View from the Melville Monument

Category

Library Item

Item no

14269

Title

View from the Melville Monument towards Arthur's Seat showing North Bridge and the Balmoral Hotel

Description

Looking over the rooftops of the New Town towards the North Bridge and Arthur's Seat beyond. The tall clocktower of the Balmoral Hotel rises above the surrounding buildings.

Artist / maker

MacLean, Kevin

Date

2008

Type

Digital image

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

The Melville Monument, St Andrew Square, was erected between 1820 and 1823 to the memory of Henry Dundas, the 1st Viscount Melville, who died in 1811. The monument comprises an imposing Roman column almost 42 metres in height, crowned by a statue of Dundas. The column itself was designed by William Burn, who received advice on its foundations from Robert Stevenson following concerns expressed by local residents as to its stability. The statue is by the sculptor Robert Forrest from a model by the English sculptor Francis Legatt Chantrey. It was only commissioned when construction of the monument was well underway, and was not added until 1827-28.

Arthur's Seat is the remains of a now extinct volcano which rises 250 metres (823 feet) above Holyrood Park in Edinburgh. Remains of an Iron Age Hill fort were found on the east side of the hill. The origins of the peak's name have been somewhat lost. One theory is that it is a corruption of the gaellic Ard-na-saith, meaning height of arrows, indicating a past usage as a practice place for archery. Arthur's Seat is also known as the Lion's Head.

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Related images

Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Clocks and clock towers

Places > Edinburgh areas > New Town

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Transport > Infrastructure > Road bridges

Option	Price
Digital FileElectronic file 72 dpi JPEG	£6.10(inc. VAT 20%)
Digital FileElectronic File 300 dpi TIFF	£31.00(inc. VAT 20%)
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