Edinburgh City Council Research Articles

Riddle’s Court, Lawnmarket, Edinburgh

Riddle’s Court, a former merchant’s house situated off the Royal Mile, Lawnmarket, Edinburgh, underwent major refurbishment and transformation into the Patrick Geddes Centre for Learning from 2015 to 2017. The results from historical research, building survey and architectural watching briefs are as yet unparalleled, as no other building on the Royal Mile has received the level of historical and archaeological research carried out at Riddle’s Court.
 In the late 16th century much of the Royal Mile was a plethora of mainly stone and timber-framed houses. However, Riddle’s Court was an amalgam of predominantly ashlar and rubble construction with tall thatched roofs with dormer windows. Slate was a later addition in the early 18th century. The interior of the complex was furnished with several turnpike staircases of which only one now survives. During the 17th and 18th centuries Riddle’s Court was bedecked with all the fine trappings of a country mansion house and was occupied by major and minor aristocracy until the late 18th century. The status of the building was further elevated by its earlier royal connections that led to its partial remodelling for ceremonial purposes. A legacy of a lavish royal banquet in honour of King James VI of Scotland (James I of England) and his bride Queen Anne of Denmark was a painted ceiling in the so-called ‘King’s Chamber’ which commemorated their royal union. This ornate and historically significant painted beam and board ceiling was discovered in the 1960s during a period of building renovation by Edinburgh City Council. The ceiling was restored and is a focal point among a large collection of ornate plaster and painted ceilings. Subsequent removal of more modern lined ceilings during the present refurbishment led to the discovery of three more painted beam and board ceilings, and a concealed fireplace and bread oven that are rare survivors within not only the Royal Mile but elsewhere in Scotland. The presence of so much hitherto unrecorded artwork has significantly raised the importance of the Court’s North Block.

Bad History: The Controversy over Henry Dundas and the Historiography of the Abolition of the Slave Trade

How far do individuals determine events and how much agency do they have? In March 2021, Edinburgh City Council approved plans to install a new plaque on the Melville monument in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of which refers to ‘the more than half-a-million Africans whose enslavement was a consequence of Henry Dundas’s actions’. These words on the plaque serve to hold Dundas (later Lord Melville) solely accountable for the consequences of a parliamentary vote taken in the House of Commons in 1792 on the gradual delay of the British slave trade. This article interrogates the historical controversy surrounding Henry Dundas’s role in abolition of the British slave trade with a focus on two main areas. First, it contradicts claims that historians unequivocally agree that Dundas delayed abolition. Second, it explores arguments that Dundas’s mobilisation of Scottish votes and oratorical skills ensured continuation of the slave trade. The article argues that historical realities were much more nuanced and complex in the slave trade abolition debates than a focus on the role and significance of one politician suggests. Edinburgh City Council therefore have the urgent moral duty to remove the plaque. Otherwise, the city faces the grave charge and international opprobrium of falsifying history on a public monument.

The Twisted Arcade: Unconnected Thoughts on Martin Creed’s Work No. 1059

This paper presents a public commission by artist Martin Creed through an experimental essay form that replicates the structural features of the artwork itself. Creed’s work is entitled Work No. 1059 (Creed has been numbering his artworks sequentially since 1986) and consists of a flight of 104 steps that join two streets in Edinburgh, part of a refurbishment project by Edinburgh City Council and Edinburgh World Heritage. In this essay “walks” from the lowest point on Market Street to the uppermost level on North Bridge, naming as it goes each of the different marble steps sourced from twenty-seven countries. The steps had previously fallen into disuse, and were eventually closed. In 2011, they were reopened as an artwork and a public right of way: The Scotsman Steps. They are encased within an octagonal, turreted stone tower, originally part of The Scotsman Newspaper building. The whole forms part of a Category A-listed structure built in 1899 by architects James Dunn and James Finlay. Commissioning Creed’s Work No. 1059 was at the instigation of The Fruitmarket Gallery, which lies near the bottom entrance to the steps.

