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Calton Hill
Calton Hill (/ˈkɔːltən/; Scottish Gaelic: Cnoc Coilltinn) is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the city.
Calton Hill is the headquarters of the Scottish Government, which is based at St Andrew's House, on the steep southern slope of the hill. The Scottish Parliament Building and other prominent buildings such as Holyrood Palace lie near the foot of the hill. Calton Hill is also the location of several monuments and buildings: the National Monument, the Nelson Monument, the Dugald Stewart Monument, the old Royal High School, the Robert Burns Monument, the Political Martyrs' Monument and the City Observatory.
The area lies between the Edinburgh districts of Greenside and Abbeyhill.
In 1456, James II granted land to Edinburgh by charter wherein Calton Hill is referred to as "Cragingalt", the name by which it appears on the 1560 Petworth map of the Siege of Leith (rendered as "Cragge Ingalt"). The name may have derived from Old Welsh meaning "crag on the hill" or "wooded hillside".
The name might come from the Brittonic *Celdi (a small wood or holt) and the locative *-in (at), so it means “place of the small wood” and is equivalent to Gaelic “Coilltinn”.
The records of South Leith Parish Church name "Caldtoun" as one of the quarters of the parish in 1591, though the village and area are otherwise generally referred to as "Craigend", signifying the main land form (crags) at the western end of the feudal barony of Restalrig, as opposed to the distinguishing feature at its eastern end, a loch, hence the name Lochend. The name "Caldtoun" (sometimes anglicised as "Cold town") remained general until about 1700, the names Calton and Caltonhill first appearing when Wester Restalrig was sold to Edinburgh in 1725. The Armstrongs' map of the Three Lothians (1773) still uses the name "Caldtoun" and Ainslie's maps of Edinburgh record a change in spelling from Caltoun to Calton between 1780 and 1804.
There was possibly a prehistoric hillfort on Calton Hill and an area used for quarrying (the Quarry Holes at the eastern end). By his charter of 1456, James II granted the community of Edinburgh the valley and the low ground between Calton Hill and Greenside for performing tournaments, sports and other warlike deeds. This was part of his policy of military preparedness that saw the Act of 1457 banning golf and football and ordering archery practice every Sunday. This natural amphitheatre was also used for open-air theatre and saw performances of the early Scots play A Satire of the Three Estates by David Lyndsay. In May 1518 the Carmelite Friars (also known as White Friars and locally based at South Queensferry), were granted lands by charter from the city at Greenside and built a small monastery there.
In November 1559, during the Siege of Leith, the Lords of the Congregation brought two guns to "Craigingalt" and began to bombard Leith. The French made a sortie and captured one cannon and the other was destroyed. Monasteries were abandoned following the Scottish Reformation of 1560, and in 1591 the Calton Hill monastery was converted into a hospital for lepers, founded by John Robertson, a merchant. So severe were the regulations that escape, or even the opening of the gate of the hospital between sunset and sunrise, would incur the penalty of death carried out on the gallows erected at the gate. The monastery would appear to have been located at the north-east end of Greenside Row and its site is shown there on the 1931 Ordnance Survey maps. Ten skeletons found in July 2009 during roadworks to create a new tramway in Leith Walk (project cancelled from York Place to Leith but revived and completed in 2023), are believed to have been connected with the hospital.
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Calton Hill AI simulator
(@Calton Hill_simulator)
Calton Hill
Calton Hill (/ˈkɔːltən/; Scottish Gaelic: Cnoc Coilltinn) is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the city.
Calton Hill is the headquarters of the Scottish Government, which is based at St Andrew's House, on the steep southern slope of the hill. The Scottish Parliament Building and other prominent buildings such as Holyrood Palace lie near the foot of the hill. Calton Hill is also the location of several monuments and buildings: the National Monument, the Nelson Monument, the Dugald Stewart Monument, the old Royal High School, the Robert Burns Monument, the Political Martyrs' Monument and the City Observatory.
The area lies between the Edinburgh districts of Greenside and Abbeyhill.
In 1456, James II granted land to Edinburgh by charter wherein Calton Hill is referred to as "Cragingalt", the name by which it appears on the 1560 Petworth map of the Siege of Leith (rendered as "Cragge Ingalt"). The name may have derived from Old Welsh meaning "crag on the hill" or "wooded hillside".
The name might come from the Brittonic *Celdi (a small wood or holt) and the locative *-in (at), so it means “place of the small wood” and is equivalent to Gaelic “Coilltinn”.
The records of South Leith Parish Church name "Caldtoun" as one of the quarters of the parish in 1591, though the village and area are otherwise generally referred to as "Craigend", signifying the main land form (crags) at the western end of the feudal barony of Restalrig, as opposed to the distinguishing feature at its eastern end, a loch, hence the name Lochend. The name "Caldtoun" (sometimes anglicised as "Cold town") remained general until about 1700, the names Calton and Caltonhill first appearing when Wester Restalrig was sold to Edinburgh in 1725. The Armstrongs' map of the Three Lothians (1773) still uses the name "Caldtoun" and Ainslie's maps of Edinburgh record a change in spelling from Caltoun to Calton between 1780 and 1804.
There was possibly a prehistoric hillfort on Calton Hill and an area used for quarrying (the Quarry Holes at the eastern end). By his charter of 1456, James II granted the community of Edinburgh the valley and the low ground between Calton Hill and Greenside for performing tournaments, sports and other warlike deeds. This was part of his policy of military preparedness that saw the Act of 1457 banning golf and football and ordering archery practice every Sunday. This natural amphitheatre was also used for open-air theatre and saw performances of the early Scots play A Satire of the Three Estates by David Lyndsay. In May 1518 the Carmelite Friars (also known as White Friars and locally based at South Queensferry), were granted lands by charter from the city at Greenside and built a small monastery there.
In November 1559, during the Siege of Leith, the Lords of the Congregation brought two guns to "Craigingalt" and began to bombard Leith. The French made a sortie and captured one cannon and the other was destroyed. Monasteries were abandoned following the Scottish Reformation of 1560, and in 1591 the Calton Hill monastery was converted into a hospital for lepers, founded by John Robertson, a merchant. So severe were the regulations that escape, or even the opening of the gate of the hospital between sunset and sunrise, would incur the penalty of death carried out on the gallows erected at the gate. The monastery would appear to have been located at the north-east end of Greenside Row and its site is shown there on the 1931 Ordnance Survey maps. Ten skeletons found in July 2009 during roadworks to create a new tramway in Leith Walk (project cancelled from York Place to Leith but revived and completed in 2023), are believed to have been connected with the hospital.