Charlotte Square is agarden square inEdinburgh, Scotland, part of theNew Town, designated a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site. The square is located at the west end ofGeorge Street and was intended to mirrorSt. Andrew Square in the east. The gardens, one of the collection ofNew Town Gardens, are private and not publicly accessible.
Initially named St. George's Square inJames Craig's original plan, it was renamed in 1786 afterKing George III'sQueen andfirst daughter, to avoid confusion withGeorge Square to the south of theOld Town. Charlotte Square was the last part of the initial phase of the New Town to be "completed" in 1820 (note- the north-west section at Glenfinlas Street was not completed until 1990 due to a long-running boundary dispute). Much of it was to the 1791 design ofRobert Adam, who died in 1792, just as building began.
In 1939 a very sizable air-raid shelter was created under the south side of the gardens, accessed from the street to the south.
In 2013 the south side was redeveloped in an award-winning scheme by Paul Quinn, creating major new office floorspace behind a restored series of townhouses.
Edinburgh Collegiate School was located in Charlotte Square.[1]
The garden was originally laid out as a level circular form by William Weir in 1808.[2]
In 1861 a plan was drawn up byRobert Matheson, Clerk of Works for Scotland for a larger, more square garden, centred upon a memorial to the recently deceasedPrince Albert, the consort ofQueen Victoria.
The commission for the sculpture was granted in 1865 to SirJohn Steell. The main statue features an equestrian statue of the prince, in field marshal's uniform, dwarfing the four figures around the base. It was unveiled by Queen Victoria herself in 1876.[3] The stone plinth was designed by the architectDavid Bryce and the four corner figures are byDavid Watson Stevenson (Science and Learning/Labour),George Clark Stanton (Army and Navy) andWilliam Brodie (Nobility).[4] The statue was originally intended to go in the centre of the eastern edge of the garden, facing down George Street.[5]
This remodelling featured major new tree-planting which took many years to re-establish.
The central open space is a private garden, available to owners of the surrounding properties. For the last three weeks in August each year Charlotte Square gardens are the site of theEdinburgh International Book Festival.
The railings around the gardens were removed in 1940 as part of the war effort. The current railings date from 1947. Changes to street levels, contours and surfacing to accommodate modern traffic caused controversy in the late 1950s and early '60s.[6]
On the north side, No. 5 was the home ofJohn Crichton-Stuart, 4th Marquess of Bute (1881–1947), who bought it in 1903 and gave it to theNational Trust for Scotland on his death. It was the Trust headquarters from 1949 to 2000. Bute did much to promote the preservation of the square.
Nos. 6 and 7 are also owned by the National Trust for Scotland. No.6,Bute House is the official residence of theFirst Minister of Scotland. In 1806 it was home toSir John Sinclair creator of the firstStatistical Account of Scotland. No. 7 was internally restored by the Trust in 1975 to its original state, and is open to the public asThe Georgian House.[7] The upper floor was formerly the official residence of theModerator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The building includes one fireplace brought fromHill of Tarvit in Fife in 1975.
