Cowgate
Encyclopedia
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, located about 5 minutes' walk from Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
, within the city's World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
. The street's name is derived from the fact that cows were herded down it for Edinburgh's market days in previous centuries (gate being a Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
term for "street"; compare with gait).
The street is part of the lower level of Edinburgh's Old Town
Old Town, Edinburgh
The Old Town of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is the medieval part of the city. Together with the 18th-century New Town, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has preserved its medieval plan and many Reformation-era buildings....
, which lies below the elevated streets of South Bridge
South Bridge, Edinburgh
South Bridge is a bridge in Edinburgh, Scotland. Largely appearing to be a street, rather than a bridge, at its deck level, it starts at the Tron Kirk and finishes at the Old College, University of Edinburgh, crossing various smaller streets. Below deck level are many buildings and vaults, the...
and George IV Bridge
George IV Bridge
George IV Bridge is an elevated street in Edinburgh, Scotland. Measuring 300-metres in length, the bridge was constructed between 1829 and 1832 as part of the Improvement Act of 1827. Named for King George IV, it was designed by architect Thomas Hamilton , to connect the South Side district of...
. Consequently the Cowgate can be quite gloomy and dark in sections. It adjoins the Grassmarket
Grassmarket
The Grassmarket is an historic market square in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland.In relation to the rest of the city the area is a hollow, well below surrounding ground levels.-Location:...
at its west end and Holyrood Road to the east.
Although the area is now partly restored, and several new buildings have been constructed, from the mid 18th century until after the World Wars the Cowgate was a notoriously overcrowded slum area, where the majority of the city's Irish immigrant community was based. Among others, the Irish Socialist leader and revolutionary James Connolly
James Connolly
James Connolly was an Irish republican and socialist leader. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents and spoke with a Scottish accent throughout his life. He left school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of...
was born in 1868 at number 107, and was executed following his role as a leader of the Easter Rebellion, an attempt to bring about Irish Independence
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
.
In the late 19th century the area was known locally as 'Little Ireland'. Hibernian
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
, the famous Edinburgh professional football club, were founded by congregants of St Patrick's RC Church on the Cowgate in August 1875. The club were based from St Patrick's until the early 1890s, and cups the club won from this period can still be seen displayed in the church.
Buildings
The oldest building lies to the west end, but is sandwiched between other larger buildings and easily missed. It stands on the south side of the street, just west of where George IV Bridge crosses over the Cowgate. This is the Magdalen Chapel, a 16th-century almshouse chapel built with monies left by Michael MacQueen in 1537. Work was completed in 1544 and it operated as a hospital almshouse (dedicated to Mary Magdalen) under the control of MacQueen's widow, Janet Rynd until her death in 1553, when it passed to the Incorporation of Hammermen (metalworkers). The entrance as seen from the Cowgate was rebuilt in 1613. The spire was added in 1620.St. Cecilia's Hall was built for the Musical Society of Edinburgh in 1761; it houses a small Georgian concert space and a small musical museum owned by Edinburgh University.
St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church stands at the east end of the Cowgate. It dates from 1772 but was extensively remodelled in 1929 following demolition of the tenements along the north edge of the Cowgate which previously obscured its frontage.
2002 fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
started above a nightclub in the street. It quickly took hold, spreading to buildings on the South Bridge
South Bridge, Edinburgh
South Bridge is a bridge in Edinburgh, Scotland. Largely appearing to be a street, rather than a bridge, at its deck level, it starts at the Tron Kirk and finishes at the Old College, University of Edinburgh, crossing various smaller streets. Below deck level are many buildings and vaults, the...
. The fire was difficult to control as it spread through the uncharted vaults
Edinburgh Vaults
The Edinburgh Vaults or South Bridge Vaults are a series of chambers formed in the nineteen arches of the South Bridge in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was completed in 1788...
beneath the South Bridge. The fire claimed no lives, but nonetheless destroyed many buildings, including much of the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
's School of Informatics
University of Edinburgh School of Informatics
The School of Informatics is an academic unit of the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland, responsible for research, teaching, outreach and commercialisation in Informatics....
, the Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
venue the Gilded Balloon (which has since relocated to Teviot Row House
Teviot Row House
Teviot Row House is one of the Student Union buildings at Edinburgh University, Scotland...
) and La Belle Angele nightclub.
19 fire crew
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
s in total attended the blaze when it was at its height, the majority from Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade. It took over a day to bring the fire completely under control. Two main transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
arteries, the Cowgate and South Bridge, remained closed for several days following the fire.
The University researchers and students affected worked in the field of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
(AI). The University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
was a pioneer in the study of AI in the 1950s and one of the world's most comprehensive archival libraries
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
in this field was destroyed by the fire. Little current research data was lost in the fire due to offsite backup
Backup
In information technology, a backup or the process of backing up is making copies of data which may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form is back up in two words, whereas the noun is backup....
s. Since the fire, the School has been dispersed over a number of sites. In 2005 work began on a new building, the Informatics Forum
Informatics Forum
The Informatics Forum is a major new building on the Central Area campus of the University of Edinburgh. Completed in 2008, it houses the research institutes of the University's School of Informatics.- Design :...
, which was occupied mid-2008.
The First Minister of Scotland
First Minister of Scotland
The First Minister of Scotland is the political leader of Scotland and head of the Scottish Government. The First Minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Scottish Government policy...
appealed to the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Fund for money to assist in the redevelopment of the site.
As of November 2009, the site is still a gap site, but is now entirely owned by developer Whiteburn, who have a proposal for a new mixed use development using the site and existing adjacent buildings. The site has been temporarily used as a Fringe venue again, becoming the C Venues
C venues
C venues is the home of the largest theatre and new writing programme at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which is held annually in August each year...
' Urban Garden during the 2007 and 2008 Festival.
Buildings affected
- University of Edinburgh
- School of Informatics, South Bridge
- Adam House
- The Edinburgh FringeEdinburgh FringeThe Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
's Gilded Balloon venue and offices for both the Gilded Balloon and Underbelly venues - La Belle Angele live music and nightclub venue