The Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic monument to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It is the second largest monument to a writer in the world after the José Martí monument in Havana. [1] It stands in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh, opposite the Jenners department store on Princes Street and near Edinburgh Waverley Railway Station, which is named after Scott's Waverley novels.
The tower is 200 feet 6 inches (61.11 m) high and has viewing platforms reached by a series of spiral staircases giving panoramic views of central Edinburgh and its surroundings. The highest platform is reached by a total of 287 steps. [2] It is built from Binny sandstone quarried near Ecclesmachan in West Lothian.
It is placed on axis with South St. David Street, the main street leading off St. Andrew Square to Princes Street, and is a focal point within that vista, its scale being large enough to screen the Old Town behind. Its location appears more random when seen from the south side and Princes Street Gardens, but it dominates the eastern section of the gardens through its scale and elevated position.
Following Scott's death in 1832, a competition was held to design a monument to him. An unlikely entrant went under the pseudonym "John Morvo", the medieval architect of Melrose Abbey. Morvo was in fact George Meikle Kemp, 45 year-old joiner, draftsman, and self-taught architect. He had feared that his lack of architectural qualifications and reputation would disqualify him, but his design was popular with the competition's judges, and they awarded him the contract to construct the monument in 1838.
John Steell was commissioned to design a monumental statue of Scott to rest in the centre space within the tower's four columns. It is made from white Carrara marble and shows Scott seated, resting from writing one of his works with a quill pen, his dog Maida by his side. The monument carries 64 figures of characters from Scott's novels, sculpted by Scots sculptors including Alexander Handyside Ritchie, John Rhind, William Birnie Rhind, William Brodie, William Grant Stevenson, David Watson Stevenson, John Hutchison, George Anderson Lawson, Thomas Stuart Burnett, William Shirreffs, Andrew Currie, George Clark Stanton, Peter Slater, Amelia Robertson Hill (who also made the statue of David Livingstone immediately east of the monument), and the otherwise unknown Katherine Anne Fraser Tytler. [3] [4]
The erection of the Scott monument came at a high cost to the stone masons involved, especially to the 'hewing masons' who were responsible for preparing the blocks, with their carvings and statues. This work was done in closed sheds, so that large quantities of fine dust were a continual part of their working environment. Things were not so bad for the 'building masons' who worked in the open, placing the already prepared blocks of stone. Because of the hardness of the stone from the Binnie quarry, near Uphall to the west of Edinburgh, used for the monument and other local buildings, Edinburgh masons were especially vulnerable to phthisis, the term used at the time for silico-tuberculosis. One contemporary observer says that the monument "killed twenty three of the finest hewers in Edinburgh." [5] : 741–52 Another mentions "one half of the whole number of masons employed... dead of phhisis." [6] : 25–52 [7]
The foundation stone was laid on 15 August 1840 by Sir James Forrest of Comiston in his capacity as Lord Provost and as Grand Master Mason of Scotland. [8] Construction began in 1841 following permission by Parliament's Monument to Sir Walter Scott Act and ran for nearly four years. It was completed in the autumn of 1844, with Kemp's son placing the finial in August of the year. The total cost was just over £16,154. [9] The monument was inaugurated on 15 August 1846, but George Meikle Kemp was absent. He had fallen into the Union Canal while walking home from the site and drowned on the foggy evening of 6 March 1844.
There are 68 statues on the monument, not counting Scott and his dog, and 64 are visible from the ground. Four figures are placed above the final viewing gallery and are only visible by telephoto or from the viewing gallery (at a distorted angle). In addition, eight kneeling Druid figures support the final viewing gallery. There are 32 unfilled niches at higher level.
Sixteen heads of Scottish poets and writers appear on the lower faces, at the top of the lower pilasters. The heads represent, counter-clockwise from the northwest: James Hogg, Robert Burns, Robert Fergusson, Allan Ramsay, George Buchanan, Sir David Lindsay, Robert Tannahill, Lord Byron, Tobias Smollett, James Beattie, James Thomson, John Home, Mary, Queen of Scots, King James I of Scotland, King James V of Scotland, and William Drummond of Hawthornden.
