Renovation work on a bar in the capital has uncovered an entrance to a forgotten square which was constructed hundreds of years ago. Oz Bar on Candlemaker Row in Edinburgh made the incredible discovery after stripping back the venue following a fire that damaged the nearby George IV Bridge in 2021.
It is believed that the fire was sparked around the Patisserie Valerie cafe and ripped through several properties, including the bar, which suffered smoke and water damage. Months of closure followed as the bar's owners were forced to completely renovate the building.
During the repairs, builders discovered the once busy 17th-century entrance and passageway to Brown Square. According to Edinburgh Live, old maps and paperwork has shown that the arches were a route into the square, and would have also housed ironmongers.
The BBC reports that the now visible route passed through a slum tenement and shop on Candlemaker Row, with the bar now set on keeping the piece of history as a permanent feature.
Giving an incredible insight into Edinburgh's past, owner of Oz Bar Iain Ponton told the BBC he had no idea the venue was hiding the forgotten entrance.
He said: "When I got a photograph from the contractors saying 'look what we've found' I immediately drove down to the pub. They had to remove layers and layers of wood and corrugated iron on top of plaster. When it all came off it exposed this arch.
"I got up on the ladder to see as I was very curious, and then over a week they revealed more and more.I thought maybe the wall was something to do with the furniture store. I had no idea it would actually be evidence of all this history, it's incredible."
An affluent and state-of-the-art development at the time of its construction in the 1760s, Brown Square was designed by the same architect who put together George Square, James Brown.
Home at the time to some top members of society from doctors to well-known writers, the square was eventually demolished and built on top of in the decades to come.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - sign up to our daily newsletter here.
