Playfair Library, Old College

Category

Library Item

Item no

7781

Title

Playfair Library, Old College

Description

Columns line the passageway of the Playfair Library in the Old College of Edinburgh University. Busts stand in front of many of the pillars and a glass panelled case containing books is framed between two pillars at the end of the passageway. The arched ceiling has a geometric design.

Artist / maker

Wilson, George Washington

Date

1880

Size

10.5 x 16.6 cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

This image has been chosen for the Edinburgh - Past and Present Exhibition by Jamie Fraser, Managing Director of Hamilton & Inches - "Playfair is one of the architects whose influence is most keenly felt in Edinburgh, as his most famous work, the Royal Academy, which provides the link between Old and New towns is a landmark in the City. But if architecture is one of Edinburgh's attractions, the University is one of her strengths. That period of glorious, original thinking, the Scottish Enlightenment, that so influenced the world and reinforced Edinburgh's position as a seat of learning coincided with Playfair's life. So the Playfair Library within the Old College of the university seems a wonderful way of linking the twin strengths of academia and architecture&&and I car share with a professor who teaches in the School of Social and Political Studies of Edinburgh University! This picture also reminded me that behind the beautiful facades, which are often familiar, lie some wonderful interiors that are often little known" Jamie Fraser.

The construction of Old College, according to Robert Adam's designs, began in 1789. Adams' death and the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars led to the project being halted in 1792. It was recommenced in 1817 by William Playfair, and work was largely completed by the mid 1830's. It was not until 1887 that the final finishing touch, a large dome similar to that in Adam's original design, was put to the building by Robert Rowand Anderson. This dome was topped with a bronze statue the following year. The building is still used by the University of Edinburgh.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Passageways

Architecture > Monuments > Busts

Education > Educational facilities > Universities and colleges

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Sport and leisure > Culture > Libraries

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