The New Town is a central part of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages from 1767 to about 1850 and still has much of its original neo-classical and Georgian architecture. Its most famous street is Princes Street, which faces Edinburgh Castle and the Old Town across the geological depression of the former Nor Loch. The New Town Gardens were given a heritage designation in 2001. In 1995, the combined areas of the New Town, Old Town, and West End were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Proposal and planning
The idea of creating a New Town was first proposed in the late 1600s. At that time, the Duke of Albany and York (later King James VII and II), who was the Royal Commissioner at Holyrood Palace, supported the plan to expand the city’s area to the north and build a North Bridge. He gave the city a grant to help fund the project.
It is possible that, with his support, the New Town might have been built earlier than it was. However, in 1682, the Duke left Edinburgh and became king in 1685. He lost his throne in 1688.
The decision to build the New Town was made by the city leaders after overcrowding in the Old Town became a serious problem. Many wealthy people were leaving Edinburgh for London. During the Age of Enlightenment, Edinburgh was changing, and the old city’s design no longer met the needs of professionals and merchants. Lord Provost George Drummond helped expand the city’s boundaries to include the fields north of the Nor Loch, a polluted lake in a valley just north of the city. A plan to drain the lake was started, but it was not finished until 1817. New paths were built to reach the land, including the North Bridge in 1772 and the Earthen Mound, which was created from dirt removed during construction. The Mound, as it is now called, reached its current size in the 1830s.
As the New Town developed, wealthier middle and upper-class families moved from the crowded Old Town into new, grand homes in the New Town. However, working-class and poor residents remained in the Old Town.
The First New Town
In January 1766, a competition was held to create a modern layout for a new suburb. James Craig, a 26-year-old designer, won the competition. He planned a simple grid pattern, with a main road running along a ridge to connect two garden squares. Two other main roads were built downhill to the north and south, with two smaller streets between them. Several smaller streets near the main roads provided space for stables to serve the large homes. Three additional streets running north to south completed the grid.
Craig’s original plan is no longer available, but it may be shown on a map made by John Laurie in 1766. This map displays a diagonal layout with a central square. The square’s design reflected the Union Flag, symbolizing the unity of Scotland and England. Both Princes Street and Queen Street were shown as two-sided streets. A simpler version of the plan used street names and public spaces that honored the king, queen, and important figures.
The main street was named George Street after King George III. Queen Street was to the north, named after the king’s wife, and St. Giles Street was to the south, named after the city’s patron saint. St. Andrew Square and St. George’s Square were chosen to represent the union of Scotland and England. Smaller streets, such as Thistle Street (for Scotland’s emblem) and Rose Street (for England’s emblem), were added.
King George III disliked the name St. Giles Street because it was associated with a slum area. It was renamed Princes Street after his son, the Prince of Wales. St. George’s Square was changed to Charlotte Square to avoid confusion with another George Square. Parts of Thistle Street were later renamed Hill Street and Young Street, shortening its length. The three streets completing the grid—Castle, Frederick, and Hanover Streets—were named for the view of the castle, Prince Frederick (the king’s second son), and the House of Hanover.
Craig’s plan faced challenges during construction. At first, the new area was unpopular, so a £20 reward was offered to the first builder. John Young built Thistle Court, the oldest surviving buildings in the New Town, in 1767. Instead of building a row of homes as planned, he created a small courtyard. Construction later continued with St. Andrew Square.
Craig had planned for two large churches at the ends of George Street. One church was built at Charlotte Square, but the land for the church at St. Andrew Square was owned by Sir Lawrence Dundas. He built a mansion there, designed by Sir William Chambers, which became Dundas House. The building was completed in 1774 and is now the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland. A monument to John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun, occupies the site where the church was meant to be. St. Andrew’s Church was eventually built on George Street. A monument to Henry Dundas in 1823 helped complete the view along the street.
By 1820, the first New Town was mostly finished, with Charlotte Square completed. Designed by Robert Adam, this area was the only part of the New Town with a unified architectural style. Adam also designed St. George’s Church, but the final design was completed by Robert Reid. The building now houses part of the National Archives of Scotland. Bute House, located on the north side of Charlotte Square, was once the official residence of the Secretary of State for Scotland and is now the home of the First Minister of Scotland.
