The Balmoral Hotel, Sailsbury Crags and Arthur's Seat

Category

Library Item

Item no

14354

Title

The Balmoral Hotel, Sailsbury Crags and Arthur's Seat from the Melville Monument, Edinburgh

Description

A view of the clocktower of the Balmoral Hotel, which has a saltire flying from its flagpole. Behind the clocktower are Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat. The tops of the surrounding buildings can been seen.

Artist / maker

MacLean, Kevin

Date

2008

Type

Digital image

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel stands on the corner of North Bridge and Princes Street. The hotel was designed by William Hamilton Beatie. Its construction took place alongside that of the new North Bridge, and was completed in 1902. Formerly called the North British Hotel, it was owned by the North British Railway Company. It was sold by British Rail in the 1980's, and reopened in 1991 under its new name following extensive refurbishment. Its distinctive clock tower forms an unmistakable part of Edinburgh's skyline. It stands at just under 60 metres, with the clock face itself, designed by Hamilton and Inches, being taller than a double-decker bus.

Arthur's Seat is the remains of a now extinct volcano which rises 250 metres (823 feet) above Holyrood Park in Edinburgh. Remains of an Iron Age Hill fort were found on the east side of the hill. The origins of the peak's name have been somewhat lost. One theory is that it is a corruption of the gaellic Ard-na-saith, meaning height of arrows, indicating a past usage as a practice place for archery. Arthur's Seat is also known as the Lion's Head.

The Melville Monument, St Andrew Square, was erected between 1820 and 1823 to the memory of Henry Dundas, the 1st Viscount Melville, who died in 1811. The monument comprises an imposing Roman column almost 42 metres in height, crowned by a statue of Dundas. The column itself was designed by William Burn, who received advice on its foundations from Robert Stevenson following concerns expressed by local residents as to its stability. The statue is by the sculptor Robert Forrest from a model by the English sculptor Francis Legatt Chantrey. It was only commissioned when construction of the monument was well underway, and was not added until 1827-28.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Clocks and clock towers

Places > Edinburgh areas > New Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Sport and leisure > Public accommodation facilities > Hotels