As in any large city, clean drinking water was seriously lacking in 17th century Edinburgh. At that time, the city’s water supply came from the Nor Loch (now Princes St Gardens) but the Nor Loch was also the holding basin for the human waste and other sewage that had run down the streets off the Royal Mile and ended up in the Loch.
So, in 1624, an act of parliament which allowed the city to bring fresh water drinking and bathing into Edinburgh from the Pentland Hills, some 10 miles to the south of the city. This was done using long, wooden pipes, which were really just hollowed out tree trunks.
These were connected end to end until they hit the top of the Royal Mile, where a reservoir had been built to store the water. Although the reservoir no longer exists, its location does. It is at the bottom of Castle Esplanade where the Woollen Mill now stands. The reservoir was quite deep (about the five storeys that occupy the weaving mill).
From the reservoir, the water was connected to 12 well heads located around the old town.
The well heads became the places where people would line
up for fresh water with their jugs and chat and gossip while waiting in line.
The wealthier residents had “Caddies” – young boys who would fetch the water
for them and then carry it up the several flights of stairs in the tenements to
the top levels where the wealthier families lived. These jugs could weigh
anywhere from 25-50 pounds when full.
No comments:
Post a Comment