Canongate Church, Edinburgh

Category

Library Item

Item no

18715

Title

Canongate Church, Edinburgh

Artist / maker

Shepherd, Thomas Hosmer

Engraver

Radclyffe, W

Date

1829

Size

9.6 x 14.4 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.

The Canongate Kirk is situated on the north side of the Canongate in Edinburgh. It was designed by James Smith and built between 1688-1691 to house the displaced congregation of the parish church of the burgh of the Canongate, originally situated in the nave of Holyrood Abbey. James VII had converted the nave into a chapel for the Order of the Thistle in 1687. The design of the kirk is highly unusual for one of this period, being more Catholic than reformed Protestant in tone. Several notable individuals are buried in the kirkyard, including the poet Robert Fergusson (1750-1774) and the economist Adam Smith (1723-1790).

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Columns

Architecture > Architectural features > Doors and doorways

Architecture > Architectural features > Stone carvings

Architecture > Architectural features > Windows

Places > Edinburgh areas > Canongate

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Religion > Religious facilities > Protestant churches

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