View of North Bridge and Old Scotsman Building

Category

Library Item

Item no

14358

Title

View of North Bridge and old Scotsman building from the Melville Monument, Edinburgh

Artist / maker

MacLean, Kevin

Date

2008

Type

Digital image

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

The former Scotsman buildings stand on the west side of North Bridge in Edinburgh. They were built between 1899 and 1902 at a cost of roughly £500,000, and were notable for their lavish interiors. These buildings were occupied by the newspaper between 1904 and 1999, when it moved, along with Scotland on Sunday and the Evening News, to new purpose built premises at Holyrood.

The original North Bridge was completed in 1772 to provide access from Edinburgh's Old Town to the planned New Town development in the north of the city. It was widened in the 1870's to accommodate increased traffic, and was finally rebuilt between 1894-7 alongside the development at Waverley. Mid way along the bridge there is a memorial to men of the King's Own Scottish Borderers killed in the Boer War. Its even gradient was designed to make it suitable for tramcars.

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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Architecture > Architectural features > Chimneys

Architecture > Architectural features > Roofs

Architecture > Architectural features > Windows

Business > Service industry > Hotels

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Transport > Infrastructure > Bridges

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