Edinburgh Castle from East Gardens

Category

Library Item

Item no

1839

Title

Edinburgh Castle from East Gardens

Description

Edinburgh Castle forms the backdrop to this scene which shows the National Gallery, The Mound, Royal Academy and Princes Street Gardens. The gardens are edged with trees and bushes and have pathways cutting through the grass lawns some of which are slopping. A stone stairway with quatrefoils carved into the central section leads to a gravel pathway. The neoclassical National Gallery has ionic columns while two sphinxes on the roof of the Royal Academy are visible. Two large towers of the Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland sit on the higher ground.

Artist / maker

Inglis, Alexander Adam

Date

1884

Size

16.5 x 21.5 cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

This image has been chosen for the Edinburgh - Past and Present Exhibition by the Rt. Rev. Sheilagh Kesting, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland - "Chosen for New College on the left - the place that helped shape me into the person I am by stretching me intellectually and spiritually. As a keen gardener, Princes Street Gardens always delight" The Rt. Rev. Sheilagh Kesting.

Edinburgh Castle is perhaps the city's most famous landmark. It stands on top of the remaining core of an extinct volcano. Excavations suggest the site was inhabited by Bronze Age man as early as 900 BC, and was fortified by Iron Age man roughly 2000 years ago. The oldest part of the present day Castle is St Margaret's Chapel, built in the early 12th century. The Castle holds the Honours of Scotland and more recently has welcomed back the Stone of Scone otherwise known as the Stone of Destiny.

Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens were established on the site of the Nor'Loch which was drained during the 18th century. The park was originally for the exclusive use of the residents of Princes Street, but was opened to the public in 1876. The gardens contain various statues of notable figures, as well as the Ross Fountain and Bandstand and the famous Floral Clock.

The National Gallery is situated at the foot of the Mound immediately behind the Royal Scottish Academy. W. H. Playfair was the architect for both buildings. The foundation stone for the National Gallery was laid by Prince Albert in 1850 and construction was completed in 1854, 28 years after the Academy. It houses Scotland's largest and most important collection of paintings and sculpture from the Renaissance through to the late 19th century. The building is now linked underground to the Royal Scottish Academy.

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Related images

Related subjects

Homes > Residential buildings > Castles and palaces

Landscape > Landscape architectural facilities > Gardens

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Edinburgh areas > Princes Street

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

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