(S) represents a small figure
| Location [10] | Figure [10] [11] | Scott Novel associated [11] | Sculptor [10] |
|---|---|---|---|
| North-East Buttress, lower tier, east | Jock Dumbie, The Laird O’ Dumbiedykes | The Heart of Midlothian | William Brodie |
| North-East Buttress, lower tier, north-east | Jeanie Deans | The Heart of Midlothian | William Brodie |
| North-East Buttress, lower tier, north | Flora MacIvor | Waverley | John Hutchison |
| North Face, lower tier | Ravenswood (S) | The Bride of Lammermoor | John Rhind |
| North Face, lower tier | Lucy Ashton (S) | The Bride of Lammermoor | John Rhind |
| North Face, lower tier | Caleb Balderstone (S) | The Bride of Lammermoor | William Grant Stevenson |
| North Face, central figure over arch | Charles Edward Stewart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) | Waverley and Redgauntlet | Alexander Handyside Ritchie |
| North Face, lower tier | Madge Wildfire (S) | The Heart of Midlothian | William Brodie |
| North Face, lower tier | Davie Deans (S) | The Heart of Midlothian | Thomas Stuart Burnett |
| North Face, lower tier | Effie Deans (S) | The Heart of Midlothian | Thomas Stuart Burnett |
| North-West Buttress, lower tier, north | Louise, The Glee Maiden, playing a mandolin | The Fair Maid of Perth | John Hutchison |
| North-West Buttress, lower tier, north-west | Hal O’ The Wynd | The Fair Maid of Perth | John Hutchison |
| North-West Buttress, lower tier, west | Edith of Lorn | The Lord of the Isles | William Brodie |
| West Face, lower tier | George Buchanan (S) | Buchanan is a true historical figure referenced in many Scott novels | John Rhind |
| West Face, lower tier | Julia Mannering (S) | Guy Mannering | George Webster |
| West Face, lower tier | Dirk Hatteraick (S) | Guy Mannering | William Birnie Rhind |
| West Face, central figure over arch | The Harp O’ The North | The Lay of the Last Minstrel | James Ritchie |
| West Face, lower tier | Rose Bradwardine (S) | Waverley | D. Buchanan |
| West Face, lower tier | Dougal Cratur (S) | Rob Roy | Charles McBride |
| West Face, lower tier | Catharine Glover, The Fair Maid of Perth (S) | The Fair Maid of Perth | David Watson Stevenson |
| South-West Buttress, lower tier, west | Minna Troil | The Pirate | Amelia Robertson Hill |
| South-West Buttress, lower tier, south-west | George Heriot (holding a model of George Heriot’s School) | The Fortunes of Nigel | Peter Slater |
| South-West Buttress, lower tier, south | Baillie Nicol Jarvie | Rob Roy | George Anderson Lawson |
| South Face, lower tier | Peter Peebles (S) | Redgauntlet | William Grant Stevenson |
| South Face, lower tier | Constance (S) | Marmion (poem) | Katherine Anne Fraser Tytler |
| South Face, lower tier | Wayland Smith (S) | Kenilworth | J.S. Gibson |
| South Face, central figure over arch | Ellen Douglas, The Lady of the Lake | The Lady of the Lake (poem) | Peter Slater |
| South Face, lower tier | Gurth the Swineherd, with a pig at his feet (S) | Ivanhoe | William Shirreffs |
| South Face, lower tier | Queen Elizabeth I (S), originally holding an orb and sceptre | Kenilworth | William Walker |
| South Face, lower tier | Claverhouse (S) | Old Mortality | William Birnie Rhind |
| South-East Buttress, lower tier, south | Rebecca | Ivanhoe | George Clark Stanton |
| South-East Buttress, lower tier, south-east | Diana Vernon | Rob Roy | George Anderson Lawson |
| South-East Buttress, lower tier, east | Mary, Queen of Scots | The Abbot | David Watson Stevenson |
| East Face, lower tier | Dugald Dalgetty (S) | A Legend of Montrose | John Rhind |
| East Face, lower tier | The Abbess (S) | Marmion (poem) | William Grant Stevenson |
| East Face, lower tier | James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (S) | A Legend of Montrose | David Watson Stevenson |
| East Face, central figure over arch | Meg Merrilees, the gypsy (originally holding a green bough of copper, now missing) | Guy Mannering | Alexander Handyside Ritchie |
| East Face, lower tier | Richie Moniplies, a well-dressed servant (S) | The Fortunes of Nigel | John Rhind |
| East Face, lower tier | The Lady of Avenel (S) | The Monastery and The Abbot | Thomas Stuart Burnett |
| East Face, lower tier | Sir Piercie Shafton (S) | The Monastery | George Clark Stanton |
| North-East Buttress, upper tier east | Old Mortality (Robert Paterson) leaning on a walking stick | Old Mortality | Andrew Currie |