Some areas remained undeveloped for many years. In 1885, an open garden on Queen Street became the site of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. A dispute over land ownership delayed development near Charlotte Square until 1990. The western end of Queen Street near Charlotte Square has never been built on.
The New Town was originally planned as a residential area with some professional offices. Few shops were planned at first, but commercial buildings soon appeared on Princes Street. By the 19th century, most homes on Princes Street were replaced with larger stores. Some redevelopment continues today, though many buildings from the late 18th century remain on Queen Street, Thistle Street, and other major streets.
Many early residents of the New Town were wealthy Scottish individuals, such as James Lindsay, 24th Earl of Crawford, and Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville. These individuals were involved in the slave trade or owned plantations in the American colonies. Jamaican-born historian Sir Geoff Palmer noted, “Our glorious New Town, seen by many as the physical embodiment of the Scottish Enlightenment, was, sadly, partly funded by the enormous profits derived from the enslavement of Africans.”
Northern, or Second, New Town and extensions
After 1800, the success of the first New Town inspired larger plans. The 'Northern New Town,' now known as the Second New Town, was designed to expand Edinburgh from the north of Queen Street Gardens toward the Water of Leith, with additions to the east and west. Most of these developments happened between 1800 and 1830. William Sibbald first planned the area, following the same grid layout as Craig’s First New Town, with entire streets built as single structures. Construction continued along Hanover Street, later renamed Dundas Street, and extended beyond Great King Street to Pitt Street (renamed Dundas Street in the 1960s), reaching nearly 1 km north toward the Water of Leith at Canonmills, where Bellevue Crescent marked the northernmost point of the project. Streets were built on both sides of Great King Street, which was the central avenue ending at Drummond Place to the east and Royal Circus to the west. Northumberland Street and Cumberland Street were smaller streets to the south and north, respectively. Heriot Row and Abercromby Place, both one-sided streets at the southern edge of the development, faced open views of Queen Street Gardens. George Winton was the main builder for large parts of the Second New Town.
Much of the Second New Town, built in the early 1800s, remains unchanged. Townhouses were typically built along east-west streets, while blocks of flats (called tenements in Scotland) lined the north-south streets. Shops were originally limited to the lower floors of the wider north-south streets. Larger homes had service buildings, called mews, built behind and parallel to their terraces.
The Picardy Place extension, including Broughton Street, Union Street, and East London Street, was mostly completed by 1809. To the west of the original New Town, Shandwick Place—extending Princes Street—began in 1805. Development of Melville Street and the area north of Shandwick Place started in 1825. The Gayfield Estate (Gayfield Square) was planned in 1807, and by around 1813, the New Town gradually replaced the older village of Stockbridge. The painter Henry Raeburn purchased the Deanhough estate in the northwest of the New Town and began development in 1813, naming Ann Street after his wife.
In 1822, the Earl of Moray commissioned James Gillespie Graham to develop his Drumsheugh estate between Charlotte Square and the Water of Leith. This area became popular with Scottish nobles and wealthy lawyers. Most of the estate was finished by 1835, though some corner buildings were added later in the 1850s. The estate is now called the Moray Estate and remains one of Edinburgh’s wealthiest and most exclusive neighborhoods. Gillespie Graham continued expanding the New Town westward into Lord Alva’s estate, creating the West End Village.
Eastern, or Third, New Town
To extend the New Town eastwards, the Lord Provost, Sir John Marjoribanks, worked to build the Regent Bridge. It was completed in 1819. The bridge crossed a deep valley with narrow, inconvenient streets and made it easier and more pleasant to reach Calton Hill from Princes Street.
Before the bridge was built, Edinburgh Town Council began planning the Eastern New Town. This area would stretch from the slopes of Calton Hill northward to Leith, between Leith Walk and Easter Road. In 1811, the Lord Provost made an agreement with major landowners. Initial surveys were conducted, and a competition was held for architectural plans in January 1813. The results were unclear, so several well-known architects were asked for their opinions, including William Stark, James Gillespie, Robert Burn and his son William Burn, John Paterson, Robert Reid, and others.
