George Street, St Andrew's Church

Category

Library Item

Item no

18648

Title

George Street, St Andrew's Church & Ld Melville's Monument, Edinburgh

Description

The east end of George Street looking towards St Andrew Square is viewed. George Street is a wide road lined with buildings on either side. The entrances to many of the tenements are set back from the pavement with railings and steps. St Andrew's Church has neoclassical pillars at its entrance and a tall spire. Opposite the church is the Physician's Hall. In the centre of St Andrew Square the tall column of the Melville Monument with a statue of Lord Melville on top dominate the view. The Royal Bank of Scotland building can be seen behind the monument. Smartly dressed people walk along the pavements. The women wear bonnets, and the men top hats. A horse drawn carriage makes its way along the road. Other men travel on horseback. Two men cross the road carrying a load in a basket with a dog skipping in front of them.

Artist / maker

Shepherd, Thomas Hosmer

Engraver

Barber, T

Date

1829

Size

9.8 x 15.9 cm

Type

Engraving

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

This image comes from 'Modern Athens', a book of engravings based on drawings by Thomas Shepherd published in 1829. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries Edinburgh was growing rapidly. The popular neoclassical architectural style of the time was inspired by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and Edinburgh was nicknamed 'Athens of the North'. Shepherd's engravings celebrate the beauty of Edinburgh and show many notable buildings and streets both within the city, and further afield.

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 images

Related subjects

Animals > Mammals > Dogs

Animals > Mammals > Horses

Architecture > Architectural features > Columns

Architecture > Architectural features > Railings

Architecture > Architectural features > Spires

Architecture > Architectural features > Windows

Architecture > Monuments > Memorial monuments

Business > Service industry > Shops

Homes > Residential buildings > Tenements

People > Adults > Men

People > Adults > Women

Places > Edinburgh areas > New Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Religion > Religious facilities > Protestant churches

Transport > Infrastructure > Street lights

Transport > Land > Horse and carriages

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