| North-East Buttress, upper tier, north-east | Robert the Bruce | The Lord of the Isles (poem) | George Anderson Lawson |
| North-East Buttress, upper tier, north | Edie Ochiltree | The Antiquary | George Anderson Lawson |
| North Face, upper tier, left of window | King Charles I | Mentioned in several Scott novels | David Watson Stevenson |
| North Face, upper tier, right of window | John Knox, holding an open Bible towards the street | Mentioned in several Scott novels | John Rhind |
| North-West Buttress, upper tier, north | Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester | Kenilworth | William Brodie |
| North-West Buttress, upper tier, north-west | Amy Robsart | Kenilworth | William Brodie |
| North-West Buttress, upper tier, west | Baron Bradwardine | Waverley | John Hutchison |
| West Face, upper tier, left of window | Helen MacGregor holding a sword and targe | Rob Roy | William Brodie |
| West Face, upper tier, right of window | Rob Roy MacGregor | Rob Roy | John Rhind |
| South-West Buttress, upper tier, west | Magnus Troil | The Pirate | Amelia Robertson Hill |
| South-West Buttress, upper tier, south-west | King James VI | The Fortunes of Nigel | David Watson Stevenson |
| South-West Buttress, upper tier, south | Halbert Glendinning | The Monastery and The Abbot | David Watson Stevenson |
| South Face, upper tier, left of window | Balfour of Burley | Old Mortality | William Birnie Rhind |
| South Face, upper tier, right of window | Oliver Cromwell | Woodstock | William Brodie |
| South-East Buttress, upper tier, south | Saladin | The Talisman | George Clark Stanton |
| South-East Buttress, upper tier, south-east | Friar Tuck | Ivanhoe | George Clark Stanton |
| South-East Buttress, upper tier, east | Richard the Lionheart | Ivanhoe, The Talisman and The Betrothed | Amelia Robertson Hill |
| East Face, upper tier, left of window | Ivanhoe, in chainmail and plumed helmet, visor dropped, holding a heavy lance | Ivanhoe | John Rhind |
| East Face, upper tier, right of window | Brian de Bois-Guilbert, Knight Templar | Ivanhoe | William Birnie Rhind |
| Head of North-East Buttress, attaching main spire | Wamba the Jester | Ivanhoe | unknown |
| Head of North-West Buttress, attaching main spire | Crusader | Tales of the Crusaders | unknown |
| Head of South-West Buttress, attaching main spire | The Abbot, holding a staff and rosary (nose missing) | The Abbot | unknown |
| Head of South-East Buttress, attaching main spire | Nun clasping a cross | Appear in several Scott novels | unknown |
| Pinnacle, above upper gallery, north | Meg Dods | St Ronan’s Well | unknown |
| Pinnacle, above upper gallery, west | Dominie Sampson (fingers restored 1999) | Guy Mannering | unknown |
| Pinnacle, above upper gallery, south | Mause Headrigg | Old Mortality | unknown |
| Pinnacle, above upper gallery, east | Dandie Dinmont with his terrier at his feet | Guy Mannering | unknown |
In the early 1990s it was proposed that the stonework should be cleaned. There were views for and against cleaning and a scientific/geological investigation, including cleaning trials on samples of stone, was carried out. It was decided not to clean the stone due to the damage it would sustain. A restoration programme was undertaken involving replacing old repairs and damaged areas with Binny stone for which purpose the original quarry was re-opened. [12] The fresh stonework contrasts with the smoke-darkened original.
The overall cost of the restoration was £2.36 million and was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland and the City of Edinburgh Council. [13]
The monument is now administered by the Culture and Sport division of the City of Edinburgh Council (See External Links for visitor information) who in 2016 installed a new LED lighting system. The design of the lights was "intended to highlight the monument’s architectural features with a soft warm glow" and were first illuminated on 21 September 2016. [14]
 | This section appears to contain trivial, minor, or unrelated references to popular culture .(June 2021) |
The monument is featured prominently in the 2012 film Cloud Atlas , as a location which the character Robert Frobisher frequents.[ citation needed ]
The artist Alan Reed has said that the monument always reminds him of a Gothic version of one of the Thunderbirds. [15]
George Square is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, St Enoch Square, Royal Exchange Square, and Blythswood Square on Blythswood Hill.
