The Nor Loch, also known as the Nor' Loch and the North Loch, was a loch formerly in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the area now occupied by Princes Street Gardens, which lies between the Royal Mile and Princes Street. Alexander Nasmyth ( 9 September 1758 &ndash 10 April 1840) was a Scottish Portrait and landscape painter A loch (usually Lough as a name element outside Scotland) is a body of Water which is either a Lake or Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Princes Street Gardens is a public park in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Royal Mile is the popular name for the succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of Edinburgh's Old Town. Princes Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, and its main shopping street

Contents 1 Geological formation 2 Early history 3 Middle Ages to 19th century 4 Modern period 5 Other lost lochs in Edinburgh 6 References 7 Further reading and references

Geological formation

The depression, along with the parallel one, now occupied by the Cowgate, was formed by glacial erosion during the last Ice Age, when the icepack was forced to divide by the volcanic plug now known as Castle Rock. The Cowgate is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about 5 minutes' walk from Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site Erosion is the carrying away or displacement of solids ( Sediment, Soil, rock and other particles usually by the agents of currents such as wind "Last glacial" redirects here For the period of maximum glacier extent during this time see Last Glacial Maximum The last glacial period A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcanic landform created when Lava hardens within a Vent on Edinburgh Castle is an ancient Stronghold which dominates the sky-line of the

Early history

The Nor Loch was initially a marsh, and part of the natural defence of the Edinburgh Old Town. In Geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of Wetland which is subject The Old Town of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Because the Old Town was built on a steep ridge (still clearly visible today), it expanded on an east-west axis, eastwards from the castle; expansion northward, as would happen with the later New Town, was extremely difficult at this point. The Nor Loch was thus a hindrance to both invaders and town growth.

In 1460 King James III ordered the Nor Loch area to be flooded in order to strengthen the castle's defences. James III (c 1451/1452 &ndash 11 June 1488) was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488 ^[1] It is thought never to have been particularly deep.

Middle Ages to 19th century

As the Old Town became ever more crowded during the Middle Ages, the Nor Loch became similarly polluted, by sewage, household waste, and general detritus thrown down the hillside. Historians are divided on whether the loch was ever used for drinking water.

The Nor Loch fulfilled a variety of other roles during this period including:

• Defence - Scotland, and particularly Edinburgh, suffered frequent English invasions during its independence. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland
• Witch dunking - over 300 suspected witch trials are documented at this site, as commemorated by a plaque on the castle esplanade, and it is possible that many more went undocumented. In many cases, these "trials" would have been fatal, and the suspects thus acquitted.
• Suicides - The Nor Loch was a popular spot for suicide attempts during its existence, later superseded by the city's bridges.
• Crime - The loch appears to have been used both as a smuggling route, and a site for the punishment of crime. Smuggling, also known as trafficking, is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons past a point where prohibited such as out of a building into a Prison

In 1759,^[2] the Nor Loch was drained and formed part of Princes Street Gardens, although frequent floods both then and now, threatened to "resurrect" it. Princes Street Gardens is a public park in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. For several decades after the Loch was drained, townspeople continued to refer to the area as the 'Nor Loch'.

Modern period

Although the Nor Loch was filled in during the 19th century, neither its legacy nor its name are entirely forgotten. During the construction of Waverley Station and the railway lines through the area, a number of bones were uncovered. Edinburgh Waverley railway station, commonly referred to as just " Waverley " locally is the main Railway station in the Scottish capital

Other lost lochs in Edinburgh

The Nor Loch is not the only "lost loch" in the city. Another example is "Gogarloch" in the South Gyle area. Gogarloch is a residential area within South Gyle, Edinburgh, Scotland. South Gyle is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying on the western edge of the city and to the south and west of an area of former marshland once known as the Like the Nor Loch, this was mostly marshland, rather than a true loch. A loch (usually Lough as a name element outside Scotland) is a body of Water which is either a Lake or It was reclaimed for a park, housing and to build the railway to the Forth Bridge. For the nearby road bridge see Forth Road Bridge. The Forth Bridge is a cantilever Railway Bridge over the

The Meadows, a large open park immediately to the south of the city centre, was once the Burgh Loch or occasionally the South Loch. This article describes the park in Edinburgh For the place in Florida see The Meadows Florida.

References

Further reading and references

• Fife, Malcolm - The Nor Loch, Scotland's Lost Loch (Scotforth Books, 2005)

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