On this day in 1991

Originally known as Edinburgh General, Edinburgh Waverley was given the name by which it is now known in 1866. As well as being the largest station in the capital, it is a hub of the Scottish railway network, with services to every other city in Scotland. Upon its completion it had been the largest station in Britain, and it retained that distinction until London Waterloo opened in 1921.

Grade A listing

It received grade A listing status in 1991, with the covering notes explaining that it “is remarkably well-planned and effective, even by modern standards. It is one of [the] UK’s greatest surviving Victorian city stations and is distinct in having the largest island platform configuration in the country”. Furthermore, “it is an important component of Edinburgh’s historic urban setting, and represents the significant changes to the city’s core following the modernisation brought forward by the railways during the golden age of their expansion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”

As a working building, a station like Edinburgh Waverley will always be subject to alteration from time to time. Granting it listed status means such changes will always have to take into account its historic significance, such that it may be preserved for future generations.

 

...and on this day in 1094

Duncan II was the grandson of Duncan I, on whom Shakespeare based the character of King Duncan in his play, Macbeth. He was born in Scotland but spent much of his youth in England as a hostage of William the Conqueror. This allowed him to maintain important alliances with the Normans, south of the border, when later trying to establish his authority in Scotland in battles with his uncle, Donald III. It was in one of these battles that he was killed, less than a year after his coronation.