At Home on Charlotte Square

Susan here, with Part Two of my travelogue about my recent trip to Scotland – a visit to The Georgian House, a museum and restored Georgian and Regency-era home on Charlotte Square in Edinburgh. I had missed this wonderful place on my previous trips to Scotland, so this time, when my son and I had one day left in Edinburgh before flying home, I was determined to see it to explore life in Edinburgh ca. 1800.

This place was research heaven for me, as several of my Scottish Regencies are set in Edinburgh’s New Town around 1820 (and I’m writing new related stories currently). I’ve been using antique maps in my research so I knew the street layout of New Town well enough to guide us as we walked around. What a thrill to stroll the streets where my characters live, run around, fall in love, and chase baddies. And just incredible to walk through a house set up as my characters would have known it. 

When the New Town was designed by Robert Adam and others and new homes were constructed in the mid-18th century, the goal was to expand the city’s residential neighborhoods and escape the overcrowded medieval and Renaissance-era streets of old Edinburgh. The oldest buildings centered on the High Street (Royal Mile) and side streets sometimes leaned on one another with upper levels projected over the street, blocking light (and where cries of “gardez-loo” echoed). The new townhomes were spacious and elegant, with palatial facades uniformly packed along grid-like streets for an orderly upscale look. Not everyone could afford to live there. The new houses were purchased by titled lords and ladies, gentlemen clan chiefs, the literati, high-ranking officials, and so on. The streets of New Town branch off of Prince Street, with some of the finest homes built on and around Charlotte Square (Prince Street, Queen Street, Charlotte Square, George Square…notice a pattern?). 

On nearby North Castle Street, a handsome stone-fronted house bears a plaque stating that Sir Walter Scott lived here. This was his home in the city; his divine country estate was Abbotsford in the Borders. Note the bridge-style walk to the front door. A set of steps to the side leads down to the servants’ entrance and kitchen, a common feature of these Scottish homes and a great solution for these sloped streets. 

Charlotte Square, a quiet park, is fenced off these days; its beautiful shade trees and grassy expanse are surrounded by stately homes. Across the street is The Georgian House, next door to the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland. Nice neighborhood! 

Upon entering the Georgian House, another home with a bridge-style entrance, we crossed the foyer and found the reception area in the hall by the stairs. Here visitors pay the entrance fee and can browse a little gift shop full of Scottish treasures (I am very susceptible to such things and had to be coaxed away). 

Climbing steep stairs to the second level (in the US we’d call it the third floor), we viewed a film about the Lamont family who once owned the house, with an overview of the time when the family flourished there (Lamont, chief of his clan, purchased the house for £1800 in 1796). Then we explored the uppermost rooms, filled with displays of furniture, artworks, books, toys, clothing, handicrafts, and more. 

Going down to the next floor, we toured the parlor and drawing room, with gorgeous furniture, portraits, porcelain figures, and fabulous patterned carpets. The expanse of green-and-white carpet in the large drawing room allowed plenty of space for dancing, while musicians played fiddles or the little square piano (ca. 1810). 

Back downstairs to explore the dining room, an imposing and beautiful room with a large table set with porcelain, glasses, silverware, and candlesticks, ready for a fancy dinner. Mirrors, portraits, landscapes, gorgeous draperies and every sumptuous feature of this room display the elegant lifestyle that was possible in Edinburgh’s New Town. 

Next to the dining room–separated by a curious little necessary room, with a hefty walnut bench containing a porcelain potty–we entered the bedroom. It was not uncommon for the master bedroom to be located on this level, since it was often used as a place to visit with close family and friends. A gorgeous room full of florals and ruffles, it had a curtained bed of modest width but impressive height (I’m just under five feet and would need a multi-step stool to get into that thing)–it looked very plush and comfy!

On a table in the bedroom was the family medicine cabinet. This was an antique original complete with bottles labeled with potions, curatives, and poisons–everything from oil of peppermint to chloroform. My son, a medical toxicologist, examined the cabinet contents and drawled, “Yeah, there’s a lot in there that’ll kill ya.”

Then downstairs to the kitchen–thick walls and slate floors, fake fire crackling in the hearth and beautiful black iron ovens. A big worktable held platters and bowls of convincing faux food including fruits, veggies, roasts, and desserts. The high windows are on a level with the street (which reminded me of “Laverne & Shirley,” if you recall that show!). In the corridor outside the kitchen were a few small cellar rooms beautifully set up as a larder, a wine cellar, and storage for crockery and exquisite porcelain. A separate entrance for deliveries and servants led up a few steps to the street. Finally, a storage room converted to a bookshop, which made it even more challenging to leave the kitchen level and say farewell to the Georgian House. 

This elegant home represents a refined Georgian and Regency culture in Scotland, with Scottish touches–plaid fabrics, Scottish literature, artworks, and food. Yet the brilliant and unique character of the Scots existed less in a house like this than in its inhabitants, whose attitudes, traditions, and preferences would highlight the true differences. In my books, I do all I can to conjure an authentic sense of the Scottishness that was very much a part of that era. I hope it shows!

It was a joy to spend time in a house so much like those I’ve created for my characters–like the New Town houses that Ronan MacGregor and Ellison Graham have in A Rogue in Firelight, and the homes of my characters in my upcoming novel, Lyon of Scotland (coming in August). If you’re curious about Regency Scotland, give them a try! 

Have you been to Edinburgh? If so, what were your favorite spots? If not, is it on your bucket list?