A city of political intrigue and fears of English oppression: Researchers unveil unique view of Edinburgh – 470 years ago For visitors to the Scottish capital, it will be a fresh insight into a city convulsed by political intrigue and […]

For visitors to the Scottish capital, it will be a fresh insight into a city convulsed by political intrigue and fears of English oppression. But rather than being a view of present day Edinburgh, this is a snapshot of the city 470 years ago.

A team of researchers has unveiled the first digital reconstruction of Edinburgh as it appeared at the time of the birth of Mary Queen of Scots and on the eve of an assault by an English army which left much of the city a smoking ruin.

Royal Mile

The project by historians and digital experts at St Andrews University will see the launch a mobile app to function as “time travel binoculars” by transposing contemporary Edinburgh with images of how the city appeared in 1544.

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Based on a 16th-century drawing of Edinburgh by an English military engineer, researchers have recreated the townscape and key thoroughfares such as the Royal Mile, Cowgate and Grassmarket where the intrigues of the aftermath of the death of King James V in 1542 were played out.

‘Tumultuous period”

Using archaeological data, documentary sources and the expertise of architectural and art historians, the St Andrews team have combined pre-Reformation Edinburgh with digital technology that will present users on the streets of the city with an accurate view of how whatever they are looking at would have appeared nearly five centuries earlier.

Dr Bess Rhodes, an expert on Scottish history who worked on project, said the 1540s represented a “tumultuous period” in Edinburgh’s history after Henry VIII of England ordered an invasion of Scotland following the death of James V to force a betrothal between the infant Mary and his young son, Edward.

This “Rough Wooing”, as the conflict came to be known, began with an attack on Edinburgh in May 1544 by the Earl of Hertford, Edward Seymour.

Layers

Dr Rhodes said: “Hertford’s forces failed to capture Edinburgh Castle, but set fire to the city, destroying much of the medieval townscape, before they retreated. Our reconstruction is the first digital representation of Edinburgh at this eventful moment in the capital’s past. I hope it makes the public more aware of the layers in Edinburgh’s history and furthers understanding of the complex way in which the city evolved.”

The reconstruction gives an overview of the townscape of the entirety of the 16th century city with a particular focus on the Royal Mile, the thoroughfare that forms the historic spine of Edinburgh.

The app, marketed by Smart History, a company set up by the university, will be available from 1 May. A spokeswoman for St Andrews said details such as whether it will be paid for were still being finalised.