Princes Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km from Lothian Road in the west, to Leith Street in the east. The street has few buildings on the south side and looks over Princes Street Gardens allowing panoramic views of the Old Town, Edinburgh Castle, as well as the valley between. Most of the street is limited to trams, buses and taxis with only the east end open to all traffic.
Sir John Robert Steell was a Scottish sculptor. He modelled many of the leading figures of Scottish history and culture, and is best known for a number of sculptures displayed in Edinburgh, including the statue of Sir Walter Scott at the base of the Scott Monument.
William Burn was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival,often referred to as the golden age of Scottish architecture.
Princes Street Gardens are two adjacent public parks in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Gardens were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and building of the New Town, beginning in the 1760s.
The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Street, facing Edinburgh Castle and the Old Town across the geological depression of the former Nor Loch. Together with the West End, the New Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside the Old Town in 1995. The area is also famed for the New Town Gardens, a heritage designation since March 2001.
George Meikle Kemp was a self-taught Scottish architect who designed and built the Scott Monument in Edinburgh, Scotland. The poorly educated son of a shepherd, but showing talents in woodworking as a child, he was apprenticed to a joiner and millwright.
Stockbridge is a suburb of Edinburgh, located north of the city centre, bounded by the New Town and by Comely Bank. The name is Scots stock brig from Anglic stocc brycg, meaning a timber bridge. Originally a small outlying village, it was incorporated into the City of Edinburgh in the 19th century. The current "Stock Bridge", built in 1801, is a stone structure spanning the Water of Leith. The painter Henry Raeburn (1756–1823) owned two adjoining estates, Deanhaugh and St Bernard's, which he developed with the assistance of the architect James Milne. Milne was also responsible for the fine St Bernard's Church (1823) in Saxe Coburg Street. Ann Street, designed by Raeburn and named after his wife, is a rare early example of a New Town street with private front gardens.
William Birnie Rhind RSA (1853–1933) was a Scottish sculptor.
Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a number of notable Edinburgh residents are interred at Greyfriars. The Kirkyard is operated by City of Edinburgh Council in liaison with a charitable trust, which is linked to but separate from the church. The Kirkyard and its monuments are protected as a category A listed building.
Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and occupies around 14 acres (5.7 ha) of land on a slightly sloping site. It contains many tens of thousands of graves, including notable Victorian and Edwardian figures, the most eminent being the physician Sir James Young Simpson.
William Bonnar RSA was a Scottish portrait painter.
John RhindARSA (1828–1892) was a Scottish sculptor, based in Edinburgh. He was born in Banff the son of a master mason. He was trained under Alexander Handyside Ritchie (1804–1870). He served this apprenticeship in a yard at 4 East Broughton Place.
Alexander Handyside Ritchie was a Scottish sculptor born in Musselburgh in 1804, the son of James Ritchie, a local brickmaker and ornamental plasterer, and his wife Euphemia. The father in turn was the son of a fisherman and amateur sculptor.
Sir James Gowans was an Edinburgh architect and builder.
Amelia Robertson Hill, birth record Emmilia McDermaid Paton, was a prominent Scottish artist and sculptor throughout the 19th century and one of the few with public commissions. Her most noteworthy works are the statue of David Livingstone in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh and statue of Robert Burns in Dumfries. She was the main female contributor to the statues on the Scott Monument, contributing three figures.
John Hutchison was a Scottish sculptor based in Edinburgh. He was the son of an unnamed builder, and his artistic life began as a thirteen-year-old woodcarving apprentice. He attended art school in the evenings, then later became a student at the Trustees Academy. and attracted the patronage of its owner, Patrick Allan Fraser, who gave him commissions to fund his study in Rome. Although after Rome he continued to enjoy ancient Roman sculptural themes, he remained in Edinburgh for the rest of his life, working in wood, clay and marble, and concentrating on portraiture of Scottish people, and images of Scottish myth and history. He created the bust of Sir Walter Scott in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. He was a successful artist who received commissions from Queen Victoria.
Thomas Stuart Burnett ARSA was a Scottish sculptor in the 19th century.
William Shirreffs was a Scottish sculptor in the 19th century.
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Coordinates: 55°57′8.7″N3°11′35.8″W / 55.952417°N 3.193278°W
