Ruins of St Anthony's Chapel, Edinburgh

Category

Library Item

Item no

18707

Title

Ruins of St Anthony's Chapel, Edinburgh

Description

The ruins of St Anthony's Chapel sit upon Arthur's seat. The walls have crumbled and decayed but an arched doorway and window can be seen on the intact part. Rocks are dotted about the hillside and sheep graze. A couple sit on the hill, and a man with a walking stick looks at the ruins.

Artist / maker

Shepherd, Thomas Hosmer

Engraver

Lacy, S

Date

1829

Size

10.5 x 14.8 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.

St Anthony's Chapel is perched above St Margaret's Loch on the north side of Arthur's Seat. The building dates from the mid 15th Century. The Chapel's origins are unclear. It is thought to have connections with the Knights Hospitallers of St Anthony in Leith.

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Related subjects

Animals > Mammals > Sheep

Landscape > Land > Hills

Places > Edinburgh areas > Holyrood

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Religion > Religious facilities > Chapels

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