is the regimental memorial of the King's Own Scottish Borderers, which commemorates those members of the regiment who fell in a number of campaigns, culminating in the South African War.
At the north end of the bridge, the East End of Princes Street is one of the city's most important junctions. It is fitting, therefore, that it should be the site of Register House, one of the finest buildings of Robert Adam. It was begun in 1774 as the depository of Scotland's records, and though these voluminous records have of necessity now overflowed into a number of additional buildings, Register House remains the admired heart of the system. Exhibitions held regularly in Register House offer an opportunity to see the fine dome.
The impressive bronze equestrian statue immediately outside is of the Duke of Wellington, victor of the Battle of Waterloo and successful prime minister. The sculptor was Sir John Steell, so the new statue was soon dubbed `the Iron Duke in bronze by Steell'. The Duke is pointing across the street to the General Post Office.
The British Philatelic Bureau, which was established by the Post Office in 1963, moved to Edinburgh three years later and is now at 20 Brandon Street, Canonmills. The bureau provides new British stamps and related items to more than a quarter of a million regular customers in over 130 countries.
At the top of Leith Street stands the St James Centre, a massive, modern shopping centre recently refurbished. Within the same complex is New St Andrew's House, which is a headquarters of the Scottish Office and the administrative heart of the central government's operations in Scotland.
Attractive architecture on a more human scale can be discovered in the neighbourhood. On the west side of Register House, for example, pedestrian walks and modest streets will lead one to such interesting public houses as the Guildford Arms and the Cafè Royal. In the latter, the visitor should note the series of remarkable Doulton tiles on the wall: they were made especially for the Edinburgh International Exhibition of 1886 and subsequently acquired by the Cafè Royal.
Near the junction of Picardy Place and York Place is St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral. A few yards from the cathedral are three major sculptures by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, Her Majesty's Sculptor-in-Ordinary in Scotland, who was born and brought up in Leith. These bronze works, which include a giant-sized hand and foot, were installed here in 1991. Inscribed on the foot is a medieval Latin lyric, which was chosen by the sculptor to symbolise the ties between Italy and Scotland, represented by generations of Italian families who have made their home here.
On the north side of the Picardy Place roundabout stands a fine bronze statue of Sherlock Holmes, the legendary detective, complete wth cape, pipe and deerstalker. The statue, the only one of Holmes in Britain, is by Gerald Ogilvie Laing and was commissioned by local members of the Federation of Master Builders to mark their 50th anniversary and in tribute to Holmes' creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was born at no. 11 Picardy Place. The statue was unveiled in June 1991.
Incidentally, Picardy Place derives its name from the fact that French Protestant refugees, silk weavers, settled in this neighbourhood of Edinburgh after fleeing from religious persecution in Picardy in 1685.
On the east side of the roundabout, the
Playhouse Theatre is the venue
for all kinds of entertainment, from pop concerts to opera, from films
to ballet.
