Edinburgh
The city is situated on the south side of the Firth of Forth, and as part of the Central Lowlands, was subjected to successive waves of invaders and settlers from all parts of Northern Europe over several hundred years. It is uniquely situated astride two glaciated ridges, separated by a deep trough; an ideal location for its fortified castle and walled town.
From mediaeval times, the town spread along the southern ridge, astride the Royal Mile, that ran from the Castle to Holyrood Abbey. As the population grew, the town walls restricted development, and extra housing had to go upwards. But the overcrowding continued. By 1700, the population of about 30,000 was huddled into large tenements close to the smelly trough, until the area became squalid, and acquired the name Auld Reekie. Various Fairholm families lived there over the years, and some were trades people outside the town walls. At one time, there was a Fairholm Bank in one of the closes or wynds off the Royal Mile.In 1767 an Act of Parliament approved the extension of the city boundary, which allowed a "New Town" to be built on the northern ridge. This was on a grid-square plan, with wide streets and large Georgian houses. The deep trough was drained, and during the next 80 years, bridges were built across it, to join the Old and New Towns, and some roads were built at two levels. By 1801, the population of Edinburgh, and the adjacent port of Leith, had grown to 83,000. As the population increased during the next 200 years, the City of Edinburgh's boundaries were progressively expanded to take in surrounding parishes and townships in Edinburghshire County, sometimes resulting in changes to place name descriptions in official documents, such as censuses and certificates.
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