New perspective on city plans: James Craig's alternative vision

THEY did not know what they would find as the scrap of paper was carefully peeled away, two blobs of dried-up glue prised off with the greatest of expertise.

"I think some of the team were hoping to find a hand-written note by James Craig himself," smiles paper conservator Helen Creasy.

Disappointingly for them there was no scrawled message from the architect, famous the world over for his award- winning vision of Edinburgh's New Town. Yet their discovery was nonetheless exciting, offering a glimpse of what the city could have looked like if the plan for the New Town had not been amended - the patch of paper covering a previous design for Charlotte Square - before it was signed off by the Lord Provost of the day.

Original plans for the New Town are back on display after many months of careful cleaning to restore, going on show for just two hours a day at the Museum of Edinburgh in the Canongate to minimise the damaging effects of light.

Unveiling them yesterday, Helen revealed that hidden on the final plan - adopted by the city council in July 1767 - under a loose scrap of paper she discovered a dotted circle, clearly suggesting that at one stage James Craig had intended Charlotte Square to take that form, instead of the square shape it eventually did.

"There was a paper square stuck over Charlotte Square, stuck on with really thick paste," she explains.

"But it had fallen off a bit, it was off line and the writing was the wrong way round, so I knew there must be something underneath."

Helen is based at Hopetoun House in the Scottish Conservation Studio and was overjoyed at the task of cleaning and repairing two original plans for the New Town over the course of the year. It was there that she spent months among piles of swabs and sponges, ever so slowly scraping away decades of dirt from the 18th-century documents, as well as patching up rips and holes, before they were framed and hung back up for all the city to admire.

One of the plans is the final vision the council adopted for the New Town, known as the "Adopted Plan", the other is believed to be an earlier design Craig may have asked to modify by the local authority, yet firm details are lacking.

This plan, known as the "Circus Plan", features one clear difference to how the New Town looks in 2011 - a large, grand circus taking pride of place in the centre of George Street.

The date of the plan is uncertain and exactly how the dominating, circular feature would have looked is equally so.

"We do not know how it would have been," explains Dr Andrew Fraser, who was involved in the analysis of the restored plans.

"It could have been an open space with buildings around it.I think it is a very early plan and I think James Craig would have been upset that he did not get his circus in the final New Town."

Hanging on the wall of the museum behind Dr Fraser is a portrait of James Craig suggesting this may have been the case. Painted by David Allan, Craig is clutching a drawing of his New Town vision, "George's Circus" clearly displayed on it as he leans back in an armchair.

"Perhaps he was trying to persuade people that it would have been nice," says Dr Fraser.

One thing that has confused historians about the Circus Plan is that it features named streets, the likes of Hanover Street and Castle Street clearly labelled, despite the fact that these were only approved in December 1767 by King George III. It is thought that perhaps Craig added them afterwards.

"Craig did propose the names, but they could not be confirmed until the King officially named them," explains Dr Fraser.

"Some were changed, including Craig's suggestion for Princes Street to be called St Giles' Street. The King did not like it as it reminded him of a street in London of the same name that was "low and disorderly"."

It is thought the plans have been in the council's possession since they were first drawn as they both bear City Chambers index numbers, going on display in the Museum of Edinburgh when it opened in 1932.

"I first looked at the plans in January and they were very dirty," explains Helen. "Although they had been on display, before they were framed they clearly hadn't been cleaned.

"Someone had pasted them on boards, probably around 50 years ago, which wasn't great but at least this preserved them.

"But it was too risky to take them off the backing in case they ripped, so we just had to make the most of it. There is always a fine line between cleaning such a thing and actually hurting the surface.

"This is a real cliche, but it was a privilege to work on these plans. I come across lots of exciting things in my job, but these were amazing."

The city council hopes locals and visitors will make the most of the restored plans, along with detailed information boards that guide them through the fascinating design process of the New Town.

"The really great thing about this is that the plans are preserved for future generations," says Councillor Deidre Brock, culture and leisure convenor.

"The display will capture the imagination - one can't help but be intrigued by this fascinating insight into the birth of Edinburgh's New Town."

Mapping out past

The restored maps are now on display at the Museum of Edinburgh, in the Canongate, from 12pm to 2pm.

To protect them from the light, high-quality copies will be on show outwith these hours.

The museum also features many historic rooms crammed with objects from the Capital's past, including the National Covenant and the collar and bowl of Greyfriars Bobby.

The museum is open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm and admission is free. For details, visit www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk