Castle from Greyfriars

Category

Library Item

Item no

1838

Title

Castle from Greyfriars

Description

Edinburgh Castle can be seen in the distance. A flag is flying from a flagpole on a tower in the fortification. To the fore is a slate tile roof of a house which sits behind some trees. In the foreground is Greyfriars Graveyard with gravestones and burial plots. Inscriptions on some of the headstones are legible.

Artist / maker

Inglis, Alexander Adam

Date

1884

Size

15.6 x 20.8 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.

Greyfriars Kirkyard, or Graveyard, is the burial ground of Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh. It houses the graves of many notable historical figures including the poet Allan Ramsay, the geologist James Hutton and the architect William Adam. In 1679 several hundred Covenanters were imprisoned in the Kirkyard awaiting trial.

Find out more about visiting Edinburgh Castle at Historic Environment Scotland.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Monuments > Gravestones

Homes > Residential buildings > Castles and palaces

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Religion > Religious facilities > Graveyards

(55°56′49″N, 3°11′33″W)

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