The National Monument of Scotland, on
Calton Hill
Calton Hill () is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the cit ...
in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, is Scotland's national memorial to the
Scottish soldiers and sailors who died fighting in the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...
.
It was intended, according to the inscription, to be "A Memorial of the Past and Incentive to the Future Heroism of the Men of Scotland".
The monument dominates the top of Calton Hill, just to the east of
Princes Street
Princes Street ( gd, Sràid nam Prionnsan) is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (thr ...
. It was designed during 1823–6 by
Charles Robert Cockerell
Charles Robert Cockerell (27 April 1788 – 17 September 1863) was an English architect, archaeologist, and writer. He studied architecture under Robert Smirke. He went on an extended Grand Tour lasting seven years, mainly spent in Greece. ...
and
William Henry Playfair
William Henry Playfair FRSE (15 July 1790 – 19 March 1857) was a prominent Scottish architect in the 19th century, who designed the Eastern, or Third, New Town and many of Edinburgh's neoclassical landmarks.
Life
Playfair was born on 15 ...
and is modelled upon the
Parthenon
The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...
in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
. Construction started in 1826 and, due to the lack of funds, was left unfinished in 1829. This circumstance gave rise to various nicknames such as "Scotland's Folly", "Edinburgh's Disgrace",
"the Pride and Poverty of Scotland" and "Edinburgh's Folly".
Proposals
As early as 1816, the
Highland Society of Scotland called for the construction of a national monument to commemorate the fallen in the Napoleonic Wars.
Initially
The Mound
The Mound is an artificial slope in central Edinburgh, Scotland, which connects Edinburgh's New and Old Towns. It was formed by dumping around 1,501,000 cartloads of earth excavated from the foundations of the New Town into Nor Loch which wa ...
was considered as a site, but was rejected in favour of Calton Hill.
In January 1822, a proposal was put forward to 'erect a facsimile of the
Parthenon
The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...
' at a cost of some £42,000. The appeal found support amongst many prominent Edinburgh residents such as
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...
,
Henry, Lord Cockburn and
Francis, Lord Jeffrey.
The leading man behind the campaign to model the new monument specifically on the
Athenian
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
Parthenon was
Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin
Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine (; 20 July 176614 November 1841) was a British nobleman, soldier, politician and diplomat, known primarily for the controversial procurement of marble sculptures (known as the Elgin M ...
, who had controversially removed many of the temple's sculptures (now known as the
Elgin Marbles
The Elgin Marbles (), also known as the Parthenon Marbles ( el, Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα, lit. "sculptures of the Parthenon"), are a collection of Classical Greece, Classical Greek marble sculptures made under the supervision of th ...
) a decade earlier and brought them to Britain. In July 1822 the ''Royal Association of Contributors to the National Monument of Scotland'' was incorporated by an Act of Parliament. The foundation stone was laid, amid great pomp and ceremony, the following month.
Sixteen months after the initial appeal, only £16,000 had been found with the possibility of a £10,000 grant from
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
. In 1826, the building was finally commissioned and work began.
The builder contracted to execute the work was Messrs William Wallace & Son.
Originally, the building was planned to have extensive
catacomb
Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire.
Etymology and history
The first place to be referred ...
s in the area supporting the main structure, to provide a burial place for significant figures,
intended as a "Scottish
Valhalla
In Norse mythology Valhalla (;) is the anglicised name for non, Valhǫll ("hall of the slain").Orchard (1997:171–172) It is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. Half of those who die in combat e ...
".
A minute of the Royal Association in 1826 stated that the building was:
Laying of the foundation stone
The foundation stone, which weighs 6 tons, was laid on 27 August 1822, during the
visit of George IV to Scotland
The visit of George IV to Scotland in 1822 was the first visit of a reigning monarch to Scotland in nearly two centuries, the last being by King Charles II for his Scottish coronation in 1651. Government ministers had pressed the King to bri ...
.
The
Duke of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Dukedom of Rothesay held by the Sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the premier peer of Sco ...
(the most senior non-royal
Scottish noble
The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Unio ...
and the
Grand Master of Scotland
This is a list of Grand Master Masons of the Grand Lodge of Scotland:
# 1736–1737: William St Clair of Roslin
# 1737–1738: George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie
# 1738–1739: John Keith, 3rd Earl of Kintore (G.M. of England; 1740)
# 1739 ...
) led a procession of
masonic lodge
A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
s, royal commissioners and other dignitaries from
Parliament Square
Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and it contai ...
to the top of Calton Hill. The procession was escorted by the
Scots Greys
The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 until 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) to form the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.
The regiment's history began in 1 ...
and the
3rd Dragoons
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (disambiguation)
* Third Avenue (disambiguation)
* High ...
.
The deposition of the
inscription plates in the stone was accompanied by
cannon salutes from
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...
,
Salisbury Crags,
Leith Fort
Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.
The earliest ...
and the royal squadron on
Leith Roads
Leith Roads is a stretch of water off the coastal town of Leith, Scotland. The waters extend about two miles (3 km) offshore and provide a generally safe anchor, protected from the gales as they are, by Inchkeith.
The English landscape painter J ...
.
Ideas for completion
Early proposals for completion work tended to focus on following the original plans; however, during the early 20th century several alternative plans were proposed:
* as a monument to
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
(1901)
* as a monument commemorating the
1707 Act of Union with England (1907)
* as a new
Scottish National Gallery
The Scottish National Gallery (formerly the National Gallery of Scotland) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by W ...
(1907)
* as a
Scottish Parliament building
; sco, Scots Pairlament Biggin
, native_name_lang =
, former_names =
, alternate_names = Holyrood
, image = Scottish Parliament building - geograph.org.uk - 2469654.jpg
, image_alt =
, caption ...
(1908)
* as a memorial to those who fell in the
Great War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
(1918,
George Washington Browne
Sir George Washington Browne (21 September 1853 – 15 June 1939) was a Scottish architect. He was born in Glasgow, and trained there and in London. He spent most of his career in Edinburgh, although his work can be found throughout Scotland a ...
)
Subsequent attempts to 'complete' the National Monument have never borne fruit for reasons of either cost or lack of local enthusiasm. A proposal in 2004 met with a mixed reception.
The monument was repaired in December 2008, repositioning one of the stone lintels that had moved out of alignment. The cost was £100,262.
Edinburgh World Heritage, National Monument
/ref>
Protection
The National Monument was classified as a Category A Listed building in 1966. It is not a scheduled monument.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Archiseek - National Monument
'A Building from which Derived "All that is Good". Observation on the Intended Reconstruction of the Parthenon on Calton Hill' by Marc Fehlmann in the online art magazine Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide
{{Buildings and Structures in Edinburgh
1829 establishments in Scotland
Buildings and structures completed in 1829
Calton Hill
Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh
Listed monuments and memorials in Scotland
Military of Scotland
Monuments and memorials in Edinburgh
Napoleonic Wars
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
Scottish military memorials and cemeteries
Unfinished buildings and structures