All About Edinburgh
The Mound
Bank Street, North Bank Street
Mound Place, St Giles Street
Edinburgh
The Mound Edinburgh
The Mound in the centre of Edinburgh links the Old Town with the New Town. The Mound was originally the excavations from the building of the New town piled up in the middle of the area that had been Nor Loch. This eventually provided a further access to and from the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh. At the foot of the mound is access to West Princes Street Gardens and opposite can be found the Royal Scottish Academy of Art and slightly further up the mound is the National Gallery of Scotland. On the corner with Market Street stands a statue in memorial to the Black Watch. On mound Place is the New Library which was built in 1846. The Mound then joins North Bank Street and the Bank Street before Joining the Royal Mile.
ROYAL SCOTTISH
ACADEMY OF ART
MOUND EDINBURGH
The oldest and most prestigious academy of contemporary art in Scotland. The Academy is active in the promotion of young artists from Scotland's Colleges of Art and Architecture and takes a lead role in promoting living artists in Scotland. Royal Scottish Academy seen with the entrance from Princes Street.
MOUND PRECINCT
is a Large open air paved space at the foot of the Playfair steps which is used for street performers (jugglers, acrobats fire eaters etc.) during the summer. With its location in the centre of Princes Street it is an ideal place to arrange to meet before touring or visiting the galleries that surround the square. On the left of the picture is the Royal Scottish Academy of Art and at the back, the National Gallery of Scotland.
National Gallery of Scotland
Mound Edinburgh
The National Gallery of Scotland was opened in 1859 on the Mound and is now home to Scotland's greatest collection of European paintings and sculpture from the Renaissance to Post-Impressionism. It also includes a comprehensive collection of the major names in Scottish art.
BLACK WATCH
ON THE MOUND
The 11-foot high bronze statue of a Black Watch soldier commemorates over 200 members of the Regiment who were killed or wounded in the South African War of 1900-02. The Black Watch, the oldest Highland Regiment, was formed by General Wade in 1739 to police the Highlands at a time when many of the clans harboured pro-Jacobite sympathies.
THE ASSEMBLY HALL
(NEW COLLEGE)
MOUND PLACE EDINBURGH
The Assembly Hall was built in 1846 as a Theological college, now the New College and a home for the Church of Scotland in 1929. The General Assembly is held here annually in May. This is also where in 1989 the majority of the Scottish members of parliament signed a document to claim the right for Scotland to have an independent parliament. The Assembly hall was used as a debating hall of the Scottish Parliament for 5 years between 1999 -2004. The Assembly Hall has also been used by the Edinburgh International Festival for many years. The Spire behind the Assembly Hall is The Hub on the Castlehill. In the main courtyard of the New College stands a statue of John Knox the leader of the protestant reformation and founder of the Presbyterian Church. Born in 1514 and died in 1572 his grave is in the car park of St Giles Cathedral.
WRITERS' MUSEUM
LADY STAIR'S PLACE
MOUND ENTRANCE
is in Lady Stair’s House which was built in 1662 in Lady Stair's Close, Lawnmarket, Royal Mile, Edinburgh, (named after Elizabeth Countess Dowager of Stair, a fashion icon of her time). Lady Stair’s House is dedicated to the lives and work of Scotland's great literary figures. Rare collections include early editions, manuscripts, portraits, photographs and personal belongings of Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert L Stevenson. On paving stones and steps up from the mound and down from the Lawnmarket you will find inscriptions and verses.
JAMES STUART BLACKIE
NORTH BANK STREET
EDINBURGH
Look up above the shops on North Bank Street to see the window with the memorial to James Blackie a University of Edinburgh Professor in Greek and German. He left 250, 19th century Greek books to the University Library which are still being used by students today. He was born in Aberdeen and studied in Germany and Italy. He was the inspiration behind the founding of the Celtic chair of the University of Edinburgh.
THE BANK MUSEUM
BANK STREET EDINBURGH
Opened in 2006 telling the story of money. Art & design, technology, crime, trade and security all feature in the story of money. Come in and see for yourself what 1 million pounds looks like. The Bank of Scotland is the second longest surviving bank in the United Kingdom and was established just 1 year after the Bank of England in 1695 by a Scotsman, William Paterson. The Bank of Scotland was founded by John Holland an Englishman.
Dr Robert Philip
Bank Street Edinburgh
The worlds’ first tuberculosis dispensary was opened in Bank Street Edinburgh by Dr Robert Philip in 1887.
Sir (Dr) (Professor) Robert Philip pioneered the management, prevention, detection and treatment of tuberculosis (TB). On the wall in Bank Street a blue Plaque reads "Near this place in 1887, Dr Robert Philip founded a tuberculosis dispensary, the first clinic in the world dedicated to fighting a disease of which he foretold Man's eventual mastery. That vision has brought hope to many lands." Tuberculosis (TB) was the biggest killer in the UK by the middle of the 19th century and due to Sir Robert Philip it has been almost eradicated. Sir Robert Philip died at home in 9 Palmerston Road, in the Grange area of Edinburgh, on the 25th January 1939.
NEWS STEPS
ST GILES STREET
EDINBURGH
The News Steps are next to The Bank of Scotland Building at the end of St Giles Street across from West Parliament Square in the High Street Royal Mile Edinburgh. The steps will take you to the Waverley Bridge and the train Station.
