Edinburgh - Netherbow Port c1544

Edinburgh - Netherbow Port c1544

Intangible Heritage

Our depiction of Edinburgh and the Canongate was inspired by a drawing in the British Library made by the English military engineer Richard Lee, who accompanied Hertford’s forces in 1544. Lee’s drawing is the earliest moderately realistic picture of Edinburgh and would influence how the English portrayed the Scottish capital into the seventeenth century (a variant of Lee’s illustration is included in John Speed’s atlas, The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain, published c.1611). It is possible that Lee’s plan was created to explain the outcome of the Edinburgh expedition to Henry VIII of England. On 19 May 1544 the Earl of Hertford informed Henry that he was sending him ‘Master Lee, who I assure your Majesty hath served in the journey both honestly and willingly, [and] doth bring unto your Highness a plat of Leith and Edinburgh so as your Majesty shall perceive the situations of the same, which is undoubtedly set forth as well as is possible.’

reconstructions

2017

image/png

Reconstruction

201

In Copyright (InC)

current,55.950556,-3.184444;

https://www.openvirtualworlds.org/netherbow-port-1544/

https://player.vimeo.com/video/224292141

Smart History

TEXT

http://canmore.org.uk/site/52153

Firstly, a digital landscape was created using survey data and height maps. Following extensive historical research and collaboration with specialists, 3D models are created and imported into UNREAL Engine (a cross-platform game engine for creating virtual worlds). Models are textured, scaled, oriented and assembled. Scenes are created and populated with appropriate objects, including furniture and artefacts. Landscapes populated with flora and fauna. Weather settings and atmospheric lighting. Clothing and characters researched, created, imported and animated.

The Netherbow Port was a great gateway across the Royal Mile, controlling access to the burgh of Edinburgh. In 1544, it was attacked by the English, who blew the gates open with a culverin (a type of cannon with a relatively long range, often used to bombard targets from a distance). The Netherbow was remodelled in the 1570s, and a clock tower seems to have been added around this date. The gateway was eventually demolished in the mid-eighteenth century as it was felt to be a hindrance to traffic.

Richard Fawcett (University of St Andrews), John Lawson (CECAS), Bess Rhodes (University of St Andrews)

Sarah Kennedy, Iain Oliver, Bess Rhodes, Catherine Anne Cassidy, CJ Davies, Adeola Fabola, John McCaffrey, Alan Miller

1544