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Edinburgh, Union Canal, Hopetoun Port. General view during infilling.

SC 761155

Description Edinburgh, Union Canal, Hopetoun Port. General view during infilling.

Date 1900 to 1930

Collection Collection of photographs by George Chrystal and Francis Maxwell Chrystal, photographers, Edinburgh,

Catalogue Number SC 761155

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of ED 7419

Scope and Content Port Hopetoun, Union Canal, Edinburgh, looking from the corner of Lothian Road and Fountainbridge during the in-filling of the basin (Port Hopetoun abandoned 1922; canal closed 1965 and navigation restored 2002) Port Hopetoun, a large enclosed basin of water that formed the eastern terminus of the canal, was bordered by Lothian Road to the east, Fountainbridge to the south, and Semple Street to the east. After the decline of the canal trade in the early 20th century, the port was abandoned in 1922, the canal being shortened to finish on the south side of Fountainbridge, and the basin eventually filled in. At the height of the canal trade in the mid-19th century Port Hopetoun was a busy port, employing a large workforce of dockers to unload the barges that brought coal, timber, stone, slate, brick, sand and lime into Edinburgh from the west. It was also the departure point for the fast passenger boats that ran day and night between Edinburgh and Glasgow, and the cattle boats that followed the same route. The port's facilities included cellars, wharfs, stables for the horses that pulled the barges, overseers' houses, shelters for passengers and an inn, and it even operated an omnibus-service for passengers wishing to continue their journey from Lothian Road to Princes Street. However, as the canal trade declined the area around the port gradually deteriorated, and by the early 20th century the port was described as 'one of the most hideous features of Edinburgh'. The insignificant volume of remaining canal trade persuaded the authorities to have the basin closed in 1922, and a new terminus, Lochrin Basin, established on the south side of Fountainbridge. The Union Canal, the last of Scotland's major canals, was a commercial venture begun in 1818 and completed in 1822. It was built principally as a means of importing coal and lime into Edinburgh, and ran from Port Hopetoun in Edinburgh to join the Forth & Clyde Canal at Camelon, Stirlingshire. However, within 20 years of completion most of its passenger traffic was lost to the railways, and the Edinburgh basins closed in 1922. The rest of the canal remained navigational until 1965 when it was finally closed by an Act of Parliament. In 2002, Britain's largest canal restoration project, The Millennium Link, restored navigation, and with an extension to the Union Canal and a link with the Forth & Clyde Canal through the Falkirk Wheel, boats were once more able to travel between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/761155

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap

Collection Hierarchy - Item Level

Collection Level (551 64) Collection of photographs by George Chrystal and Francis Maxwell Chrystal, photographers, Edinburgh, Scotland

> Item Level (SC 761155) Edinburgh, Union Canal, Hopetoun Port. General view during infilling.

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Attribution & Licence Summary

Attribution: © Courtesy of HES (Francis M Chrystal Collection)

Licence Type: Educational

You may: copy, display, store and make derivative works [eg documents] solely for licensed personal use at home or solely for licensed educational institution use by staff and students on a secure intranet.

Under these conditions: Display Attribution, No Commercial Use or Sale, No Public Distribution [eg by hand, email, web]

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