Moray Place, New Town - Blind Windows

More running through the New Town today.  Moray Place is one of a dozen streets that are part of the Moray Estate, which was designed for the 10th Earl of Moray.  He inherited the 13 acre site from his father and decided to feu the land for development in 1822.  The streets with their grand four story townhouses were completed by 1858. 

One of the peculiar things you notice in the New Town is that some windows seem to be bricked up.  One might assume it was to avoid the 'window tax' which was introduced in Scotland in 1748 where people paid a tax based on the number of windows in the property.  But this tax was repealed in 1851 before these houses were completed!  Apparently the reason is design aesthetics where symmetry was key to Georgian architecture.  'Blind' windows helped to maintain the symmetry of a building's facade in places where glass windows couldn't be built such as in front of a chimney flue.
 
In the evening we finished watching the BBC adaptation of "Around the World in 80 Days"  with David Tennent.  The book was written by Jules Verne in 1872.  The adaptation added a lot of 'adventures' to the book and changed the role of his companions possibly to broaden the appeal.  We thought it was a thoroughly good romp and enjoyed the new interpretation.