Calton Hill (archaically spelt Caltoun Hill[1]) is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, just to the east of the New Town. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the city.
Calton Hill is the headquarters of the Scottish Government, which is based at St Andrew's House,[2] on the steep southern slope of the hill; with the Scottish Parliament Building, and other key buildings, for example Holyrood Palace,[3] lying near the foot of the hill. The hill also includes several iconic monuments and buildings: the National Monument,[3] Nelson's Monument,[3][4] the Dugald Stewart Monument,[3][4] the New Parliament House (the Royal High School[3][4]), the Robert Burns Monument,[3] the Political Martyrs' Monument and the City Observatory.[4][5]
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The name Calton is sometimes said to mean "cold town", though this is probably inaccurate. A small settlement on the hill appears as Caldtoun in the records of South Leith Parish Church in 1591 and this spelling, or Coldtoun, remained general until about 1700 [6]. By analogy with other occurrences of the name, it is however more logically related to the Gaelic "choille-dun" (forested hill) or "cauldh-dun" (black hill). Given the hill's black basalt structure the latter seems more likely.
For a number of years, while the Royal High School was earmarked for the site of the future Scottish Assembly, and subsequently as a potential site for the Scottish Parliament, Calton Hill was the location of a permanent vigil for Scottish devolution. However, Donald Dewar, then Secretary of State for Scotland, considered the site a "nationalist shibboleth", and the nearby St Andrew's House buildings (which at that time were the base of the Secretary of State for Scotland and the former Scottish Office) to look "Nazi" like "Dresden" (sic). It was also the venue in October 2004 for the Declaration of Calton Hill which outlined the demands for a future Scottish republic.
The hill was used from ancient times as a place of execution. Most famously Major Weir the self-confessed Edinburgh warlock, was executed here. The hill was originally part of the Barony of Calton which was abolished in 1856.[5] King James II of Scotland allowed the residents of Edinburgh to use the North West slope of the hill for "tilts and tournaments"in 1456.[2] This natural amphitheatre was also used for open-air theatre and saw a performance of the early Scots play "The Three Estaites". The Carmelite friars (based locally at South Queensferry) built a monastery on the western side of the hill in 1518[4]
The lands passed from the church to Lord Balmerino after the Scottish Reformation in 1560. Later in the 16th century, a leper hospital was built.[5] In 1631 Lord Balmerino granted rights to the Trades of Calton (largely a group of shoemakers) to settle on the land and a small village was created centred on a square of open space. This square was walled off in 1718 and became officially a burial ground, evolving into what is now known as Old Calton Cemetery.
In 1669 the area was given burgh status. The royal burgh of Edinburgh bought the hill from Lord Balmerino in 1724.[5] The area was elevated to the status of royal burgh in its own right immediately thereafter (1725). It did not officially become amalgamated with the city of Edinburgh until 1859.
Originally home to the notorious Calton Gaol,[3][4] until replaced by Saughton Prison, and to its partner debtor's prison, the Brideswell or Bridewell, all that remains now is the Baronial style Governors House, designed as part of the Brideswell complex by Robert Adam.[2] The bulk of the two prisons was demolished to create St. Andrew's House, home to Scotland's senior civil servants. The lower walls of the Brideswell prison are still visible on the south side of St Andrew's House, above Calton Road.
The Old Calton Burial Ground lies on the South Eastern side of Calton Hill.[4][5] The philosopher David Hume is buried there.[2][4] Hume wrote his own epitaph: "Born 1711, Died [----]. Leaving it to posterity to add the rest." It is engraved with the year of his death, 1776, on the "simple Roman tomb" (a relatively large monument) which he prescribed, and which stands, as he wished it, overlooking his home at No.1 St David Street, in the New Town. The Political Martyrs' Monument is also in the burial ground.[5] This is in memory of five admirers of the French Revolution who were convicted of sedition and sent in 1793 to Botany Bay, Australia.[2][4]
The renowned Scottish architect William Henry Playfair was responsible for the elegant thoroughfare that encircles the hill on three sides. Comprising Royal Terrace, Carlton Terrace and Regent Terrace,[2] the largest of the townhouses can be found on Royal Terrace. Playfair's plan is dated 1819 and the first house was built at what is now 40 Royal Terrace.[5] The Pleasure gardens that cover over one half of the summit of the hill are privately administered by the local Residents Association.[5]
The combined terraces are home to a number of hotels,[7] international institutes and, on Regent Terrace, the United States Consulate.[5] Royal Terrace with its fine views over the Firth of Forth was known affectionately in the 19th-century as Whisky Row. This is said to be a reference to the amount of Spirit merchants, who bought the new properties, and for their supposed abilities to see their ships return from trading trips.[2] Another explanation is that it was so named because of the large number of wine merchants who used to live there.[5] Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême (the elder son of Charles X of France, last of the Bourbon kings) and his wife Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte, (the daughter of Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette), moved into what is now 22 (then 21) Regent Terrace in 1830.[5] Caroline Ferdinande Louise the Duchesse de Berri, sister in law of the Duc d'Angoulême, also lived at what is now 12 (then 11) Regent Terrace at that time.[8] Her young son, Henri, the Comte de Chambord, is said to have wept bitterly when his family left for Austria in 1932 as he had become very attached to Scotland.[5] The painter Francis Cadell one of the Scottish Colourists lived in 30 Regent Terrace from 1930-1935.[5][9] The Western end of Regent Terrace was closed in 2001 to traffic because of security concerns about the United States Consulate.[10] The City of Edinburgh Council proposed closing the Royal Terrace/Blenheim Place entrance to the Calton Hill Terraces in 2010 because of the Edinburgh Trams Project.[11][12]
Playfair was responsible for many of the monumental structures on the summit of the hill most notably the Scottish National Monument.[5] This monument was intended to be another Parthenon and to commemorate Scottish Soldiers killed in the Napoleonic wars. Construction started in 1826 but work was stopped in 1829 when the building was only partially built due to lack of money. It has never been completed.[2][4] For many years this failure to complete led to its being nicknamed "Scotland's Disgrace" but this name has waned given the time elapsed since the Napoleonic Wars and it is now accepted for what it is.
The eastern end of the ornate Regent Bridge is built into the side of the hill, crossing a deep gorge (at the bottom of which the opening scene from Trainspotting was shot) to connect the hill with Princes Street, now Edinburgh's main shopping street. The engineer in charge of building Regent Bridge in 1815 was Robert Stevenson, grandfather of the author Robert Louis Stevenson.[5]
On the West side of Calton Hill is the street named Calton Hill. Agnes Maclehose, better known as Robert Burns' Clarinda, lived at number 14[13] and died there in 1841. Burns, Scotlands national poet, sent Clarinda many verses over several years in unsuccessful (it is believed) attempts to seduce this beautiful married lady.[5]
Calton Hill is the venue for a number of events throughout the year. The largest of these is the Beltane Fire Festival held on April 30 each year, attended by over 12,000 people. This is a revival of the ancient Celtic May Day festival of Beltane that was held on Calton Hill.[14] The Dussehra Hindu Festival also takes place on Calton Hill near the beginning of October each year.[15]