Heriot's Hospital, from the Castle Hill, Edinburgh

Category

Library Item

Item no

18681

Title

Heriot's Hospital, from the Castle Hill, Edinburgh [George Heriot's]

Description

Heriot's Hospital is viewed from Castle Hill. The school has a central domed tower with an arched entrance. The wings on either side end with square towers with cupolas. The building stands amongst expansive grounds, with trees, and countryside in the background.

Artist / maker

Shepherd, Thomas Hosmer

Engraver

Watkins, W

Date

1829

Size

9.3 x 15.4 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 Heriot was a famous and wealthy Edinburgh goldsmith and moneylender. When he died in 1624 he left a considerable sum of money to establish a school for the poor and parentless in Edinburgh. Construction of George Heriot's Hospital began in 1628 but was not finished until 1650. The building was almost immediately appropriated by Cromwell for use as a military hospital. It resumed its role as a school and home for orphans in 1659. It later came to be known as George Heriot's School, and now operates as an independent mixed school.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Clocks and clock towers

Architecture > Architectural features > Doors and doorways

Architecture > Architectural features > Roofs

Architecture > Architectural features > Windows

Education > Educational facilities > Schools

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Edinburgh areas > Tollcross

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

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