Palace of the Archbishop of St.Andrews, Cowgate

Category

Library Item

Item no

1036

Title

Palace of the Archbishop of St.Andrews, Cowgate

Description

Palace of the Archbishop of St Andews (also known as Cardinal Beaton's Palace), in the Cowgate, Edinburgh. Horses and carts are led along the street, while people walk past. A driver unloads a basket carried by a man, watched by a woman and a baby sitting on the steps. Across the road, furniture is lined up along the side of a building. On the rooftops chimneys smoke into a blue sky.

Artist / maker

Skene, James

Date

1817

Size

15 x 20 cm.

Type

Watercolour

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Cardinal Beaton's Palace in The Cowgate, Edinburgh. Cardinal David Beaton was a sixteenth-century Archbishop of St.Andrews who was part of the pro-French faction in Scotland and played a prominent part in bringing Mary of Guise to Scotland as James V's wife.He was murdered in 1546 in retaliation for his part in the execution of George Wishart, religious activist.

The Cowgate runs from its junction with St Mary's Street (formerly St Mary's Wynd) and the Pleasance to the Grassmarket. It was the route by which cattle were driven into town from outside Edinburgh. The Cowgate Port was a gateway through the Flodden wall (City Wall).
The composition of this picture is very similar to that of item no: 1035.

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Related subjects

Homes > Residential buildings > Castles and palaces

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Religion > Religious facilities > Catholic churches

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