Edinburgh, Union Canal. General view of Hopetoun warehouse.

Description Edinburgh, Union Canal. General view of Hopetoun warehouse.

Date 1900 to 1930

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

Catalogue Number SC 785662

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of ED 7624

Scope and Content Warehouse at Port Hopetoun, Union Canal, Edinburgh (Port Hopetoun abandoned 1922; canal closed 1965 and navigation restored 2002) This unusual three-storeyed warehouse, with huge two-storeyed timber 'wings' that extended from each end wall, was one of the most remarkable canal buildings in Scotland. It stood at the quayside at Port Hopetoun, the eastern terminal basin of the canal at Lothian Road, and was built to cope with the increased passenger traffic into the port in the mid-19th century. The building was demolished when the basin was abandoned in 1922. At the height of the canal trade in the mid-19th century, goods traffic into Port Hopetoun increased rapidly, stretching the limited facilities of the port. New buildings were constructed to cope with the increased traffic, including this 'fine large building' which was constructed for the 'luggage-boat companies' on the square where passengers landed. Other new buildings included offices, warehouses and dwelling houses. 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/785662

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap