358 OLD -4KD NEW EDINBURGH. ELauristollr - _
.. . . .
whom were the Duke of Buccleuch, the Earl 01
Stair, and Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, of Pollock
and Keir, with an acting committee, at the head
of whom were the Lord Provost, the Principal, Sir
Alexander Grant, Bart., and Professor Sir Robert
Christison, Bart., D.C.L.
The project was started in 1874, and commenced
fairly in 1878. The architect was Mr. R. Rowand
Anderson, and the cost of the whole, when
finished, was estimated at about ,t;250,000.
The first portion erected was the southern block,
comprising the departments of anatomy, surgery,
practice of physic, physiology, pathology, midwifery,
and a portion of the chemistry. The frontage
to the Meadow Walk presents a bold and
semicircular bay, occupied by the pathology
and midwifery department. An agreeable variety,
,but general harmony of style, characterises the
buildings as a whole, and this arose from the
architect adhering strictly to sound principle, in
studying first his interior accommodation, and
then allowing it to express itself in the external
elevations.
The square block at the sjouthem end of the
Meadow Walk, near the entrance to George Square,
is chiefly for the department of physiology ; whilst
the south front is to a large extent occupied by
anatomy. . The hall for the study of practical anatomy is
lighted by windows in the roof and an inner court
facing to the north, a southern light being deemed
unnecessary or undesirable. The blank wall thus
left on the south forms an effective foil to the
pillared windows of the physiology class-room, at
one end, and to some suitable openings, similarly
treated, which serve to light hat and coat rooms,
&c., at the other.
In the eastern frontage to Park Place, where the
departments of anatomy, physic, and surgery, are
'placed, a prominent feature in the design is
produced by the exigencies of internal accommodation.
As it was deemed unnecessary in
the central part of the edifice to carry the groundfloor
so far forward as the one immediately above,
the projecting portion of the latter is supported by
massive stone trusses, or brackets, which produce a
series of deep shadows with a bold and picturesque
effect. The inner court is separated from the
chief quadrangle of the building by a noble
hall upwards of IOO feet long, for the accommodation
of the University anatomical museum. It
has two tiers of galleries, and is approached by
a handsome vestibule with roof groined in stone,
and supported by pillars of red sandstone. The
quadrangle is closed in to the west, north, and east,
by extensive rmges of apartments for the accommodation
of chemistry, materia medica, and
medical jurisprudence. The north front faces
Teviot Row, and in it is the chief entrance to the
quadrangle by a massive gateway, which forms one
of the leading architectural features of the design.
When the building devoted to educational purposes
shall have been completed, there will only remain
to be built the great college hall and campanile,
which are to complete the east face of the design.
Including the grant of &3o,ooo obtained from
Government, the whole amount at the disposal of
the building committee is about &18o,ooo.
For the erection of the hall and tower a further
sum of about &5o,ooo or ~60,000 is supposed to
be necessary.
The new Royal Infirmary, on the western side Ff
the Meadow Walk, occupies the grounds of George
\.Vatson's Hospital, and is engrafted on that edifice.
The latter was bnilt in what was then a spacious
field, lying southward of the city wall. The founder,
who was born in 1650, the year of Cromwell's ipvasion,
was descended from a family which for
some generations had been merchants in Edinburgh;
but, by the death of his father, John Watson,
and the second marriage of his mother, George
and his brother were left to the care of destiny.
A paternal aunt, Elizabeth Watson, or Davidson,
however, provided for their maintenance and education
; but George being her favourite, she bound
him as an apprentice to a merchant in the city,
and after visiting Holland to improve his knowledge
of business, she gave him a small sum wherewith
to start on his own account. He returned to
Scotland, in the year 1676, when he entered the
service of Sir James Dick, knight, and merchant of
Edinburgh, as his clerk or book-keeper, who some
time after allowed him to transact, in a mercantile
way, certain affairs in the course of exchange between
Edinburgh and London on his own. behalf.
In 1695 he became accountant to the Bank of
Scotland, and died in April, 1723, and by his will
bequeathed ;~;IZ,OOO to endow a hospital for the
maintenance and instruction of the male children
and grandchildren of decayed merchants in Edinburgh
; and by the statutes of trustees, a preference
was given to the sons and grandsons of members of
the Edinburgh Merchant Company. The money
left by the prudent management of the governors
was improved to about &20,000 sterling befort
they began the erection of the hospital in 1738,
in a field of seven acres belonging to Heriot's
Trust.
George Watson, in gratitude for the benefits conferred
upon him in his friendless boyhood by his
