Watercolour on board, c.1818
William Henry Playfair (1790-1857)
RCAHMS: RIAS Collection
The Royal Observatory on Calton Hill was constructed in 1818 to a design by William Playfair. This highly romanticized drawing complete with ruins depicts an earlier unexecuted proposal. It forms part of a dramatic grouping on Calton Hill, contributing to Edinburgh’s title of ‘The Athens of the North’.
The Royal Observatory was built for the Astronomical Association, of which James Playfair, William’s uncle, was president. In 1896, due to railway smoke from the nearby Waverley Station, the observatory moved to Blackford Hill. The Calton Hill building is now a lecture theatre and auditorium.