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St Stephen's Church

Silvermills · 0.6 miles

A striking Baroque-Grecian structure dominates the vista from the lower end of St Vincent Street, its 162-ft tower housing Europe’s longest clock pendulum at 60 ft, installed in 1828 by James Ritchie & Son. The building sits on the corner of Saint Stephen Street and Saint Vincent Street in Edinburgh’s Northern New Town, nearest the Silvermills area, and was erected between 1827 and 1828 to a design by William Henry Playfair. Its square plan, with cut-off north and south corners, follows the oblique line of Saint Stephen Street, while the interior originally featured vaulted cellars that the first minister, William Muir, used for an evening school for the illiterate. The interior was reconfigured in 1956 after a decline in the congregation, creating a gallery level accessed from St Vincent Street and a series of halls below, including a main hall with a fully fitted stage that has hosted Festival Fringe productions. After a brief ownership by the Benzies Foundation, the property was purchased in 2017 by ballet dancer Peter Schaufuss, who renamed the principal space Ashton Hall. The venue now serves as a theatre and event space, home to the Edinburgh Festival Ballet, its school, and the MGA Academy, and continues to host performances during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Operated by the Benzies Foundation, the site offers a mixture of cultural and community activities, with its historic organ by Willis retained on the gallery level. Access is via the surrounding streets, and the building’s prominent tower remains a visible landmark in the neighbourhood.

Scottish American War Memorial

New Town · 0.6 miles

A bronze figure of a kilted infantryman stands on a Craigleith sandstone plinth in West Princes Street Gardens, looking toward Castle Rock. The central statue is accompanied by a low-relief frieze that depicts rows of men, including a pipe band, marching from civilian life into military service. The monument’s apex bears the intertwined escutcheons of Scotland and the United States, underscoring the transatlantic link that inspired its creation. Funded by the Scottish-American War Memorial Committee, the work was presented by Scottish-Americans as a tribute to Scots who fought in the First World War. Designed by the Scottish-Canadian sculptor R. Tait McKenzie, with architectural input from Reginald Fairlie, the piece was unveiled on 7 September 1927 by the United States Ambassador, Alanson B H Houghton. The bronze backdrop and the inscription of E. A. Mackintosh’s poem “A Creed” complete the composition, while contemporary accounts recorded a construction cost of ten thousand pounds. Historic Scotland classifies the memorial as a Category B listed building. The memorial occupies a publicly accessible garden in Edinburgh’s New Town, allowing visitors to view the sculpture at any time the gardens are open. No admission fee is mentioned, and the setting provides the usual amenities of the surrounding park. Its listed status ensures that the monument is protected under heritage regulations.

St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral

West End · 0.6 miles

Victorian Gothic revival architecture dominates the skyline of Edinburgh’s West End, where a three-spired cathedral rises as the episcopal seat for the diocese covering the Firth of Forth to the English border. Laid on Palmerston Place, the foundation stone was set on 21 May 1874 by the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, and the building was consecrated on 30 October 1879. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the structure achieved Category A listed status and forms part of the Old Town and New Town World Heritage Site. Its central spire reaches 90 metres, making it the tallest edifice in the Edinburgh urban area, while the twin western spires—named “Barbara” and “Mary” after the Walker sisters who funded the project—were completed in 1917. Subsequent additions include a Chapter House (1880) and a Song School (1885), both integral to the cathedral’s complex. The interior supports a continuous programme of choral worship, a practice unique among Scottish cathedrals, with daily services performed by choristers from the attached music school. Notable firsts include the introduction of girls into the treble line in 1978 and the appointment of a female alto in 2005. The Song School, decorated by Phoebe Anna Traquair between 1888 and 1892, contains a second Father Willis organ (1829) and offers guided tours at selected times. Ten original bells hang in the central tower, supplemented by two later additions. Wheelchair users can access the building without steps, ensuring inclusive entry for visitors.

West Princes Street Gardens

Old Town · 0.6 miles

Stretching 29 acres along the south side of Princes Street, West Princes Street Gardens provide a sizeable green space in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland. The park lies in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle and extends westwards to the churches of St John's and St Cuthbert's near Lothian Road. It is situated near the Old Town. The gardens are bounded by Princes Street to the north, with a series of statues lining the widened road after the 1880 widening. Opening times are published on the park's listing, and the site operates as a public park. Originally owned by the Princes Street Proprietors, the land passed to the council in 1816 and was opened to subscribers in 1821 under strict rules that excluded dogs, cricket, perambulators and smoking. In the mid-nineteenth century the Scottish Association for Suppressing Drunkenness successfully petitioned for the gardens to be opened on Christmas Day, New Year's Day and one additional day each year. The town council reacquired the grounds in 1876, despite local opposition, and commissioned City Architect Robert Morham to lay out the public park, including the picturesque gardener's cottage at the east end. A later agreement around 1880 widened Princes Street, creating a steeper embankment and allowing a series of statues to be placed along the road's edge. Current discussions about modernising the site are being driven by the Quaich Project, a fundraising effort managed by the Ross Development Trust. The gardens include a series of statues along the road edge, a gardener's cottage at the east end, and they provide a view towards Edinburgh Castle; the adjacent churches add architectural interest.

Melville's Monument

New Town · 0.6 miles

A striking column dominates St Andrew Square in Edinburgh’s New Town, rising to roughly 45 m and serving as a memorial to the Scottish statesman Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville. Construction began in 1821 and, after cost overruns, the monument was completed in 1827; the debt was finally cleared a decade later. Designed by William Burn and modelled on Rome’s Trajan’s Column, the shaft supports a 4.2 m statue of Dundas, sculpted by Francis Leggatt Chantrey and carved by Robert Forrest. The structure is listed as a historic monument and is recognised as one of Edinburgh’s most prominent landmarks. In recent years the monument has attracted debate over Dundas’s role in delaying the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade. Following protests in 2020, the City of Edinburgh Council added a plaque in October 2021 that attributes responsibility for “deferring the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade” and “imposing colonial rule on indigenous peoples” to Dundas. A planning committee voted in March 2023 to remove the plaque, although the council later confirmed it does not intend to do so. The monument is situated at the eastern end of St Andrew Square, readily reachable on foot from the surrounding New Town streets; no specific admission facilities are mentioned.

Adam Black Memorial

Old Town · 0.6 miles

A bronze statue commemorating Adam Black stands in East Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, close to the Old Town area. The monument, recorded as a historic memorial on OpenStreetMap, was erected in 1877 and was sculpted by John Hutchison. It marks the site where the publisher and former Lord Provost of Edinburgh is publicly remembered. Adam Black (20 February 1784 – 24 January 1874) was a prominent Scottish publisher and politician. After completing an apprenticeship with an Edinburgh bookseller, he opened his own business in 1808 and quickly became one of the city’s leading booksellers. In 1827 he, together with Macvey Napier and James Browne LLD, acquired the copyright of the Encyclopædia Britannica, overseeing the production of its seventh, eighth and ninth editions. His publishing house also secured the rights to the Waverley Novels in 1851 and later the works of De Quincey. Beyond his commercial activities, Black served twice as Lord Provost of Edinburgh and represented the city in Parliament from 1856 to 1865. The memorial provides a visual reference to Black’s contributions to publishing and civic life. As a listed monument within the public gardens, it forms part of the historic landscape surrounding Edinburgh’s Old Town, offering a point of interest for visitors interested in the city’s literary and political heritage.