Wednesday, September 23, 2026

19:00 - 22:00

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An evening to unwind and enjoy good company! Join us and experience the delicious local cuisine in a more relaxed networking environment. About The Caves Eighteenth Century Edinburgh In the 18th Century could it be said that Edinburgh was a small, cold city on the northern fringes of civilization? Small, cold, and northern it undoubtedly was, but the key word is civilization. Edinburgh, in the latter part of the eighteenth century, was the centre of the Scottish Enlightenment, a remarkable era in the intellectual history of Europe. It was said with pride and only modest exaggeration that "you could stand at the Mercat Cross and, in half an hour, shake fifty men of genius by the hand. Indeed Voltaire once said “We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation”. By the first half of the 18th century, rising prosperity was evidenced by the growth of the Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland and British Linen Bank, all based in the city. However Edinburgh was one of the most densely populated, overcrowded and insanitary towns in the whole of Europe.Daniel Defoe's remark was typical of many English visitors, "... though many cities have more people in them, yet, I believe, this may be said with truth, that in no city in the world [do] so many people live in so little room as at Edinburgh". A striking characteristic of Edinburgh society in the 18th century, often remarked upon by visitors, was the close proximity and social interaction of the various social classes. Tradesmen and professionals shared the same buildings. One historian has ventured to suggest that Edinburgh's living arrangements may themselves have played a part in engendering the spirit of social inquiry associated with the thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment: "Its Tenements which reached up to 15 stories housed a cross-section of the entire society, nobles, judges and caddies rubbing shoulders with each other on the common stair. A man of inquiring mind could not live in old Edinburgh without becoming a sociologist of sorts." The Oyster Club At that time – as now – Edinburgh was a city full of hostelries offering dinner in the early evening with copious amounts of claret, champagne, gin, ale brandy and whisky on tap. These clubs were forums for men of varied professions to meet and share ideas and humour over such delicacies as dried salt haddock and, of course, oysters. The most famous of these clubs was called the “Oyster Club” which met at Lucky Middlemass’ in the Cowgate a on what is now the site of what is now The Rowantree. This weekly dining club for scientists and philosophers met regularly throughout the 1770s. It had been established by the great economist and political philosopher Adam Smith, the chemist Joseph Black and the geologist James Hutton. The club was attended by a veritable constellation of Edinburgh’s most brilliant thinkers, including John Playfair, Adam Ferguson, David Hume and Sir James Hall. It also played host to a wide variety of visiting international scientists, including the French geologist Barthélémy Faujas de Saint Fond, James Watt the engineer and inventor from Glasgow, and Benjamin Franklin the American scientist and inventor. The South Bridge The Cowgate of Edinburgh was a street full of big houses for the rich in Edinburgh however overcrowding inside the Old Town city walls was reaching breaking point and the outdated city fabric did not suit the professional and merchant classes who lived there. To prevent an exodus of wealthy citizens from the city to London the boundary of the Royal Burgh of Edinburgh was extended and work on the New Town began in 1767. Work on the South Bridge was started in 1785 and it was completed in 1788. The bridge is constructed of nineteen arches, but is now almost entirely enclosed by buildings on both sides, exposing only the largest arch, where the street crosses the Cowgate. By the 1790s the vaults became subject to problems with dampness as the bridge had not been damp-proofed during construction. The Irish potato famine and the Highland Clearances left thousands of people without homes and therefore contributed to a huge increase in the Capital's population, with many people seeking a better life in Edinburgh. The Cowgate area became known as "Little Ireland" in the 1840s and 1850s, at which point living conditions in the city were at their worst. The vaults provided an ideal shelter for people without homes and an underclass population developed. Timeline 1762 – 1763 - St Cecilia’s Hall, Scotland’s oldest purpose-bulit concert hall is built, not far behind the first in Europe 1763 – 72 - North Bridge Built 1764 – Adam Square development completed by Robert Adam’s elder brother John 1767 – New Town starts being built 1770’s – The Oyster Club meets regularly 1785 - 1788 South Bridge built 1790 – Adam Smith the founder of the Oyster Club dies 1829 – 1832 – George IV Bridge constructed as part of the Improvement Act of 1827