Heriot Row
Heriot Row is a highly prestigious street in central Edinburgh, virtually unchanged since its original construction in 1802. From its inception to the present day in remained a top address in the city and has housed the rich and famous of the city's elite for 200 years History Following the success of Edinburgh's First New Town (from Princes Street to Queen Street) it was proposed to expand the concept northwards onto what was then fairly open land largely owned by the Heriot Trust. The scheme was designed by William Sibbald with the young Robert Reid working mainly on the proportions of the palace type frontages. The project was built by John Paton and David Lind. The two main sections were complete by 1808. The short western section (linking to Darnaway Street then the Moray Estate was slightly later and was executed in 1817 to the design of Thomas Bonnar being built by William & Wallace. The original concept was for two palace-fronted blocks: Dundas Street to Howe Street ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Heriot Row In 1836
Heriot, from Old English ''heregeat'' ("war-gear"), was originally a death-duty in late Anglo-Saxon England, which required that at death, a nobleman provided to his king a given set of military equipment, often including horses, swords, shields, spears and helmets. It later developed into a kind of tenurial feudal relief due from villeins. The equivalent term in French was ''droit du meilleur catel''. Etymology The word derives from Old English ''here-geatwa'', meaning the arms and equipment (''geatwa'') of a soldier or army (''here''). History Heriot was the right of a lord in feudal Europe to seize a serf's best horse, clothing, or both, upon his death. It arose from the tradition of the lord lending a serf a horse or armour or weapons to fight so that when the serf died the lord would rightfully reclaim his property. Payments of heriot are sometimes mentioned in the wills of West-Saxon nobles from the mid-tenth century onward (a case in question is that of Æthelmær). Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Town Gardens
The New Town Gardens are a collection of around 30 mostly private gardens and parks within the Edinburgh New Town, Edinburgh, New Town Conservation area (United Kingdom), Conservation Area spread across the New Town and north of the West End, Edinburgh, West End, listed as a heritage designation since March 2001. The gardens comprise a series of 18th and 19th century town gardens, squares and walks, established contemporaneously with the New Town of Edinburgh between 1767 and around 1850. History Most of the gardens were established contemporaneously to the New Town, and north West End of Edinburgh. Some have unique history such as the Hopetoun Crescent Gardens, which were the original site of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. The Queen Street Central gardens have a pond with an island, said to have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Louis Stevenson's ''Treasure Island''. Membership and access Each garden has different rules concerning criteria for membership and access, w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christopher Johnston, Lord Sands
Sir Christopher Nicholson Johnston, Lord Sands Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE (18 October 1857 – 26 February 1934) was a Unionist Party (Scotland) MP for Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities (UK Parliament constituency), Edinburgh and St Andrews universities between two by-elections in 1916 and 1917. He was an expert on Church Law and represented the Church of Scotland on many occasions. Life He was born on 18 October 1857 in Kincardine-on-Forth, Kincardine, the son of Margaret Nicholson, daughter of Reverend Nicholson of Whithorn, and James Johnston of Mansionhouse of Sands (in Fife). He studied law at Madras College, University of St Andrews, the University of Edinburgh and Heidelberg. After training as a lawyer he made rapid progress in the profession: Advocate (1880); Advocate Depute (1892); Sheriff of Caithness, Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney & Zetland (1899–1900); Sheriff of Inverness, Sheriff of Inverness, Elgin & Nairn (1900–1905); Sheriff of Perthshire (1905â ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Elizabeth Grant (diarist)
Elizabeth Smith (née Elizabeth Grant of Rothiemurchus; 7 May 1797 – 16 November 1885) was a Scottish diarist and lady of the manor of Baltyboys House. Over the course of her life, she lived in Scotland, England, India, Ireland, and France. Life Grant was born in Edinburgh in 1797. Her father was John Peter Grant and Member of Parliament. Her brother, Sir John Peter Grant, was the father of Jane Maria Strachey. As a child, she primarily spent time on her family's estate, Rothiemurchus, in Strathspey, and in London. She and her family moved to Bombay in 1827. She married Colonel Henry Smith in 1829.Christine Lodge, ‘Smith , Elizabeth (1797–1885)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200accessed 24 November 2017/ref> They had three children; Janey, Annie, and Jack. She is known today for the journals that she wrote from the 1840s when she was living in France. However she published in magazines anonymously during her life to supplement her ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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William Duddingston
Rear Admiral William Duddingston (1740–1817) was an 18th-century Scottish commander in the Royal Navy, of fame for the Gaspee Affair, ''Gaspee'' Affair, one of the precursors to the American War of Independence. Life He was born in November 1740 in the parish of Kilconquhar in the East Neuk of Fife, the third son of 14 children to James Duddingston (1695-1768) and his wife Margaret Gillespie. The family lived at St Ford (or Sandford) just south-west of Kilconquhar. From 1752 to 1755 he served as a merchant seaman on the Fife coast. He appears as a Royal Navy lieutenant (navy), lieutenant in 1759 but was possibly a midshipman from 1755 to 1759. In September 1768 he was given command of . In March 1772 the ship was ordered to go to Rhode Island to patrol the waters to prevent smuggling of contraband goods in evasion of taxation. In these seizures the crew were awarded a percentage of the value of the goods seized, which was a strong incentive. Seizures were therefore ofte ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy'', '' Waverley'', '' Old Mortality'', ''The Heart of Mid-Lothian'' and '' The Bride of Lammermoor'', and the narrative poems '' The Lady of the Lake'' and '' Marmion''. He had a major impact on European and American literature. As an advocate, judge and legal administrator by profession, he combined writing and editing with daily work as Clerk of Session and Sheriff-Depute of Selkirkshire. He was prominent in Edinburgh's Tory establishment, active in the Highland Society, long a president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1820–1832), and a vice president of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (1827–1829). His knowledge of history and literary facility equipped him to establish the historical novel genre as an exemplar of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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James Ballantyne
