The tower is 200 feet 6 inches (61.11 m) high and has viewing platforms reached by a series of spiral staircases giving panoramic views of central Edinburgh and its surroundings. The highest platform is reached by a total of 287 steps.[2] It is built from Binny sandstone quarried near Ecclesmachan in West Lothian.
It is placed on axis with South St. David Street, one of the two streets leading off St. Andrew Square to Princes Street, and is a focal point within that vista, its scale being large enough to screen the Old Town behind. Its size and elevated position cause it to dominate the eastern section of the Princes Street Gardens.
History
Scott's Monument as it appeared when nearly finished in October 1844Masons working on the Monument, photographed by Hill & Adamson in the early 1840sThe Sir Walter Scott statue designed by John Steell, located inside the Scott Monument
Following Scott's death in 1832, a competition was held to design a monument to him. An unlikely entrant went under the pseudonym "John Morvo", the medieval architect of Melrose Abbey. Morvo was in fact George Meikle Kemp, 45 year-old joiner, draftsman, and self-taught architect. He had feared that his lack of architectural qualifications and reputation would disqualify him, but his design was popular with the competition's judges, and they awarded him the contract to construct the monument in 1838.
The erection of the Scott monument came at a high cost to the stone masons involved, especially to the 'hewing masons' who were responsible for preparing the blocks, with their carvings and statues. This work was done in closed sheds, where they were exposed to large quantities of dangerous fine dust. Things were not so bad for the 'building masons' who worked in the open, placing the already prepared blocks of stone. Because of the hardness of the stone (from the Binnie quarry, near Uphall to the west of Edinburgh) used for the monument and other local buildings, Edinburgh masons were especially vulnerable to phthisis, the term used at the time for silicosis. One contemporary observer says that the monument "killed twenty three of the finest hewers in Edinburgh."[5]: 741–52 Another mentions "one half of the whole number of masons employed" died of the lung disease.[6]: 25–52 [7]
The foundation stone was laid on 15 August 1840 by Sir James Forrest of Comiston in his capacity as Lord Provost and as Grand Master Mason of Scotland.[8] Construction began in 1841 following permission by Parliament's Monument to Sir Walter Scott Act and ran for nearly four years. It was completed in the autumn of 1844, with Kemp's son placing the finial in August of the year. The total cost was just over £16,154.[9] The monument was inaugurated on 15 August 1846, but George Meikle Kemp was absent. He had fallen into the Union Canal while walking home from the site and drowned on the foggy evening of 6 March 1844.
Statues and locations
There are 68 statues on the monument, not counting Scott and his dog Maida, and 64 are visible from the ground. Four figures are placed above the final viewing gallery and are only visible by telephoto or from the viewing gallery (at a distorted angle). In addition, eight kneeling Druid figures support the final viewing gallery. There are 32 unfilled niches at higher level.
In the early 1990s it was proposed that the stonework should be cleaned. There were views for and against cleaning and a scientific/geological investigation, including cleaning trials on samples of stone, was carried out. It was decided not to clean the stone due to the damage it would sustain. A restoration programme was undertaken involving replacing old repairs and damaged areas with Binny stone for which purpose the original quarry was re-opened.[12] The fresh stonework contrasts with the smoke-darkened original.
The monument is now administered by the Culture and Sport division of the City of Edinburgh Council (See External Links for visitor information) who in 2016 installed a new LED lighting system. The design of the lights was "intended to highlight the monument’s architectural features with a soft warm glow" and were first illuminated on 21 September 2016.[14]
A panorama of Edinburgh, seen from the Scott Monument
In popular culture
The monument is featured prominently in the 2012 film Cloud Atlas, as a location which the character Robert Frobisher frequents[15][16] An imagined copy of the monument is featured in the 1899 painting by James Ford, Holiday Time in Cape Town, depicting a Victorian era imagined utopian future Cape Town.[17]
^Tomlinson C, editor. Stone. In: The Cyclopaedia of Useful Arts. Mechanical and Chemical, Manufactures, Mining and Engineering. Vol 2 Hammer to Zirconium.London: James S.Virtue; 1854. p.741–52.
^Wilson G. On the chemistry of building material. Transactions of the Architectural Institute of Scotland. Session 5 4 1854; Part 1
^K.Donaldson, W.A. Wallace, C. Henry, A. Seaton, "Death in the New Town: Edinburgh's hidden story of stonemason's silicosis." J R Coll Physicians Edinb 2017; 47: 375–83 | doi: 10.4997/JRCPE.2017.416
