Detail of Edinburgh coat of arms on east face of parapet

Description Detail of Edinburgh coat of arms on east face of parapet

Date 15/2/2002

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number E 16475 CN

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 701776

Scope and Content East panel, Union Canal Bridge No 1, Viewforth, Edinburgh This shows a panel with a carved castle on Bridge No 1 which was rebuilt in this form around 1900. The panel is supported on a corbelled plinth which is above the keystone of the arch of the bridge. This panel represents Edinburgh and is on the east side of the bridge whereas on the west side there is a panel of a tree and fish which represents Glasgow. Originally the canal was called the 'Glasgow & Edinburgh Union Canal'. The coat of arms for Edinburgh was established in 1732 but the castle was an emblem of Edinburgh for a long time before that. This representation of the castle shows the building on a rock with three towers that have two windows. Most representations contain these features but it is also usual for the castle to have a lowered portcullis and red flags on the towers. The government authorised the construction of the Union Canal in 1817 and appointed Hugh Baird (1770-1827) as the chief engineer. The main purpose of the canal was to provide an economical route for the transportation of coal and lime between Edinburgh and Glasgow via the Forth & Clyde Canal (1768-90). The 51km-long canal was opened in 1822 at a cost of £461,760, almost double the estimate, and it ran from Lock 16 at Camelon, Falkirk to Fountainbridge, Edinburgh. Except where the two canals are joined at Falkirk, the canal was built with no locks because it followed the contours of the hills. The Union Canal was closed in 1965, two years after the Forth & Clyde Canal, and the construction of new roads meant that it was impossible for boats to travel along the full length of these watercourses. However, the £84.5m Millennium Link project enabled both canals to reopen in 2002. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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