Plague & Improvement, the Reality of Edinburgh New Town, talk by Tony Lewis

Tony Lewis is speaking at Augustine United Church on Wednesday 20 January, with the Old Edinburgh Club presenting. The talk is called Plague & Improvement, the Reality of Edinburgh New Town, and it looks at the New Town not as a grand architectural whim, but as a direct response to the plague threat of 1720.

Lewis traces the timeline from that initial scare through to 1725, following what the city magistrates did, who they took advice from, and how the situation developed over those five years. Part of that story is George Drummond's plan to make Edinburgh a healthier city, and the foundations of the Infirmary hospital. The New Town eventually grew into a legacy project of Georgian Britain's largest urban planning scheme, so the talk connects the dots between a specific public health crisis and the wide streets we walk today.

It's the kind of thing that makes the city feel a bit different when you're out in it — seeing the New Town as a reaction to the plague rather than just a pretty Georgian expansion. If you're into local history, it's a good chance to hear how a few years of panic and planning ended up shaping the whole layout of the town.

The session will be recorded and added to the OEC YouTube channel, so if you can't make it in person, you can catch it later. The church also has an Auracast hearing system for anyone with impaired hearing. It runs from 7pm to 8:30pm, with doors open from 6:30pm, at Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EL.