View along George Street towards the West End

Category

Library Item

Item no

14359

Title

View along George Street towards the West End from the Melville Monument, Edinburgh

Description

A view along George Street in Edinburgh. The street is busy with pedestrians and traffic, cars are parked down the centre of the road. At the end of the street is Charlotte Square, with its gardens and the dome of West Register House.

Artist / maker

MacLean, Kevin

Date

2008

Type

Digital image

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

George Street is located in central Edinburgh and forms part of James Craig's geometric New Town plan. It runs from St Andrew Square in the east to Charlotte Square in the west, parallel with Princes Street to the south and Queen Street to the north.

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

Places > Edinburgh areas > New Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Transport > Infrastructure > Streets

Transport > Land > Cars