Planning for the community? The early experiences of the implementation of Edinburgh City Council’s Community Plan

Labour governments from 1997 to 2010 sought to promote joined-up thinking with the goal of ultimately improving governance and service delivery. It is within this context that this article analyses the emergence of New Labour’s Community Planning agenda in Scotland during the period 2003–2004. More specifically it focuses upon the early stages of the implementation of Edinburgh City Council’s Community Plan. An examination of the policy background to Community Planning is undertaken, presenting the key impacts of Labour’s modernisation agenda on local governance and democracy. Through the analysis of the implementation of Edinburgh City Council’s Community Plan, this article considers the extent to which the Community Planning agenda practically impacted upon public participation. It concludes by arguing that the South Edinburgh pilot demonstrated that some services can be delivered more efficiently and effectively, specifically those which are more responsive to local residents’ views and needs. This research argues that the implementation of Edinburgh’s Community Plan generated a new dynamism in local politics if only for a short period of time, most notably in local community willingness to engage with key issues which affected them. This approach resulted in tangible improvements within the public realm. There were also opportunities to use community plans to reinvigorate and restructure local governance in new and more democratically accountable ways. The case study also indicated some of the tensions and opportunities contained within the Labour Government’s modernisation agenda.

On contradictory regulations

British Standard 8213-1: 2004 provides design recommendations for windows, door-height windows and rooflights, based upon a detailed assessment of the risk of accident encountered in their use and cleaning. Conservation Area guidance in Edinburgh's New Town sees windows instead as part of the special character of the place. The contradictions between BS 8213-1 and Edinburgh City Council's Conservation Area Guidelines are considered here as a creative opportunity for design.

Integrating the collection, fusion, and dissemination of traveler information in Edinburgh, Scotland

The Edinburgh traveler information system, currently being designed for the Edinburgh City Council (ECC), is notable both for its multifaceted approach to the challenges of traffic management in an urban setting and its ability to integrate past, present, and future elements. Integration plays a part in the system design in the following ways: • • integration of new and existing systems; • • linking together of several disparate systems and procedures; • • tight integration of response capabilities with the National Driver Information and Control System (NADICS) operated by the Scottish Office, covering interurban motorways; • • incorporation of modularity and flexibility to accommodate future integration. In describing how the Edinburgh traveler information system is intended to operate, the paper refers to the different types of integration and shows how they are used to benefit the system. The paper begins with a Background outlining the physical, geographical, and institutional context for the system. The Council's environmentally aware policies are referred to, and existing and planned systems, both within and outside Edinburgh, which are relevant to Edinburgh traveler information are briefly described. Following the Background is an overview of the System Design, describing the value added by new elements of the Edinburgh traveler information system and the basic functions to be performed by the system. The Data Collection, Data Fusion, and Data Dissemination aspects of the system are then investigated individually. From the sections describing system structure and operations, it is apparent that the design aims to maximize the collection sources and dissemination mechanisms, but to consolidate the processing of all inputs and outputs in one central location. The system design can accommodate a number of diverse dissemination technologies to ensure that as many target audiences as possible will be exposed to the Information, e.g., variable message signs, remote display terminals, interactive telephone, electronic data exchange, etc. The System Benefits are then outlined and related to the Council policy objectives. The paper ends with a Conclusion and Outlook section which recaps the main points and looks ahead by identifying system enhancements which are anticipated to be integrated in the future.

Doctors Monro: A Medical Saga

Foremost, perhaps, among the world's medical families are the doctors Monro of Edinburgh. Best known are the Alexander Munros who, primus, secundus , and tertius , occupied between them the chair of anatomy at Edinburgh for 126 years. This branch of the family contained eight generations of physicians, all descended from Sir Alexander Monro of Bearcrofts, who died in 1704. Dr. Wright-St. Clair, a New Zealander, has performed a splendid service in depicting the family. He has paid special attention to five generations of physicians, from John (1670-1740) through the three Alexanders (1697-1859) to David (1813-1877). The latter, son of tertius , secured his MD at Edinburgh in 1835 but soon emigrated to New Zealand, where he became prominent in political life. The text rests firmly on examination of original sources, largely manuscripts, including diaries, letters and journals, student notes, minutes of the Royal Colleges in Edinburgh, the Edinburgh City Council minutes and