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Edinburgh, Union Canal. General view.

SC 785619

Description Edinburgh, Union Canal. General view.

Date 1900 to 1930

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

Catalogue Number SC 785619

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of ED 7010

Scope and Content Lochrin Basin, Union Canal, Edinburgh, looking east toward Fountainbridge (closed 1965 and navigation restored 2002) This wide basin, bordered by broad quays to the north (left) and a ramshackle collection of low buildings, sheds and bothies to the south (right), was established as the canal's new eastern terminal basin after the original terminus at Port Hopetoun closed in 1922. The basin is unusual, with high sides, and gives the general appearance of a tidal dock. The original eastern terminus at Port Hopetoun at Lothian Road had cellars, wharfs, stables, overseers' houses, shelters for passengers, warehouses, boat-building yards, an inn, and provided an omnibus-service for passengers wishing to alight at Princes Street. When canal trade declined in the early 20th century, the area around the port deteriorated rapidly, and in 1922 the basin was abandoned, and the canal shortened to finish 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/785619

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap

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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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