Edinburgh Castle from Greyfriars

Category

Library Item

Item no

1805

Title

Edinburgh Castle from Greyfriars

Description

Greyfriars Graveyard with a collection of gravestones, including one which represents an obelisk, and burial plots, with inscriptions on headstones. Around one of the graves is a metal railing on top of a small stone wall. On the roof of one of the houses in the background is an aerial. Edinburgh Castle is in the background.

Artist / maker

Unknown

Date

1908

Size

8.4 x 13.5 cm

Type

Photograph; Postcard

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.

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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