Edinburgh
Did you know?
The site on which Quartermile stands was the birthplace of some of the most important medical inventions and discoveries in the world.
- Chloroform was first used as anaesthetic at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, by the eminent surgeon and obstetrician Sir James Young Simpson (after whom the former Simpson Memorial Maternity Hospital was named). The surgeon had tried several different anaesthetic agents with his colleagues by inhaling their vapours around the dinner table at his home. He found chloroform to be the most efficacious.
He championed the use of chloroform against medical, moral and religious opposition. It was not until Queen Victoria used this anaesthetic during the birth of Prince Leopold (1853) that its use became generally accepted.
- Pioneering surgeon James Syme (1799 – 1870) invented the waterproof material used to make Mackintosh coats while at the Royal Infirmary. The chemist Charles Macintosh (1766-1843), learned of the method, then developed and patented it for commercial purposes. As a result, the Mackintosh raincoat was born and Syme, who took little interest in business matters, lost a fortune. Syme also built the Burn-House at the Royal Infirmary – the world’s first hospital for burns victims.
- Joseph Lister (1827-1912), who would go on to pioneer the use of antiseptics in surgery, was appointed as an assistant surgeon at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in October 1856.
The historical Meadows, to the south of Quartermile, used to be a stretch of water called Burgh Loch. The loch was drained in the 1700s to provide 63 acres of land, some of which was used for buildings that would eventually be incorporated into the Royal Infirmary.
The Meadows themselves have a rich history from that time on:
- During the 19th century, one of the first games between Heart of Midlothian FC and Hibernian FC was played at The Meadows.
- More than 500 allotments were dug into The Meadows during the Second World War, as part of the nation’s effort to be self-sufficient in food. By the 1950s, many local residents wanted the area to be re-turfed, but it wasn’t until 1966 that the last of the allotments were taken away.
- The Meadows is the traditional practice ground of the Royal Company of Archers – a ceremonial unit that serves as the Queen’s bodyguard in Scotland. It has performed this function since 1822 and the reign of King George IV.
- The Meadows’ Whalebone Walk is still marked by a whale’s jawbones. They came from an exhibit at the 1886 International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art which was held in a glass pavilion on the site. The bones have stayed at The Meadows ever since.
|
