The Whitehorse Close

The

Whitehorse

Edinburgh

world

Close

heritage

scottish centre for conservation studies & university of bamberg 2013-2014 D o m i n i k B r i n k m a n n , A d n a n D o l l a h , R e b e k k a M a g i s , S a n g e e t h a K a n e k a l Ti l a k

Contents

1. Introduction------------------------------------------------------------------------------3 2. Localisation and brief descpription-------------------------------------------------4 3. Historical development of the site-------------------------------------------------7 4. Cultural values of the White Horse Close---------------------------------------18 5. The World Heritage Criteria with reference to the close------------------19 6. Conclusion---------------------------------------------------------------------------------21 7.List of images-------------------------------------------------------------------------------22 8.Bibliography--------------------------------------------------------------------------------23

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1. Introduction

Fig.1. The Whitehorse Close (CANMORE)

The subject of our study is the White Horse Close in the City of Edinburgh. The Close is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site in the Old Town of Edinburgh and is listed as a monument in the category ‘B’, which specifies it as ‘important to a special cultural area’. The White Horse Close was a coach terminus where the carriages set off for London. The former stables are on the backside of the close, accesible from Calton-Street, the existing arches in the backfacade bear whitness of this former usage. The close is nowadays used for residential purposes.

Our report is structured as follows: It begins with a brief description of the different elements of the site, follwed by the historical development that we examined by comparison and analysis of the historical maps and pictures. After which we looked closely into the World Heritage Criteria in relation to the White Horse close in particular and examined the cultural values of the close in this context.Besides the substance itself, the basis of our research were several sources, which gave us the evidences of several alterations of the site, mainly during the 19th and 20th century, which needed to be taken into special consideration for the understanding of what we saw.

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2. Localisation and brief description

Fig.2. Map of Edinburgh (Satellite image)

Fig.3. Map of the Royal Mile (Satellite image)

By the time we first entered the courtyard, five main questions occured to us that needed further examination:

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What age are the building parts?

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What did the close look like before the 20th century rebuilding?

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How proceeded the historical development of the site?

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How does the White Horse Close fit into the World Heritage criteria?

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What is the core cultural value of the site?

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Fig.4. The Royal Mile

We were able to answer these questions by analysing the close in situ and studying the sources, such as literature and historical maps and pictures. The urban fabric of the Royal mile, which is the high street in the City of Edinburgh is defined by ‘Closes’. Which are narrow courtyards surrounded by dense built-up fabric. The White Horse Close is located at the very end of the Royal mile in the Old Town of Edinburgh, close to Canongate and Holyrood Palace. This earlier defined the lower benchmark of the developing town.

The image above illustrates the historical development of the Old Town’s structure during the years 1540, 1740 and 1970. The site of the White Horse Close can easily be recognised by the triangular structure adjacent, which points out to the gate. The close is framed by the royal mile and Calton street. The map of 1540 clearly shows the gradual formation of the characteristical “fishbone” structure, which defined the appearance of the Old Town until the 19th century and can best be seen in the illustration of 1740.

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Fig.5. Satellite map of Whitehorse close (NLS 2013)

By the 20th century the structure has already been disintegrated in wide parts, nevertheless the triangular structure where the White Horse Close is located, can still be identified clearly. The front facade facing Canongate (The Royal Mile) approaches the street way further than the other buildings, due to this the entrance to the close is often obscured when passing the close as the entrance is further setback beyond the facades of the shopfronts.

The court of the White Horse Close is surrounded by several building complexes: the northern part is a three-storey building with prominent jettied bays and a cenralized, two-way forestep, the eastern part is a two-storey building which is connected to the southern part. The lastmentioned section consists of a number of various combined edifices, what provokes a fairly inhomogeneous image. Attached to the southern part is another two-storeyed building, which circumscribes the court to the west. A narrow gap or alley separates the western from the northern building section, and shall be examined later on.

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3. Historical development with maps Timeline 1623: Assumed date of the building on the site, ( The inscription on the gable was altered about 1930.

1523-1623: Court presumably built in the 17th Century, It focused on the Inn at the North.

1817: the courtyard is partly open towards the North; it lasts until 1831.

1867: Improvement Act; in the following years massive changes; redevelopment of entire street frontages About 1889: restoration and reconstruction by James Jeerdan 1960s: extensive restorations by Frank Mears & Partners (inscription says “rebuilt in 1964“

“Nos 1-12 White Horse Close is an interesting example of a mid 20th century reconstruction of a 17th century Edinburgh close. The Canongate has a rich network of closes which add significantly to the architectural character of the city. The extensive restoration and reconstruction work carried out by Frank Mears and Partners in the 1960s mimics and accentuates the former character of the close andits 17th century dwellings with an irregular arrangement of crowstepped gables, jettied bays, dormerwindows, external forestairs and pantiled roofs, forming a picturesque and unified whole“

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Fig.6. Edinodunensis Tabulam (James Gordon1615?-1686)

Fig.2.Whitehorse Close (Reginald Phillimore 1745)

Tracing the historical development in maps The map by Gordon (1615) in Fig.1 is the ear;iest illustration of the Whitehorse close. The map particularly illustrates an important route most probably the route to London. The Whitehorse close at this point is more a part of Canongate. The earlier fortification of the city can also be seen in the map.

