Overview of Ramsay Garden

An elegant and prestigious group of tenement houses which lies adjacent to the Castle Esplanade at the top of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. Built 1892-3 around the houses of poet Allan Ramsay (1686 - 1758) and his son, also Allan, the painter (1713-84), to the design of innovative town planner Sir Patrick Geddes (1854 - 1932), the development was intended to bring Edinburgh University staff and students into contact with Edinburgh citizens in a residential setting. The mixture of Scottish baronial and English cottage styles are combined with distinctive red sandstone and whitewash on a steeply-sloping site, which gives spectacular views over the New Town. The flats of Ramsay Garden are now amongst the most sought-after in the city.