James Ballantyne (15 January 1772 – 26 January 1833) was a Scottish solicitor, editor and publisher who worked for his friend Sir Walter Scott. His brother John Ballantyne (1774–1821) was also with the publishing firm, which is noted for the publication of the ''Novelist's Library'' (1820), and many works edited or written by Scott. Early life James was born in Kelso, Scottish Borders in 1772, the oldest son in a family of successful merchants. He attended Kelso Grammar School where he met Sir Walter Scott for the first time in 1783. Scott lived with his aunt briefly in Kelso when they met. They shared a love of literature. James went on to attend Edinburgh University to study law. He returned to Kelso in 1795 to become a solicitor. Publishing Although James was not raised in a printing family, he opened a printing office in 1796. On 13 April 1797, the first edition of the pro-Tory newspaper, ''The Kelso Mail'', was published in which James was also the editor. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cecil Cameron
Major Cecil Aylmer Cameron (17 September 1883 – 19 August 1924) was a British Army officer and spymaster and also a central figure of a notable fraud trial of 1911. The son of Colonel Aylmer Cameron VC, he was educated at Eastman's Royal Naval Academy, Bath College, and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and was commissioned into the Royal Field Artillery in 1901. On 3 June 1909, he married Ruby Mary Shawe at St George's, Hanover Square. In 1911 he and his wife were convicted of fraud in Edinburgh and sentenced to three years' imprisonment for attempting to defraud Lloyd's by claiming £6,500 for the theft of Mrs Cameron's pearl necklace, which had not actually been stolen. He refused to give evidence in his defence and served the full sentence. Following his release, a petition for a pardon was signed by, among others, five dukes, twenty privy councillors, and 126 generals. During her imprisonment, his wife confessed that she alone was the guilty party and Cameron ha ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peter Spalding
Peter Spalding (1758–1826) was a Scottish colonial trader and philanthropist. Life He appears to be born in Edinburgh around 1768. The only Spalding in the first Edinburgh Street Directory in 1773 is "James Spalding", a grocer on the High Street. This is presumably his father although some sources say his father was a jeweller, and Peter followed in that trade. Whether that is true or not, Peter ended up trading in India around 1785. He appears to have owned his own vessel and was probably trading in tea and/or spices. However, early in his trading life his ship and all its contents sank in the River Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ... and as he was uninsured, he had to start again. This appears to have inspired rather than dishearten him. He continued to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Blue Plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term is used in the United Kingdom in two different senses. It may be used narrowly and specifically to refer to the "official" scheme administered by English Heritage, and currently restricted to sites within Greater London; or it may be used less formally to encompass a number of similar schemes administered by organisations throughout the UK. The plaques erected are made in a variety of designs, shapes, materials and colours: some are blue, others are not. However, the term "blue plaque" is often used informally to encompass all such schemes. The "official" scheme traces its origins to that launched in 1866 in London, on the initiative of the politician William Ewart, to mark the homes and workplaces of famous people. It has been adminis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Glass Reinforced Plastic
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth. The plastic matrix may be a thermoset polymer matrix—most often based on thermosetting polymers such as epoxy, polyester resin, or vinyl ester resin—or a thermoplastic. Cheaper and more flexible than carbon fiber, it is stronger than many metals by weight, non-magnetic, non-conductive, transparent to electromagnetic radiation, can be molded into complex shapes, and is chemically inert under many circumstances. Applications include aircraft, boats, automobiles, bath tubs and enclosures, swimming pools, hot tubs, septic tanks, water tanks, roofing, pipes, cladding, orthopedic casts, surfboards, and external door skins. Other common names for fiberglass are glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), glass-fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) or GFK ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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British Gas
British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Serving around twelve million homes in the United Kingdom, British Gas is the biggest energy supplier in the country, and is considered one of the Big Six dominating the gas and electricity market in the United Kingdom. History 1812–1948 The Gas Light and Coke Company was the first public utility company in the world. It was founded by Frederick Albert Winsor and incorporated by Royal Charter on 30 April 1812 under the seal of King George III. It continued to thrive for the next 136 years, expanding into domestic services whilst absorbing many smaller companies including the Aldgate Gas Light and Coke Company (1819), the City of London Gas Light and Coke Company (1870), the Equitable Gas Light Company (1871), the Great Central Gas Consum ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |