York Place, Edinburgh

York Place is a street in central Edinburgh of almost exclusively 18th century buildings, linking Queen Street to Broughton Street and Leith Walk.

York Place, Edinburgh

An exclusive address in the centre of town, whilst its architecture remains intact, it is functionally used as a transport corridor, and is one of the busiest streets in the city centre.[1]

History
St George's Chapel in 1830 plus manse on its left
1 to 3 York Place, Edinburgh

York Place was developed as a dual sided street on the north-east edge of Edinburgh's First New Town. The land was purchased by the city from James Erskine, Lord Alva and the Heriot Trust in 1793. Work began immediately and was complete by 1804 (other than the church (see below).[2]

The street is little altered. The only major change has been the demolition of the east side of Elder Street on the south side (to improve access to the bus station) including the east corner with York Place, in 1969.

In 1888 a tram system was introduced. Originally drawn by underground cables the system was invisible except for the rails and central channel (for the cable). This all changed in 1921 following unification of Edinburgh and Leith (which had electric trams since 1905) when a complex of poles and wires were added, to the severe detriment of the streetscape. These poles and cables were removed in 1956 following the demise of the trams. More conscious of the issue of "street clutter" the planners removed all lamp-posts from the street in the 1970s. The street is lit by high level floodlights mounted at eaves level on the buildings. The clutter of the trams reappeared in 2017 with the Edinburgh Trams project.

The road's function as a primary transport corridor dates from Edinburgh's post war Abercrombie Plan which proposed York Place and Queen Street as a dual carriageway. This was to then go under the Moray Estate in a tunnel. The one piece which was completed was the huge Picardy Place roundabout, which was to link to a tunnel through Calton Hill reached by a huge bridge over Greenside, leading to a further dual carriageway on the Pleasance. The previous narrow streets in the Picardy area acted as a natural traffic restrictor. The removal of these (including Arthur Conan Doyle's birthplace) to created a traffic-dominated junction is practically irreversible. At the completion of the Picardy Place roundabout in the 1970s, York Place ceased to be an exclusive address of tranquility. From the 1950s office use and hotel use have dominated.[3]

Notable Buildings
  • St Paul's and St George's Church by Archibald Elliot (built as St Paul's Chapel, 1816)
  • St George's Episcopal Chapel by James Adam in 1792 with a new front added in 1934, now in use as a Genting Casino[4]
  • 7 York Pl - St George's manse, an unusual castellated house immediately east of the chapel (1793 remodelled in 1818 by Alexander Laing for his own use)[5]
  • 1 to 3 York Place, an exceptional corner block by David Paton featuring three lower commercial floors with more glass than wall
  • 44 York Place built as a tax office in 1964, remodelled as a Premier Inn in 2018
  • 72 York Place - Conan Doyle public house - linked to the birthplace of Arthur Conan Doyle 50m eastwards

Notable Residents

see[6]

References
  1. Grant's Old and New Edinburgh vol III
  2. Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh by Gifford, McWilliam and Walker
  3. Abercrombie Plan 1947, Patrick Abercrombie
  4. https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/200364520-5b-york-place-former-st-georges-chapel-episcopal-including-railings-and-lamps-edinburgh
  5. https://canmore.org.uk/site/52428/edinburgh-7-york-place
  6. Edinburgh Post Office Directories 1800 to 1900

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