West Register House, formerly St. George's Church, forms the centre of the west side. It was designed by the architectRobert Reid in 1811, broadly to Adam's plan. The church opened in 1814 and was converted to its current use in 1964. It is one of the main buildings of theNational Records of Scotland
From the very inception of Charlotte Square in 1791, it was anticipated it would be one of the top addresses in Edinburgh.[8] As the Victorian era commenced, the square was increasingly occupied by the elite of the middle class: legal and medical professionals. This is reflected in the notable residents listed below. As the 20th century began most buildings were still occupied as residential addresses, although more are offices, solely occupied by guardians.[9]
| Side | Number | Resident |
|---|---|---|
| North | 4 | SirAlexander Hugh Freeland Barbour lived at no.4 (previously occupied by Rev Dr David AitkenFRSE) |
| 4 | "Rev Dr David Aitken" FRSE | |
| 5 | Sir James Fergusson, 4th baronet (1765-1838) lived at no.5[10] | |
| 5 | Robert NasmythFRSE, dentist toQueen Victoria (1792-1870) | |
| 6Bute House, Official Residence of theFirst Minister of Scotland | Sir Mitchell Mitchell-Thomson, 1st Baronet[11] | |
| Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet[12] | ||
| Catherine Sinclair, novelist | ||
| 7,The Georgian House | Charles Neaves, Lord Neaves | |
| RevAlexander Whyte, Minister of St. George's West Free Church in Shandwick Place was resident in 1901[13] | ||
| 8 | Thomas R Ronaldson, General Practitioner, was resident in 1901, together with his sonThomas Martine Ronaldson, artist | |
| 9 | Patrick Robertson, Lord Robertson[14] | |
| James Syme, Surgeon | ||
| Joseph Lister, Son-in-law of James Syme | ||
| SirDouglas Archibald Seton-Steuart, 5th and final Seton-Steuart baronet was resident in 1901 | ||
| 10 | James Begbie, Surgeon | |
| 11 | Aeneas MacBean WS | |
| West | 12 | James Joseph Hope-Vere[15] Member of Parliament for Linlithgowshire, 1743-68[16] |
| James Morton Robertson wine Merchant was resident in 1901 | ||
| 13 | Sir William Fettes, Scottish Businessman whose bequest led to the foundation ofFettes College | |
| George Hunter MacThomas Thoms, Advocate, Sheriff, eccentric, and posthumous benefactor ofSt Magnus Cathedral.[17] | ||
| Francis Mitchell Caird, President of theRoyal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh[18] | ||
| 14 | Lord Cockburn,Whig lawyer, historian and conservationist and afterwardsGeorbge Moir | |
| 15 | Charles Alfred Cooper, editor ofThe Scotsman | |
| 16 | Patrick Heron Watson, surgeon and pioneer of anaesthetic development and modern dentistry was resident in 1901 | |
| 17 | Viscount Haldane was born at No.17. | |
| 17 | James Wolfe Murray, Lord Cringletie in the 1830s | |
| 19 | Lord Torphichen | |
| Thomas Grainger Stewart, president of the Royal College of Physicians. His widow was present in 1901. | ||
| 20 | ProfJohn Batty Tuke thenJohn Clarence Webster | |
| 22 | James Ritchie | |
| South | 24 | The birthplace ofField Marshal Earl Haig |
| 25 | Adam Duff, Sheriff ofMidlothian[19] | |
| SirJohn Halliday CroomFRSE[20] | ||
| 26 | ProfJohn Chiene, Professor of Surgery at Edinburgh University | |
| 27 | Sir Alexander Gibson-Maitland of Cliftonhall | |
| 28 | David Boyle, Lord Boyle | |
| 29 | DrDavid Berry Hart | |
| 30 | DrJames Matthews Duncan then ProfWilliam Rutherford Sanders | |
| 31 | William Adam of Blair Adam thenThomas Annandale | |
| East | 33 | Sir Alexander C Gibson-Maitland of Clifton Hall[21] |
| 34 | Archibald Campbell Swinton Professor of Civil Law atEdinburgh University and his sonAlan Archibald Campbell-Swinton television pioneer | |
| 35 | William Allan Jamieson President of theRoyal College of Physicians of Edinburgh lived and died at 35 | |
| 38 | Sir William Cunningham Dalyell, an officer in the British Royal Navy who served in the French Revolutionary Wars lived at 38 in the 1830s[22] It was then purchased byJohn Learmonth. | |
| 40 | Home of the Juridical Society[23] | |
| 44 | Robert Reid redesigned no.44 internally, as his own home. | |
| 45 | SirRobert William Philip, pioneer in the treatment of tuberculosis[24] was resident from 1898 until his death in 1938, but absent in 1901. Prior to this it had been the home of DrJames Macadam HareFRSE HEICS |
Pioneer of the telephone,Alexander Graham Bell, was born in nearby South Charlotte Street.
55°57′06″N3°12′28″W / 55.951776°N 3.207657°W /55.951776; -3.207657