Stark’s observations were especially valued. He expanded them in a report titled "Report to the Lord Provost, Magistrates and Council of Edinburgh on the Plans for Laying out the Grounds for Buildings between Edinburgh and Leith." Stark died on 9 October 1813, and his report was published after his death in 1814.
The commissioners turned to Stark’s student, William Henry Playfair. He was appointed in February 1818 and created a plan in April 1819 that closely followed Stark’s recommendations. Playfair’s designs aimed to create a New Town even more impressive than Craig’s.
Regent Terrace, Carlton Terrace, and Royal Terrace on Calton Hill were built, along with Hillside Crescent and nearby streets. However, development further north toward Leith was never completed. On the south side of Calton Hill, several monuments were built, including the Royal High School, designed in the Greek revival style by Thomas Hamilton.
Other additions
In the 1820s, some small projects began in Canonmills, but none were finished at that time. For many years, the tannery at Silvermills stopped development in the nearby area. Starting in the 1830s, progress slowed, but after Thomas Telford completed Dean Bridge in 1831, the Dean Estate saw some new buildings. These included the Dean Orphanage (now called the Dean Gallery), Daniel Stewart's College, streets to the northeast of Queensferry Street (built in the 1850s), Buckingham Terrace (built in 1860), and Learmonth Terrace (built in 1873).
During the 19th century, Edinburgh's second railway, the Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway, built a tunnel under the New Town to connect Scotland Street with Canal Street (later becoming part of Waverley Station). After the railway closed, the tunnel was used for growing mushrooms and later served as an air raid shelter during World War 2.
Principal losses
In the 1960s, there was a plan to build an elevated walkway along Princes Street. This plan included demolishing the entire street. The plan was not popular, but before it was stopped in 1982, seven buildings were removed. The old Boots building at 102 Princes Street, which had statues of William Wallace, Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert the Bruce, was demolished in 1965. The North British & Mercantile Insurance Company building at number 64 was also removed. The New Club, originally designed by William Burn and later expanded by David Bryce, and the nearby Life Association of Scotland building, designed by David Rhind and Sir Charles Barry, were also demolished.
Some streets in the St James Square area were demolished in the 1960s to make space for the St James Shopping Centre and offices for the Scottish Office. This area, mostly made up of tenement buildings, had a population of about 3,763 people. It was largely demolished because it was considered a slum, with only 61 of 1,100 homes fit for living. Most of Jamaica Street at the west end of the Second New Town was also demolished for the same reason.
Bellevue House, designed by Robert Adam, was built in 1775 in what is now Drummond Place Gardens. This building was constructed before the New Town expanded into the area. Great King Street and London Street in the Northern or Second New Town were aligned with this building. However, Bellevue House was demolished in the 1840s because of the construction of the Scotland Street railway tunnel below it.
Culture
The New Town is home to the National Gallery of Scotland and the Royal Scottish Academy Building, both designed by Playfair and located next to each other on The Mound. The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is on Queen Street. Other important buildings include the Assembly Rooms on George Street, the Balmoral Hotel (previously known as the North British Hotel, named after a railway company), which has a famous clock tower above Waverley Station, and the Scott Monument.
The Cockburn Association (Edinburgh Civic Trust) works to protect the original look and structure of the New Town's buildings.
Shopping
The New Town in Edinburgh includes the city's main shopping areas. Princes Street has many chain stores, and once included Jenners department store, which was a well-known Edinburgh business. George Street, which used to be the financial center, now has many modern bars located in former bank buildings. Multrees Walk on St. Andrew Square is home to Harvey Nichols and other designer stores. The St. James Centre, located at the eastern end of the New Town, was an indoor shopping mall completed in 1970. It was often seen as an unwelcome addition to the New Town's architecture and included a large John Lewis store. The St. James Centre (excluding John Lewis) closed on Sunday, 16 October 2016, was later demolished, and the area was redeveloped. It reopened in 2021 as the St James Quarter. Near Waverley Station is Waverley Market, which includes many high street stores such as Game, Costa, McDonald's, Sainsbury's, KFC, Subway, Superdry, and Greggs.