The Castle of Edinburgh from the West, June 1816

Category

Library Item

Item no

534

Title

The Castle of Edinburgh from the west, June 1816

Description

Monochrome study of Edinburgh Castle from the west. A defensive wall runs round the edge of the Castle Rock around the castles many sections. The tall block of the New Barracks stands in the middle.

Artist / maker

Unknown

Date

1880

Size

35 x 24 cm.

Type

Lithograph

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Edinburgh Castle stands on a volcanic plug. It has been used as a fortification since the Iron Age. The oldest part of the present day castle is St Margaret's Chapel which dates from 1093. The Castle holds the Honours of Scotland and more recently has welcomed back the Stone of Scone otherwise known as the Stone of Destiny.

This view shows the new barracks, built in 1799 to house 600 officers and men, and to the left the ordnance stores, which were redesigned as a military hospital in 1897.

This image comes from a large volume entitled, “Edinburgh in the olden time: Displayed in a series of 63 original views between the years 1717 and 1828, reproduced in a facsimile from the original drawings”, published by Thomas George Stevenson in 1880.

46 of the images in the volume set come from a collection which belonged to Reverend John Sime. Reverend Sime was Chaplain to Trinity College Hospital and also to Magdalene Asylum in the Canongate. He died on 28 April 1864, bequeathing his whole effects to his wife. Mrs Sime died 3 September 1869 bequeathing her whole property to the Governors of James Gillespie’s Hospital. Publisher, T G Stevenson was asked to arrange the collection of manuscripts, books, prints, engravings, and drawings. It was then that he discovered 46 of the drawings.

At first, Stevenson credited the drawings to Sime, but having found no mention of them in his diaries or letters, he concluded they must have simply been collected by Sime. The originals were china ink drawings and by chance, he then learnt of 17 more “of the same series” which had been found in an old trunk in the possession of Messrs. Seton & MacKenzie, Booksellers on George Street, where they had been kept for 20 years or more.
Unfortunately, Stevenson was unable to ascertain the artist of these works.

Exhibitions with this item

Other views of this item

Related images

Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Walls

Homes > Residential buildings > Castles and palaces

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

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