William Henry Playfair FRSE was a prominent Scottish architect in the 19th century who designed the Eastern, or Third, New Town and many of Edinburgh's neoclassical landmarks.
William Henry Playfair
Playfair's townhouse at 17 Great Stuart Street, Edinburgh
Playfair's grave in Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh
Statue of William Henry Playfair, Chambers Street, Edinburgh
The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Street, facing Edinburgh Castle and the Old Town across the geological depression of the former Nor Loch. Together with the West End, the New Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside the Old Town in 1995. The area is also famed for the New Town Gardens, a heritage designation since March 2001.
New Town, seen looking south from the air
View of the First New Town from Edinburgh Castle, largely obscured by modern shopping developments
Thistle Court, the first building in the New Town
Montage image of Robert Adam's north side of Charlotte Square. Bute House, official residence of the First Minister of Scotland, is in the centre.
