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300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The square is located at the west end of George Street and was intended to mirror St. Andrew Square in the east. The gardens, one of the collection of
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, Edinb ...
, are private and not publicly accessible.


History

Initially named St. George's Square in James Craig's original plan, it was renamed in 1786 after
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
's Queen and first daughter, to avoid confusion with
George Square George Square ( gd, Ceàrnag Sheòrais) is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, St Enoch Square, Royal Exchange Squ ...
to the south of the
Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...
. Charlotte Square was the last part of the initial phase of the New Town to be "completed" in 1820 (note- the north-west section at Glenfinlas Street was not completed until 1990 due to a long-running boundary dispute). Much of it was to the 1791 design of
Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...
, who died in 1792, just as building began. In 1939 a very sizable air-raid shelter was created under the south side of the gardens, accessed from the street to the south. In 2013 the south side was redeveloped in an award-winning scheme by Paul Quinn, creating major new office floorspace behind a restored series of townhouses. Edinburgh Collegiate School was located in Charlotte Square.


Gardens

The garden was originally laid out as a level circular form by William Weir in 1808. In 1861 a plan was drawn up by Robert Matheson, Clerk of Works for Scotland for a larger, more square garden, centred upon a memorial to the recently deceased Prince Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria. The commission for the sculpture was granted in 1865 to Sir
John Steell Sir John Robert Steell (Aberdeen 18 September 1804 – 15 September 1891) was a Scottish sculptor. He modelled many of the leading figures of Scottish history and culture, and is best known for a number of sculptures displayed in Edinburgh, ...
. The main statue features an equestrian statue of the prince, in field marshal's uniform, dwarfing the four figures around the base. It was unveiled by Queen Victoria herself in 1876. The stone plinth was designed by the architect David Bryce and the four corner figures are by David Watson Stevenson (Science and Learning/Labour),
George Clark Stanton George Clark Stanton RSA (11 June 1832- 8 January 1894) was a 19th-century Scottish sculptor, silversmith and portrait miniaturist. Life Stanton was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham and Birmingham School of Art, initially trainin ...
(Army and Navy) and
William Brodie William Brodie (28 September 1741 – 1 October 1788), often known by his title of Deacon Brodie, was a Scottish cabinet-maker, deacon of a trades guild, and Edinburgh city councillor, who maintained a secret life as a housebreaker, partly for ...
(Nobility). The statue was originally intended to go in the centre of the eastern edge of the garden, facing down George Street. This remodelling featured major new tree-planting which took many years to re-establish. The central open space is a private garden, available to owners of the surrounding properties. For the last three weeks in August each year Charlotte Square gardens are the site of the
Edinburgh International Book Festival The Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) is a book festival that takes place in the last three weeks of August every year in Charlotte Square in the centre of Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh. Billed as ''The largest festival of its ...
. The railings around the gardens were removed in 1940 as part of the war effort. The current railings date from 1947.


Buildings

On the north side, No. 5 was the home of John Crichton-Stuart, 4th Marquess of Bute (1881–1947), who bought it in 1903 and gave it to the National Trust for Scotland on his death. It was the Trust headquarters from 1949 to 2000. Bute did much to promote the preservation of the square. Nos. 6 and 7 are also owned by the National Trust for Scotland. No.6,
Bute House Bute House ( Gaelic: ''Taigh Bhòid'') is the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland located within Charlotte Square in Edinburgh. Alongside two other personal offices at the Scottish Parliament Building and St. Andrew's House, ...
is the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland. In 1806 it was home to
Sir John Sinclair Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster, 1st Baronet, (10 May 1754 – 21 December 1835), was a British politician, a writer on both finance and agriculture, and was one of the first people to use the word ''statistics'' in the English language, in ...
creator of the first ''
Statistical Account of Scotland The ''Statistical Accounts of Scotland'' are a series of documentary publications, related in subject matter though published at different times, covering life in Scotland in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The ''Old (or First) Statistical Ac ...
''. No. 7 was internally restored by the Trust in 1975 to its original state, and is open to the public as
The Georgian House The Georgian House is a British children's historical fantasy television series produced by HTV in Bristol and first screened on ITV in 1976. The series consisted of seven episodes. Plot The story concerned two students, Dan and Abbie, wh ...
. The upper floor was formerly the official residence of the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The building includes one fireplace brought from
Hill of Tarvit The Hill of Tarvit is a 20th-century mansion house and gardens in Fife, Scotland. They were designed by Sir Robert Lorimer and are today owned by the National Trust for Scotland. Description The house is situated on a hillside a mile and a ...
in Fife in 1975. West Register House, formerly St. George's Church, forms the centre of the west side. It was designed by the architect Robert Reid in 1811, broadly to Adam's plan. The church opened in 1814 and was converted to its current use in 1964. It is one of the main buildings of the
National Records of Scotland , type = Non-ministerial government department , logo = National Records of Scotland logo.svg , logo_width = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = National Archives of Scotland , preceding2 = General Regi ...


Residents

From the very inception of Charlotte Square in 1791, it was anticipated it would be one of the top addresses in Edinburgh. As the Victorian era commenced, the square was increasingly occupied by the elite of the middle class: legal and medical professionals. This is reflected in the notable residents listed below. As the 20th century began most buildings were still occupied as residential addresses, although more are offices, solely occupied by guardians. Pioneer of the telephone,
Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and T ...
, was born in nearby South Charlotte Street.


References

{{coord, 55.951776, N, 3.207657, W, display=title 1820 establishments in the United Kingdom Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh New Town, Edinburgh Squares in Edinburgh