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View of rear elevation of tenement in Dunbar's Close, 137 Canongate, Edinburgh, from N.

DP 188665

Description View of rear elevation of tenement in Dunbar's Close, 137 Canongate, Edinburgh, from N.

Date 24/4/2014

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number DP 188665

Category On-line Digital Images

Scope and Content This shows the rear elevation of the tenement at 137 Canongate, Edinburgh, which overlooks the garden in Dunbar's Close The tenement probably has origins in the 17th century, but it is likely that it was remodelled in the 1970s, when a series of tenements stretching along the burghage plot were demolished. At this time, the layout was reconfigured, and these access platforms, or 'platties', were added to the rear elevation. These concrete platforms are supported on decorative red-painted cast-iron brackets and slender columns, with plain black railings between. The garden in Dunbar's Close was created when local charity, The Mushroom Trust, bought the land in the mid-1970s. The Trust commissioned landscape architect Seamus Filor to design a garden with the intention of opening it up to the public. Filor took inspiration from the formal gardens portrayed on the 1647 Gordon of Rothiemay map of the High Street and Canongate. He also used varieties of plants which would have been grown in the 17th century, including herbs and fruit trees. The garden consists of three parterres stepping down the slope from Canongate to Calton Road. There are low box hedges surrounding individual beds within the parterres, a common feature in gardens of this style. Dunbar's Close appears to take its name from David Dunbar, writer, who owned two tenements here in 1773. In common with many of the closes in the High Street and Canongate, and indeed in other burghs across Scotland, tenements were built along the burghage plot as the population grew. These tenements were demolished during the 1970s, shortly before the garden was recreated here. The garden was gifted to the City of Edinburgh in 1978 on completion, and the Parks Department currently maintains it (2014).

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1424610

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap

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