Nelson's Monument, Calton Hill, Edinburgh

Category

Library Item

Item no

18672

Title

Nelson's Monument, Calton Hill, Edinburgh

Description

Nelson's Monument stands on top of Calton Hill with Arthur's Seat in the background. The monument is a tall circular tower with battlements. People stroll on Calton Hill on the path beside the monument.

Artist / maker

Shepherd, Thomas Hosmer

Engraver

Tombleson, W

Date

1829

Size

10.3 x 15.6 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.

Calton Hill is situated at the east end of Princes Street in Edinburgh. It rises to a height of 108 metres and is another of the city's hills created by volcanic activity. Several monuments stand on the hill. Most prominent amongst these are the Nelson Monument, built in the shape of a telescope, and the unfinished National Monument, modelled on the Parthenon in Athens.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Windows

Architecture > Monuments > Memorial monuments

Landscape > Land > Hills

Places > Edinburgh areas > Calton

Places > Edinburgh areas > Calton Hill

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

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