In 1891, plans were submitted to construct a grand People’s Palace right in the heart of Edinburgh.
If the glass house was constructed, the city centre gardens would have a very different feel - with the elaborate palace dominating much of the grounds. Though the structure was debated for several decades, it eventually was scrapped in the early 20th century - after a local conservation organisation discovered an obscure regulation.
At the time, Winter Gardens were popular across Europe - providing people with the chance to enjoy some greenery in the colder in some form of greenhouse. The first public Winter Garden opened in London’s Regent’s Park in 1846.
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An illustration from the Public Works Office at the City Chambers, dated May 13 1891, shows the proposed structure - a glass building with two wings, a domed roof and archway entrance. The caption reads: “West Princes Street Gardens - Front Elevation of Proposed Winter Garden.
“Public Works Office - City Chambers Edin - 13th May 1891.”
The giant glass house would accommodate up to 12,000 people, and would’ve eclipsed the Victorian glasshouse in the Botanic Gardens. It would’ve also towered over the Winter Gardens that eventually opened in Edinburgh, at Saughton Park in the ‘80s.
The project would have cost £10,000 - around £1.3 million by today's standards.
At the time, Princes Street Gardens were the focus of much attention in the city - with ongoing campaigns to stop the North British Railway from encroaching into the grounds.
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By 1914, the proposed Winter Gardens were still being debated by both members of the public and authorities. The Cockburn Association came out strongly against it, and were not supporters of plans to demolish a prominent barrack block on the Castle Rock.
Eventually, the majority decided against the proposals and drew the City of Edinburgh Council’s attention to a clause in an Act of George III that limited building activities in the Gardens.
Several years later, the Ross Bandstand was erected in West Princes Street Gardens where it stands to this day. Updated proposals for a Winter Garden came in 1913, though were quickly squashed after the outbreak of the First World War.
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