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Darnaway Street, EDINBURGH, EH3 6BG

A winter view looking down Wemyss Place, at the end of Queen Street Gardens in central Edinburgh.

Even the highly respectable New Town was not spared in Dr Henry Littlejohn's report of 1865 on sanitary conditions in the city. He wrote, "At the time of the building of the new town imperfect notions prevailed as to the internal and external drainage of houses. The domestic use of baths was apparently unknown and the conveniences were few in number and awkwardly placed. The drainage escaped in all directions, infiltrating the neighbouring soil, undermining it everywhere and aiding the operations of those persevering tunnellers, the rats." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Littlejohn_(surgeon_born_1826)

Wemyss House on left

The Moray Estate development, designed by James Gillespie Graham, is where Edinburgh's New Town moves up an architectural gear to achieve a stylish super-grandeur. In trying to attract feuars, Lord Moray was in direct competition with William Playfair's alternative scheme on the Calton Hill; and proved more successful. Playfair's scheme was abandoned after its initial phase. Graham's plan comprised the semi-circular Randolph Crescent, the oval of Ainslie Place and the 12-sided, polygonal Moray Place, with interconnecting streets; the whole being linked to the first and second New Towns. The terrace which runs along the north side of the estate, skirting the Water of Leith, is said to be the longest continuous row of houses of unified design in Europe. "At present a gentleman of the best order in Edinburgh, say a judge of the Court of Session, finds it necessary to have a self-contained house in Moray Place, or some equally splendid district, for which he pays a rent of about L.160 (the very feu duty, perhaps, costing L.35 annually,) and which consists of four flats, containing the following apartments—on the sunk floor, a complete suite of culinary apartments, with accommodation for servants—on second floor, dining-room in front, business-room or library, and a bed-room behind—on third floor, drawing-room occupying the whole front of the house, with two large apartments behind, generally occupied as bed-room and dressing-room, upon occasion, by means of large doorways—fourth flat, a nursery and a number of good bed-rooms, besides which there is perhaps a suite of small rooms immediately under the slates. The furniture of such a house would not cost less than fifteen hundred pounds, but more generally is purchased at the rate of two thousand." -- W. Chambers, Reekiana 1833