Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/889

Rh EDINBURGH. 879 EDINBURGH. and the stool which Janet Gedd.es hurled at the Bishop of Edinburgh, whilst preaching in St. Giles's church. In August, 1860, an Act was passed to confer powers on the Public Works Commissioners to acquire certain property in Edinburgh for an industrial museum for md, the laying the foundation-stone of which was one of the last public acts of the lato Prince Consort. Besides the above, there are numerous other public edifices of less pretension, as the old mint, in Gray's-close ; the bailie court, with the council chamber and city offices, in the Royal Kxchange- buildings ; the stock exchange, erected in 1845; the Chamber of Commerce, established in 1786; the Mer- chants' Company, founded in 1081 ; the new police building's, erected in 1849 ; the curious old structure called the C.mongate, or Debtors' Tolbooth; and the old Linen Hall, once Earl Murray's house. Scarcely or in extent, and certainly not in architec- tural display, are some of the numerous banking establishments and insurance offices. The elegant office of the Union Bank is situated in Parliament- square ; the still more pretentious office of the Bank of Scotland, at the S. end of the Mound, facing High-street, with a back front towards the New Town. This building is surmounted by a dome, and was erected at the cost of 75,000. The Edinburgh and Glasgow Bank is a hand- soinu Grecian edifice at the E. corner of George-street. The Commercial Bank, situated on the S. side of George- street, occupies the site of the former Physicians' Hall. It was erected in 1847, after designs by David Rhind, at tlie cost of 60,000. Its facade is 95 feet in length, and exhibits the finest portico in the city, consisting of six iluted Corinthian pillars 35 feet high. The office of the Scottish Widows' Fund, formerly that of the Western Bank-, is situated on the W. side of St. Andrew' s-square. It was erected in 18-18 in the Italian style. The British Linen Company Bank, erected in 1852, occupies an admirable site on the E. side of the square, and has a Corinthian facade 60 feet in height. Its interior is arranged with almost regal splendour, the telling-room being 74 feet by 69, lit from the top by a cupola 30 feet in diameter. In the same square are the National and Royal Banks, both spacious buildings. Besides these private establishments, there are several savings-banks, and about fourteen insurance companies, the principal of which are the Friendly Insurance office, established in 1720 ; the Caledonian (fire) ; Hercules (fire) ; North British (fire) ; Edinburgh (life) ; Scottish Union (sea assurance) ; Forth Assurance ; Insurance Company of Scotland ; and Scottish Clergy Widows' Fund, founded by Dr. Webster in 1742 ; Scottish Equitable (life); and branches of most English offices. The friendly societies, as ministers' widows, sons and daughters of the clergy, medical men, school-masters, booksellers, &c., arc too numerous to individualise. The water companies of Edinburgh date as far back as 1674, when the first reservoir was constructed on the N.K. verge of the castle esplanade, to retain the water brought in pipes from Comiston on the acclivities of the Pentland hills. This was only 5 feet deep, 40 long, by 30 broad, but was considered one of the wonders of Edinburgh, and served to supply the city till 1849, when, the supply of water proving inadequate, its capacity was enlarged to 30 feet deep, 110 long, by 90 broad, con- taining about 297,000 cubic feet of water, a consider- able proportion of which was brought from Crawley, 9 miles from Edinburgh, at the expense of above 200,000. Two other reservoirs were also subsequently formed, one in the green of Heriot's Hospital, the other in the shot- yard of the castle. This latter, constructed in 1850, is designed to supply the garrison of the castle and the house:- in the upper part of High-street, which occupy a higher level than the original reservoir. The total supply of the city is now above 522 cubic feet per minute, with an additional supply of 126 cubic feet of burn water. The premises of the Edinburgh Gas-light company, formed in 1817, occupy a large space in Canongate, and at the S. foot of Calton Hill, where the furnace is situated, the chimney of which rises above 340 feet from the ground. A new company was formed in 1839 called the Edinburgh and Leith Gas company, and has its works at Leith. The new abbatoirs, opened in 1852, are situ- ated at the south-western extremity of the city, near Fountain bridge, and extend over an area of 4 acres, approached by a grand Egyptian facade. Rivalling tho civil edifices in number, if not in architectural display, are the ecclesiastical structures, including churches, chapels, and places of worship belonging- to the various religious denominations, viz. the Church of Scotland, Free Church of Scotland, United Presbyterian Synod, Synod of United Original Seceders, Reformed Presby- terian Church, Scottish Episcopal Church, Episcopal chapels, Baptist, Congregationalist, Evangelical Union, Wesleyan Methodist, Wesleyan Reformers, Roman Catholic, Glassite, Catholic Apostolic Church, Society of Friends, Unitarian, Jew's synagogue, Latter-day Saints, and New Jerusalemites. Edinburgh is divided into 15 parishes, viz. the Tolbooth, High Church, Trinity College, Old Church, Tron Church, New North, St. John's, Wester or New Grey friars', Easter or Old Grey friars', and Lady Yester, within the ancient royalty ; and St. Andrew's, St. George's, St. Mary's, St. Stephen's, and Greenside, within the extended royalty. The stipends of the ministers of these several parishes are fixed at 600 each, and the seat-rents go to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. Five of these churches are collegiate, or have two ministers each. St. Giles's stands on the N. side of Parliament- square. It is an ancient cruciform building 206 feet long by 110 broad, built before 1359 on the site of a still more ancient structure erected by one of the Northum- brian kings in 854. It was made collegiate in 1446, and had thirty-six altars dedicated to the Virgin and different saints. After the Reformation it was parti- tioned into four churches, and in 1633 was made the cathedral of the brief bishopric of Edinburgh. In 1830 it underwent an entire renovation, under the direction of Mr. Burn, and is now divided into three parts for the parishes of High Church, Old Church, and New North Church, the first being attended by all the civic func- tionaries in their robes of office, which circumstance causes it to be regarded as tho metropolitan church o Scotland, though exercising no ecclesiastical superiority. Near the middle of the S. side are the tombs of the Regent Moray and of the great Marquis of Montrose ; and under a window near the N.E. corner is the monu- ment of Napier of Merchistoun, the inventor of loga- rithms. It also contains a handsome monument by Steele, erected in 1845 to the memory of 600 of tho 78th Highlanders who died by disease in India. Tho Victoria Hall is a modern structure, erected in 1844 after designs by GUlespie Graham. It is situated on high ground at the junction of Castle Hill, and the new western approach, and serves for tho meeting-ball of the General Assembly, consisting of the 370 divines, which meets in May, under the presidency of the queen's lord high commissioner. Trinity College church, at the foot of Leith-wynd, was founded in 1462 by Mary of Gueldres, but was taken down in 1848, being in the way of the works of the North British railway. On the site of the Greyfriars' monastery, near the S. end of George IV.'s bridge, stand the Old and New Greyfriars' churches, recently rebuilt after having been consumed by fire in 1845. In the burial-ground are the tombs of George Buchanan, Henderson, the composer of the Assembly's Catechism, Sir G. Mackenzie, A. Ramsay, Dr. Black, R. Adams, the architect, Robertson, Blair, and other eminent men. Canongate church, built in 1688, has neither tower nor spire, but on the pinnacle of the gable a horned deer's head, surmounted by a cross, alluding to the legend of David I. and the miraculous cross. It contains the tombs of Ferguson the poet, Adam Smith, and Dugald Stewart. The Tron church, so named from an ancient weighing beam which stood near its site, is situated at the N. end of South Bridge- street. It is an ancient structure, with a spire added by Dicksons in 1828. The Gaelic church, formerly a chapel- of-ease, was erected into a quoad sacra parish in 1850.