Princes Street

Princes Street (

History

18th century

The street lies on the line of a medieval country lane known as the Lang Dykes and under the first plan for the New Town was to have been called St Giles Street after the patron saint of Edinburgh.

There has been controversy over buildings from the latter half of the 20th century on Princes Street.[7] This has prompted plans^[when?] to demolish the BHS and the Marks & Spencer buildings, in an effort to improve the status of the street.^[8] Another problem has been that upper floors are often used for storage, rather than as office, retail or living space. At an early stage in post-World War II designs for the street, a "high level walkway" was planned, as a further shopping frontage for the first floor level, in lieu of the other side of the street. However the walkway as built was never more than a number of isolated balconies and in practice the Royal Bank of Scotland was the only business to maintain a frontage at this level for any length of time; that branch of the bank closed early in the 21st century, leaving the upper walkway largely forgotten.

Princes Street was the scene of rioting in 2005 related to the 31st G8 summit referred to in the press as "The Battle of Princes Street".^[9][10]

21st century

Several UK well-known high street brands such as

On 25 January 2021, it was announced that Jenners department store, which has been located on Princes Street since Victorian times, was to close on May 3, 2021, in preparation for a three-year-long redevelopment.^[13] Also on 25 January, it was announced that Debenhams's department store on Princes Street would also close in May 2021.^[14] It was also announced on 25 January, that the administrator for troubled Arcadia group that own Topman and Topshop (also located on Princes Street) were in talks with online shopping brand ASOS with a view to selling the brands online, leaving the historic Edinburgh street losing recognisable brands, with many now migrating to the newly opened St James Quarter.^[15]

Princes Street Gardens and south side

During the construction of the New Town, the polluted waters of the Nor Loch were drained, and the area was converted into private gardens called Princes Street Gardens. This was taken over by the Edinburgh Council in the late-nineteenth century, by which time most of the street was commercial and there was no great need for private residential gardens. The width of Princes Street was greatly increased soon after, onto what was the northern edge of the gardens. Due to the much lower position of the gardens this led to the creation of the steep embankment on the north side, still visible today. The gardens are one of the many green spaces in the heart of Edinburgh.

The Gardens contain the Ross Bandstand (an open-air theatre), a

At the west end of Princes Street,

The floral clock dates from 1903 when it was first planted by the Park Superintendent, John McHattie. It displays a different theme every summer.

Princes Street remains popular, although it has now fallen from its status as the most expensive place to rent shop space in the UK outside of London.^[18] Princes Street may be one of the few streets in the UK to have an order of Parliament placed on it to prevent any further building on the south side, so as to preserve its open vista.

Transport

Road

Only the eastern third of Princes Street is open to general traffic. The main length is restricted to trams, buses, taxis and cyclists only.

Rail

Edinburgh Waverley railway station lies at the eastern end of Princes Street.

Tram

The Princes Street tram stop is an in-road island, situated just west of the Royal Scottish Academy near the foot of the Mound.

Buses

Princes Street is the focus of the majority of bus routes served by Lothian Buses.

• One of the main streets of the New Zealand city of Dunedin is named Princes Street after the street in Edinburgh. Dunedin is the Gaelic form of Edinburgh's name (Dùn Èideann) and many of Dunedin's streets duplicate Edinburgh street names.
• In 1970, James H. Howe composed a march for military band, called "Pride of Princes Street".
• A
  setts of Princes Street.^[19]

• The opening scene of the 1996 film Trainspotting shows the main character Mark Renton being chased by shop security guards along Princes Street.
• Sylvain Chomet's 2010 film The Illusionist features animated scenes depicting Princes Street as it was in the late-1950s.^{[citation needed]}

Famous residents

The street was originally built as a residential street and for the first 70 years held several notable residents:

• 1 – Richard Poole (physician)
• 2 – John Croall, famous coach-builder
• 3 – Very Rev John Drysdale
• 17 – Alexander Cowan's paper shop
• 38 - John Grieve, Lord Provost of Edinburgh
• 51 – Sir George Home (d.1803) and James Syme
• 65 – Robert Scott (engraver) and Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee and William Fraser Tytler
• 66 – Robert Bryson & Son, clockmakers
• 68 – Henry Erskine (lawyer)
• 85 – James Donaldson (publisher)
• 85 – Thomas Elder (Lord Provost of Edinburgh)
• 87 – Rev Thomas Randall Davidson of Muirhouse
• 90 – Hamilton & Inches, jeweller
• 92 – Alexander Handyside Ritchie, sculptor
• 93 – Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, antiquarian
• 95 – Robert Liston, surgeon
• 103 – James Maidment. legal author
• 113 – William Bonnar, artist
• 126 – William Forbes Skene

Historic Shops

• 58 - Alexander Adie, optician

Long-standing shops

• 2-7 -
  Woolworths now converted to the Apple Store
• 62 – Romanes & Paterson since 1874
• Jenners since 1838 but rebuilt in 1895. Closed 2022. Damaged by fire 2023.
• 120 - Saxone Shoes

References