The Fettes Row Association – a residents group including Royal Crescent – meets tonight for its 40th annual general meeting.
John Knight – the Association's founding secretary will present a 'not too serious' review of the street and the group, highlighting the many changes which have occurred since 1971. It is worth noting that a residents group which lasts even 10 years is rather remarkable, so this long-standing example of local commitment is truly worth celebrating.
The meeting convenes at 7.30pm at 1 Fettes Row.
The street was named after Sir William Fettes (1750–1836), the twice lord provost and founder of a school for the education of poor children and orphans. It appears first in a map of 1804 (Ainslie), but building began only in 1821 to the west of Dundas Street. This section – linking to St Vincent Street – was not completed until recently owing to 'well-established industries' in Silvermills.
According to Gifford et al., 'the E terrace has the better interiors, mostly converted to flats, with refined Grecian cornices, simplified woodwork profiles and monumental chimneypieces'.
[James Gifford, Colin McWilliam, David Walker, Christopher Wilson (1984) Edinburgh, The Buildings of Scotland (ed. by Nikolaus Pevsner). Harmondsworth: Penguin.]