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The Scottish Enlightenment

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    People
    • James Adams
    • James Craig
    • Alexander Geddes
    • Henry Raeburn
    • John Ainslie
    • William Creech
    • John Home
    • Allan Ramsay
    • James Beattie
    • George Drummond
    • David Hume
    • William Shaw
    • Hugh Blair
    • Gilbert Elliot
    • Samuel Johnson
    • Thomas Sheridan
    • William Brodie
    • Adam Ferguson
    • Malcolm Laing
    • John Sinclair
    • James Burnett
    • Robert Fergusson
    • Henry Mackenzie
    • Adam Smith
    • Alexander Carlyle
    • Archibald Grant
    • James Macpherson
    • James Thomson
    • James Adams (1737-1802)
    • John Ainslie (1745-1828)
    • James Beattie (1735-1803)
    • Hugh Blair (1718-1800)
    • William Brodie, known as Deacon Brodie, (1746-1788)
    • James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (1714-1799)
    • Alexander Carlyle (1722-1805)
    • James Craig (1739-1795)
    • William Creech (1745-1815)
    • George Drummond (1687-1766)
    • Sir Gilbert Elliot of Minto (1722-1777)
    • Adam Ferguson (1723-1816)
    • Robert Fergusson (1750-1774)
    • Sir Archibald Grant (1696-1778)
    • Alexander Geddes (1737-1802)
    • John Home (1722-1808)
    • David Hume (1711-1776)
    • Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
    • Malcolm Laing (1762-1818)
    • Henry Mackenzie (1745-1831)
    • James Macpherson (1736-1796)
    • Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823)
    • Allan Ramsay (1713-1784)
    • William Shaw (1749-1831)
    • Thomas Sheridan (1719-1788)
    • Sir John Sinclair (1754–1835)
    • Adam Smith (1723-1790)
    • James Thomson (1700-1748)
  • Town
    Planning
    • Source 1: A proposal for keeping the streets clean, 1734-5
    • Source 2: Proposals for improving the city of Edinburgh, 1752
    • Source 3: Proposals for improving the city of Edinburgh, 1752
    • Source 4: James Craig’s design for the New Town, 1768
    • Source 5: Map showing the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, 1780
    • Source 6: James Craig’s proposal for improving the eastern approach to the Old Town, 1786
    • Source 7: Description of Edinburgh from the Statistical Account of Scotland, 1791-1799
  • Encyclopaedia
    Britannica
    • Source 1: Title page to volume 1 of the first edition.
    • Source 2: Agriculture, volume 1 A-B, page 40
    • Source 3: Agriculture Plate IV, volume 1 A-B, page 41
    • Source 4: Mechanics, volume 1 M-Z, page 38
    • Source 5: Mechanics, volume 1 M-Z, plate CV
    • Source 6: Camelus or Camel, volume 1 A-B, page 13
    • Source 7: Bactrianus or Bactrian Camel, volume 1 A-B, Plate EIX
    • Source 8: Caricature of Andrew Bell and William Smellie by John Kay
  • Scotticisms
    • Source 1 : A list of Scotticisms by David Hume, first printed 1752
    • Source 2 : Lectures on the art of speaking English, 1761
    • Source 3 : A society for promoting the reading and speaking of English, 1761
    • Source 4 : Observations on the Scottish dialect by Sir John Sinclair, 1782
    • Source 5 : Teaching correct English to the young, 1799
    • Source 6 : The richness of the Scots language, 1792
    • Source 7 : In support of the Scots language, 1799
  • Statistical
    Account
    • Source 1: Sir John Sinclair’s description of compiling the ‘Statistical Account’
    • Source 2: Sir John Sinclair’s discussion of the term ‘statistics’
    • Source 3: Part of the report for the Parish of Monymusk
    • Source 4: Part of the report for the Parish of Wick
    • Source 5: Statistical table for the Parish of Culross
    • Source 6: Report for the Parish of East Kilbride
    • Source 7: Report for the Parish of Smailholm
  • Ossian
    • Source 1: Preface to ‘Fragments of ancient poetry’, 1760
    • Source 2: Preface to ‘Fingal’, 1761
    • Source 3: Letter from David Hume, 1763
    • Source 4: Samuel Johnson’s opinion of the poems, 1775
    • Source 5: An enquiry into the authenticity of the poems, 1781
    • Source 6: ‘Poems of Ossian’ edited by Malcolm Laing, 1805
    • Source 7: Highland Society of Scotland report, 1805
  • Clubs and
    Societies
    • Source 1: List of members of the Select Society
    • Source 2: Questions debated by the Select Society
    • Source 3: The aims of the Edinburgh Society
    • Source 4: A description of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, 1754
    • Source 5: Members of the Cape Club
    • Source 6: An account of the Cape Club
    • Source 7: Extract from the Highland Society of London Minute Book, 1784
    • Women and the Enlightenment
  • Resources
    • Gallery
Register Office, Princes Street from ‘Scotia Depicta’, 1804
Register Office, Princes Street from ‘Scotia Depicta’, 1804 NLS shelfmark: J.134.f

Town Planning

A medieval city

Following the Union of the Crowns in 1603, and the Union of the Parliaments in 1707, the status of Edinburgh as a capital city was diminished. Initially, there was little impetus for improvement or investment. The city was still largely medieval in form, and not able to accommodate an expanding population.

A vision for the ‘New Town’

However, from the middle of the 18th century, the future of Scotland’s capital city became a topic for discussion and debate. Proposals were put forward for improving Edinburgh and creating a new district to the north.

The sources in this section highlight some of the political, social, and economic reasons behind this new drive for improvement and re-development.

  • Interactive
    Explore Enlightenment Edinburgh
  • Source 1
    A proposal for keeping the streets clean, 1734-5
  • Source 2
    Proposals for improving the city of Edinburgh, 1752
  • Source 3
    Proposals for improving the city of Edinburgh, 1752
  • Source 4
    James Craig’s design for the New Town, 1768
  • Source 5
    Map showing the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, 1780
  • Source 6
    James Craig’s proposal for improving the eastern approach to the Old Town, 1786
  • Source 7
    Description of Edinburgh from the Statistical Account of Scotland, 1791-1799

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