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City and Castle of Edinburgh (William Edgar 1765)

Edinburgh & Leith (John Ainslie 1804)

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Edinburgh, (Robert Kirkwood1817)

Drawing of Whitehorse Close, (H.S Storer,1820)

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Plan of the City of Edinburgh (John Wood 1831)

Sketch of the Whitehorse Close (G. Cattermole 1831)

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Ordinance Survey map (1843)

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Photographs of Edinburgh (Alexander Adam Inglis 1854)

Ordinance Survey map (1876)

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Proposed alterations by James Jeerdan 1887

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Ordinance Survey Town plans (1893)

Facade of Whitehorse Close (1907)

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Facade of Whitehorse Close (1907)

1961

1960

1964

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The Whitehorse Close (CANMORE 1960)

Present satellite image (NLS 2013)

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4. Cultural values of the white horse close The White Horse Close at Edinburgh’s Canongate is an outstanding example of a historic structure, descended from a period of massive urban planning in the 17th century. Furthermore, this object is a good example for historistic tendencies in Edinburgh,while in Europe a modern, international style was established in the post-war period.

The location of the Whitehorse Close marks the point of the ancient route from the City of Edinburgh and Holyrood palace to London. The Architectural fabric of the Close illustrates the changes that took place in the planning of the city and how the regional Scottish architecture was patronised and romantically interpreted. Details like the crowstepped gable, the harled walls and the wynd are typical of this period.The White Horse Close is a kind of ‘crosssection’ that can illustrate several developments within the Old Town of Edinburgh, mainly, the introduction of residential function or the severe interventions at the end of the 19th century and the 1960s.This ensemble is representative for the increase of density in the Old Town and the changes that took place after on a small scale.

The core cultural values of the Close were then identified as follows:

1. Represents an important spot on the medeival route to London in the 17th Century as a part of Canongate and the fortification of the city the architectural fabric of which is still visible.

2. Represents the 19th century revival and rediscovery of the Old Town. It also represented the sophisticated and philanthropic town planning of that time which was influenced by London.

3. Unique example of the 1960’s Scottish Revival architectural style as a Close on the Royal Mile.

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5. the close with respect to the world heritage criteria Referring to the Unesco criterias, the White Horse Close shows typical Scottish architecture, especially in its interpretation of the late 19th and mid-20th century (criterion II demands ‘an important interchange of human values’ or ‘developments in architecture’). This object doesn’t have necessarily international validity, but it fits into the Unesco criteria ‘within a cultural area’, because this Close testifies a historistic point of view in this era in Edinburgh, while in Europe modern, international architectural forms were used. So, maybe the White Horse Close fits into the 3rd criterion as well (‘testimony to a cultural tradition’).

Furthermore the criterion IV is reflected by the use of historic forms and the reference to older and more regional architectural forms. So the White Horse Close represents the ‘19th century rediscovery and revival of the Old Town’, which is mentioned in the listing text of the Unesco.

Several details are (re-)used in an urban context and in an eclectic manner. In fact, White Horse Close represents not even one, but even more ‘significant stages in human history’, as it is mentioned in the Unified Set of Criteria from 2005. Even if the object itself plays a minor role in urban planning, it was of some importance as an inn and as the horse station for travellers towards London. The White Horse Close was an important piece in the area of Canongate.

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As a kind of anchor point at the beginning of the Royal Mile it has further importance for the whole urban structure. As many ensembles in Edinburgh, this close shows a mixture of several social groups. At the end of 19th it was described as a ‘slum’, it also housed prominent people like the Bishop Alexander Paterson. The proximity to Holyrood House with its royal inhabitants could serve as an explanation to this.

The whole area of Canongate has been an independent part of the city, separated from the town of Edinburgh which was up the hill. Due to the construction of the parliament near the Holyrood House, this part of Edinburgh’s Old Town has developed to quite an extent. The whole area has been enhanced to accommodate the parliament but this inturn has put the White Horse Close under certain pressure.

As an example of ‘neo-vernacular’ architecture of the 1960s and as a typical close (at least roughly in the outline) in Edinburgh’s urban development, White Horse Close is an outstanding example of a Close on the Royal mile and displays significant periods in Scotland’s history.

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6. Conclusion

After the preoccupation with the close it was possible to answer the questions we had in the beginning, as particularised throughout the document. The project was limited by the lack of time for further research, the accessibility to the building and the covering of most of the surfaces by harling. Therefore a detailed analysis of the “White Horse Close“ in the future appears to be very required.

In conclusion it became obvious, that the close is dominated by the alterations of the 1960s, which contain their own qualities and simultaneously obscure the historic fabric. By taking a closer look, older parts could still be identified even under the harling and the homogeneous surface. So the values of the site do not only reside in the historical material, but in a special way of the dealing with the material throughout the centuries, including the alterations in the utilisation of the property.

The UNESCO World Heritage Criteria are applicable to the values of the close, at once some very own values could be elaborated, which go beyond the criteria of the UNESCO for the Old and New Town of Edinburgh and extend it.

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6. List of Images

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6. Bibliography

After the preoccupation with the close it was possible to answer the questions we had in the beginning, as particularised throughout the document. The project was limited by the lack of time for further research, the accessibility to the building and the covering of the most surfaces by harling. Therefore a detailed analysis of the “White Horse Close“ in the future appears to be very required.

In conclusion it became obvious, that the close is dominated by the alterations of the 1960s, which contain their own qualities and simultaneously obscure the historic fabric. By taking a closer look, older parts could still be recognised even under the harling and the homogeneous surface. So the values of the site do not only reside in the historical material, but in a special way of the dealing with the material throughout the centuries, including the alterations in the utilisation of the property.

The UNESCO World Heritage Criteria are applicable to the values of the close, at once some very own values could be elaborated, which go beyond the criteria of the UNESCO for the Old and New Town of Edinburgh and extend it.

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