This year marks the bicentenary of one of the most destructive events in Edinburgh’s history, the ‘Great Fire’ of 15-21 November 1824. In this blog, Ash Mowat, a volunteer in the Civic Engagement Team, will explore a set of engravings that vividly depict the devastation caused by the fire. They are the work of the Edinburgh-based artist William Home Lizars (1788-1859), who published eight images of the ruins to raise funds for those left homeless by the fire. Edinburgh University Library’s copy of this set (shelfmark JZ 449) bears an inscription to ‘Henry McKenzie Esq.’, very probably the Edinburgh novelist Henry Mackenzie (1745-1831), author of The Man of Feeling.

The fire broke out on 15 November 1824 and raged for over five days before it was finally extinguished. It caused considerable damage with the destruction of entire tenement blocks and around 400 homes, together with the loss of printmakers, shops, and other businesses. Tragically, thirteen people lost their lives in the incident, although, given the scale of the fire, this may seem mercifully less than could have been the case. The cause of the fire was never identified, but it is not difficult to imagine how it might have occurred and why it was able to spread over such a large area and endure for so long a span of time. This was a densely populated zone with packed tenement buildings of up to seven storeys in height. All residences utilised open fires as their source of heat and for cooking, and the buildings themselves featured timber floorings and internal frames, enabling flames to flourish and spread.

William Home Lizars was an accomplished and celebrated painter, draughtsman, and engraver, who was involved in the establishment of the Royal Scottish Academy. His engravings consist of eight images taken between Wednesday 17 November and Saturday 20 November.

The above image shows the abject ruins on Old Assembly Close, where the fire first broke out, destroying four tenements and the Assembly Hall ballroom. It’s a brilliant composition in its concentrated focus on the collapsed debris with no background adornment or surrounding buildings. Instead, we face the exposed interiors and remains of the once impressive buildings, reduced to ruins and rubble. It is very highly detailed and has an almost organic quality to its textures and tones. It is a fine, poignant ode to the devastating impact of the fire that destroyed numerous homes, leaving hundreds of families homeless.

In the image above we have the view from Old Fishmarket Close, a narrow passageway running off the High Street, where four six-storey tenement buildings and one business, Neil and Co. printworks, were destroyed in the fire. Like Old Assembly Close, Old Fishmarket Close survives to this day but has been subject to new building developments in the intervening period.

It is a nicely composed piece, which shows the close rising towards the towering tenements of the High Street, with the spire of St Giles Cathedral just off-centre to the right. The engraving captures the aftermath of the fire revealing the scant remains of the frames of the tenements that were damaged beyond repair and would later have to be demolished and rebuilt. There is an interesting contrast between areas of finely rendered detail and the looser depiction of the ruined structures. The chiaroscuro fluctuations in the use of light and dark give the image a three-dimensional feel.

The dramatic image above is taken on 20 November, one day before the fire was fully extinguished, and reveals the impact on the eastern side of Parliament Square when mines were detonated to bring down teetering, fire-ravaged tenements. Our eyes are drawn to the centre of the piece as the remains of the buildings begin to crumble to the ground. To give a highly effective impression of scale, we have a tiny single figure at the foot of the tenements, perhaps orchestrating the operation, as plumes of dust and debris bring both movement and energy to the image.

It would be interesting to know how well tolerated and accommodated an artist would have been amidst the efforts of the firefighters and others to stem the fire and make the area safe. Obviously, we are in a pre-photographic era here so artists would be the only means to capture the events, so presumably someone with the renown and skill of Lizars would have been an authorised and approved presence at the scene.

A curious coincidence with the timing of the fire was that just one month earlier Edinburgh had established the world’s first municipal fire brigade service, led by firefighter and Master of Engines James Braidwood (1800-1861). No blame for the fire damage was laid upon the newly founded service or upon Braidwood’s leadership. Rather, he was praised for his bravery and diligence in fighting and subduing the fire, and in utilising new skills and processes to do so. See the Museum of Scottish Fire Heritage’s Our Origin Story for more on the history of the Fire Service in Scotland.

I’d like to thank my supervisor Laura Beattie (University of Edinburgh Community Engagements Officer) for guidance and support, and to Paul Barnaby (Modern Literary Collections Curator) for suggesting the subject. Further thanks also to all the staff at the Centre for Research Heritage Collections for enabling access to view these items.