Edinburgh Castle from Greyfriar's Churchyard

Category

Library Item

Item no

679

Title

Edinburgh Castle from Greyfriar's Churchyard

Description

Edinburgh Castle towers over the monuments of Greyfriar's Churchyard. Many gravestones and crypts can be seen in the foreground and a wall around the burial ground has an arched entrance way through which two figures are passing. A lone tree stands in the cemetery. On a rocky outcrop beyond stands Edinburgh Castle. The fortification has crenulated walls, watchtowers, garderobes and gun loops. The arched entrance way to the castle has a wooden fence running in front of it. Figures stand on the hilly incline in front of the fence.

Artist / maker

Skene, James

Date

1817

Size

15 x 20 cm

Type

Wash drawing

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.

Greyfriars Kirkyard is the burial ground of Greyfriars Kirk, which takes its name from the Franciscan monastery founded here in 1447. It houses the graves of many notable historical figures including the poet Allan Ramsay, the geologist James Hutton and the architect William Adam.

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Related subjects

Homes > Residential buildings > Castles and palaces

Landscape > Land > Rock formations

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Religion > Religious facilities > Churchyards

Religion > Religious facilities > Graveyards

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