C O N T E X T 1 3 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 29 exceptional for its high concentration of planned ensembles of ashlar-faced, world-class, neo-classical buildings, associated with renowned architects. The Old and New Towns (75 per cent of their buildings listed) became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995. On the Mound William Playfair designed both the Royal Scottish Academy in Greek Doric style (1836) and the National Gallery (1848–59) with Ionic porticos. The first New Town was originally conceived as a suburb for the gentry, with squares, houses and churches, but no shops or taverns. The reality was different. There are concerns about vacant upper floors over shops and pressure for the removal of interiors for conversions to hotels to feed the current high demand, especially at festival time. A highlight of the trip was the visit to the Café Royal by Robert Paterson, opened in 1863. The sumptuous interior has stained glass windows and six large Doulton tiled pictures designed by John Eyre.This was the scene of an early conservation victory: it was saved from demolition in 1969. In the first New Town, although the streets were laid out and the buildings had to be of a neo-classical design, they were individually designed. For example, the Physician’s Hall in Queen Street ignored the floor levels of its neighbours. The second New Town introduced curved terraces, such as Abercromby Place and the Royal Crescent. Each block was treated as a single architectural composition rather than a terrace of individual houses. Inside, however, most buildings were divided into tenements. The third New Town was laid out on the Earl of Moray’s land by James Gillespie Graham from 1822, for the elite, who felt continuously expelled from their homes by the ‘trading classes’. The roads linked a polygon, a crescent and an oval, creating one of the longest continual terraces in Europe. Charlotte Square is a set piece of 1791 by Robert Adam and others. It includes the Georgian House, property of the National Trust for Scotland, and Bute House, home of the First Minister. Back along George Street, the individual designs of houses in the first New Town are evident, emphasised now by commercial use.While many properties retain sumptuous interiors (Jigsaw and Paperchase, for example), there has been conflict over shopfronts (such as Fat Face’s).There are plans to pedestrianise one side of the street to enhance the café culture here. Julia Foster Sir Walter Scott and Scott-land Born in Edinburgh in 1771, SirWalter Scott was sent to live with his grandparents in the Scottish borders due to a childhood illness. He returned to Edinburgh and finally became an advocate but had fallen in love with the border counties and their oral tradition. He was eventually appointed as sheriff-depute of Selkirkshire, and his new home provided a wealth of inspiration for his famous poetry and novels. During our tour we were guided through some of the central places in Scott’s life by Mark Douglas, principal officer (heritage and design) and Andy Millar, built and natural heritage manager, both of the Scottish Borders Council. Our first stop was at Abbotsford, on the banks of the River Tweed. Scott purchased a farmhouse on this site in 1811, which he extended before knocking down the original house to create the castle-like building that can be seen today. The house is fascinating for its baronial style, but perhaps more excitingly for the enormous and varied collections that Scott gathered throughout his lifetime. The gardens are scattered with fragments of Roman art and architecture. The house includes curios such as a copy of Robert the Bruce’s skull, panelling from a bed in Jedburgh (in which Mary Queen of Scots slept) and a funeral urn containing bones from Athens, dug up in 1811 and given to Scott by Lord Byron. Mark Douglas and delegates sheltering from the rain at the Haining on the outskirts of Selkirk (Photo: Jonathan Taylor)
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