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The Nor Loch, also known as the Nor' Loch and the North Loch, was a man-made loch formerly in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the area now occupied by Princes Street Gardens and Waverley station which lie between the Royal Mile and Princes Street.
The depression, along with the parallel one now occupied by the Cowgate, was formed by glacial erosion during the last Ice Age, when the icepack was forced to divide by the volcanic plug now known as Castle Rock.
A marsh formed in the hollow and was part of the natural defence of the Old Town of Edinburgh.
In 1460 King James III ordered the hollow to be flooded in order to complete the defences of the town and Edinburgh Castle. [1] The loch was formed by creating an earthen dam to block the progress of the Tummel Burn, a stream that ran along the foot of the north side of the castle rock. The water level was controlled by a sluice in the dam [2] which was at the foot of Halkerston's Wynd.
Because the Old Town was built on a steep ridge, it expanded on an east-west axis, eastwards from the castle; expansion northward, as would happen with the later New Town, was extremely difficult at this point. The Nor Loch was thus a hindrance to both invaders and town growth.
In the winter of 1571, as part of a plan to end the "Lang Siege", the Earl of Morton explained that, "One side of the town is 'unwallit', and the frost may give occasion to assault it that way with far less difficulty than otherwise", suggesting that the requested English army could cross the frozen Loch. [3]
In 1603, King James VI gave the Town Council title to the land, pools and marshes of the loch. [4]
As the Old Town became ever more crowded during the Middle Ages, the Nor Loch became similarly polluted, by sewage, household waste, and general detritus thrown down the hillside. The loch was never used as drinking water but there were wells beside it (see below).
The Nor Loch fulfilled a variety of other roles during this period including:
However, in 1685 the law of Scotland outlawed drowning as a form of execution. Before then many lives were taken. On one day in 1624, eleven women were drowned. Four years later, George Sinclair confessed to committing incest with his two sisters. All three were sentenced to death, but it was said[ by whom? ] that the clergy commuted the sentence on the younger sister. Sinclair and his older sister were placed in a large chest with holes drilled in it and thrown into the loch to drown. Two centuries later, in 1820, the chest was rediscovered by workmen digging a drain near the Wellhouse Tower of the Castle. James Skene of Rubislaw, who was present at the work in the gardens, reported that the skeleton of a tall man was found between those of two women. Later 19th-century accounts report only two skeletons being found in the chest. [6]
Draining of the Nor Loch began at the eastern end to allow construction of the North Bridge.
Draining of the western end was undertaken 1813 to 1820, under supervision by the engineer James Jardine to enable the creation of Princes Street Gardens. For several decades after draining of the Loch began, townspeople continued to refer to the area as the Nor Loch. [1]
The Nor Loch was never a source of drinking water, and indeed was probably highly polluted, being largely stagnant and used as a dumping ground for rubbish over and above being the termination point of many of the Old Town's open sewers. However, there was a drinking water source at its edge. The wellhouse tower was built in 1362 and had two functions: bridging the small gap in the city fortifications between Edinburgh Castle and the Nor Loch; and protecting and covering a well going down to natural ground water level below the loch. [7]
The two storey structure was a drinking water source for the castle. It had timber steps leading up the steep slope back to the castle but most water was taken up by crane. [8] It was in ruins by the seventeenth century and little remains today.
Although the Nor Loch was drained during the 19th century, neither its legacy nor its name are entirely forgotten. During the construction of Waverley station and the railway lines through the area, a number of bones were uncovered.
Princes Street Gardens were created in the 1820s and now occupy much of the loch's former extent.
The Nor Loch is not the only "lost loch" in the city. Another example is Gogarloch in the South Gyle area. Like the Nor Loch, this was mostly marshland, rather than a true loch. It was reclaimed for a park, housing and to build the railway to the Forth Bridge.
The Meadows, a large open park immediately to the south of the city centre, was once the Burgh Loch, occasionally referred to as the South Loch. Its name is remembered in the street called Boroughloch.
Canonmills Loch once stretched from today's Dundas Street to Rodney Street.
Lochend Loch in Lochend Park and Duddingston Loch in Holyrood Park are the only remaining natural lochs in the city while St. Margaret's and Dunsapie Lochs, also in Holyrood Park, are artificial.
Edinburgh Waverley railway station is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. The station serves as the northern terminus of the East Coast Main Line, 393 miles 13 chains from London King's Cross, although some trains operated by London North Eastern Railway continue to other Scottish destinations beyond Edinburgh.
Princes Street Gardens are two adjacent public parks in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Gardens were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and building of the New Town, beginning in the 1760s.
This article is a timeline of the history of Edinburgh, Scotland, up to the present day. It traces its rise from an early hill fort and later royal residence to the bustling city and capital of Scotland that it is today.
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Abbeyhill is an area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.
Granton is a district in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland. Granton forms part of Edinburgh's waterfront along the Firth of Forth and is, historically, an industrial area having a large harbour. Granton is part of Edinburgh's large scale waterfront regeneration programme.
The Old Town is the name popularly given to the oldest part of Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh. The area has preserved much of its medieval street plan and many Reformation-era buildings. Together with the 18th/19th-century New Town, and West End, it forms part of a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Canonmills is a district of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It lies to the south east of the Royal Botanic Garden at Inverleith, east of Stockbridge and west of Bellevue, in a low hollow north of Edinburgh's New Town. The area was formerly a loch which was drained in three phases in the 18th and 19th centuries, disappearing finally in 1865.
Lochend is a mainly residential suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is named after Lochend Castle and the adjacent Lochend Loch, located in the western part of Restalrig on the boundary between Leith and The Canongate, approximately two miles from Edinburgh city centre. The suburb consists largely of a 1930s public housing estate, and is bounded on the west by Easter Road.
Restalrig is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, both of which it overlaps. Restalrig Road is the main route through the area, running from London Road, at Jock's Lodge, to Leith Links. It is in the ward of Lochend.
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Duddingston Loch is a lake, or freshwater loch, in Edinburgh. It is one of the last two remaining natural lochs within the city, the other being Lochend Loch. It is situated to the south of Holyrood Park and lies southwest of the village of Duddingston.
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Lochend House, also known as Restalrig Castle and Lochend Castle, is an occupied house, incorporating the remains of a 16th-century L-plan tower house, in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located in the Lochend area, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Edinburgh Castle. The house is protected as a category B listed building.
Lochend Loch, which once had nearly three acres in surface area is now only a small freshwater loch remnant. It lies in the South Ayrshire Council Area, lying on the hill above Joppa, between Gallowhill and Lochend Farm.
Lochend Park is a public park in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is situated in the Lochend / Restalrig area, next to Lochend Castle and near Meadowbank Stadium. The loch with its wide range of waterfowl is the main attraction, but there are also historical buildings, a children's play area, and sports areas. The park was awarded a Green Flag in 2012 in recognition of it being a quality greenspace. Within the park there is a 16th-century doocot which is Category B listed.
Waverley Bridge is a road bridge in Edinburgh linking Market Street and Cockburn Street in the Old Town with Princes Street in the New Town. The bridge forms part of the roof of Edinburgh Waverley station and marks the eastern boundary of Princes Street Gardens. The current bridge was built between 1894 and 1896 by Blyth and Westland; it is Category A listed as part of the station.
James Skene of Rubislaw (1775–1864) was a Scottish lawyer and amateur artist, best known as a friend of Sir Walter Scott.
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