THE brilliant qualities of the emergent New Town, north of Princes Street, should not blind us to what was happening during the same period to the south. The 'South Side' (as it is still known with affection) was a name already coined at a time when the Town Council remained to be persuaded in 1767 to take its courage in both hands and proceed with James Craig's plan for the north side.

Immediately to the south of the town, such streets as Bristo Street, Nicolson Street and George Square were all taking shape during the 1760s. People of rank, learning and wealth were taking up residence in this area, in preference to the malodorous and overcrowded Old Town. The family of Walter Scott (his father was a Writer to the Signet) moved to no. 25 George Square in 1771 when Scott was an infant. George Square was Scott's home, on and off, for 26 years.

Southside Skyline

The snag about settling in the South Side was that these fine new properties lay outside the royalty, and therefore were beyond the jurisdiction of the Town Council. That meant they lacked good access from the town: to reach the new South Side meant descending into the Cowgate and then climbing the opposite slope. A bridge to span the Cowgate was mooted as early as 1775, but the South Bridge did not materialise until 1788. It is interesting that by that time, a number of residents of the New Town were thinking of acquiring second homes - and were looking for a 'country house' in the rural surroundings of the South Side! The South Bridge, when it did take shape, was very substantial: it had 19 arches and was more than 1,000 ft long. The shops and houses constructed along each side of it proved extremely popular.

Today it is easy to pass along this busy street without being aware that one is crossing a long and high bridge: the situation is revealed only as the pedestrian reaches a gap and sees the Cowgate far below.

Festival Theatre

The Edinburgh Festival Theatre in Nicolson Street is the city's most exciting development in the performing arts for many years. The Festival Theatre is being created by extending the beautiful Empire Theatre (designed by W. and T.R. Milburn in 1928) to equip it with the largest stage of any presenting theatre in Britain. It will be able to accommodate the world's largest opera, dance and musical companies as well as present drama and variety. There is also a cabaret stage and room for changing exhibitions of art. The width and height of the proscenium will show ballet, dance and opera to the best effect. Many important features of the original auditorium, including the mahogany fittings, are retained, and the orchestra pit can accommodate up to 120 players. It is Scotland's first major lyric theatre.

It is difficult now to visualise this historic area of the city as it once was, but Lord Cockburn, in his Memorials, has left us a fascinating glimpse. Recalling his boyhood (he was born in 1779) at the family home at Hope Park, at the eastern end of the Meadows, Cockburn wrote:

... nearly the whole country to the south of us, though all private property, was almost quite open. There were few fences south of the Meadows. The lands of Grange, Canaan, Blackford, Braid, Mortonhall and many other now enclosed properties, were all ... unenclosed; and we roamed at pleasure till we reached the Pentlands, or the deserts of Peeblesshire. A delightful region for wild active boys.

At that time, a remnant of what had been the convent of St Catherine of Siena (founded in 1517) still stood in a field behind the Cockburn home. The convent gave its name to the Sciennes district, and the lands of which Cockburn spoke so fondly are now noted for their villas, quiet streets and secluded gardens behind long stone walls. The semi-rural atmosphere survives.

In Dalkeith Road are the Pollock Halls, Edinburgh University halls of residence that occupy a delightful site on the border of Holyrood Park and Prestonfield Golf Club. In the university vacation, the halls are available to accommodate parties from out of town, including those attending conferences in the city.

The leading concert hall on this side of the city is the Queen's Hall, in Clerk Street, at which a wide variety of cultural events is presented throughout the year.

The Jewish community in Edinburgh have long associations with the Newington district, and their synagogue is at no. 4 Salisbury Road. The Islamic community's central mosque is in Potterrow.