Edinburgh Castle from Heriot's School

Category

Library Item

Item no

1925

Title

Edinburgh Castle from Heriot's School

Description

Edinburgh Castle's outline is visible through the mist. The foreground shows stone steps with a carved stone balustrade which leads to a gravel path bordered by lawns. There are trees and bushes in the middle ground with a group of chimneys rising above the foliage.

Artist / maker

Clark, William Donaldson

Date

1858

Size

19.6 x 26.7 cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Edinburgh Castle is perhaps the city's most famous landmark. It stands on top of the remaining core of an extinct volcano. Excavations suggest the site was inhabited by Bronze Age man as early as 900 BC, and was fortified by Iron Age man roughly 2000 years ago. The oldest part of the present day Castle is St Margaret's Chapel, built in the early 12th century. The Castle holds the Honours of Scotland and more recently has welcomed back the Stone of Scone otherwise known as the Stone of Destiny.

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. It 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.

Exhibitions with this item

Other views of this item

Related images

Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Stairways

Education > Educational facilities > Schools

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Option	Price
Digital FileElectronic file 72 dpi JPEG	£7.32(inc. VAT 20%)
Digital FileElectronic File 300 dpi TIFF	£37.20(inc. VAT 20%)
You can view and use digital images for personal and educational use. For more information, read our policy on image use. If you wish to use our images for commercial use, please contact us.