EDI NBVRGH

THE CITY

Item no
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OF E D I N B U R G H C O U N C I L

Monuments Restoration Programme

Culture and Leisure Committee
29 April 2008

Purpose of report

1.I To update the Committee on the Monuments Restoration Programme being carried out in partnership with the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust (EWHT).
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Main report

2.1 The City is responsible for the presentation of approximately 200 statues and monuments. Key monuments in the World Heritage Site were identified as in need of restoration and a three year programme has been developed in partnership with the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust. 2.2 In the first year 2007/2008, the EWHT has invested in the restoration of two monuments which give added value to existing public realm schemes in the city, namely the Melville Monument in St Andrew Square and the Bow Well in the Grassmarket. In addition, restoration of the Black Watch Memorial on the Mound has been carried out. The Black Watch Memorial was rededicated in a ceremony on 30 March 2008 in the presence of the Deputy Lord Provost, who laid a wreath from the city.

2.3 The Black Watch Association has also been heavily involved in fundraising for work on the Black Watch statue. The Black Watch Association secured private sponsorship of more than f5000,and the War Memorials Trust has also grantaided this restoration.
2.4 Following a recent condition survey, the Duke of Buccleuchs statue in Parliament Square was added to the scheme and restoration work has commenced with completion due in the near future.

2.5

In the second year (2008/2009), the focus will be on three monuments of national importance on Calton Hill: the National Monument, the Burns Monument and the Nelson Monument. Work will be carried out to the walls and roofs. A conservation architect has just been appointed to define the full scope of works. The timing of the works has been designed to ensure that the Burns Monument will be in good condition for the 250thAnniversary of the poets birth in 2009.

2.6 In year three (2009/2010), the project will focus on St Bernards Well in Stockbridge, as well as restoration to the George IV Statue, Charles II Statue, David Livingstone Statue, Allan Ramsay Statue and William Pitt statue in the world heritage site.
2.7 The foregoing is an important programme of work which has entailed input from several departments of the Council in partnership with the EWHT. Officers are pleased to be working creatively and positively with one of our key heritage partners. Opportunities to raise third party funding for the project have already been achieved and further sponsorship is being sought, enabling more work to be carried out. All restoration work is being carried out to a high conservation standard, to enhance the cityscape and ensure the preservation of these iconic parts of the streetscape.

Financial Implications

3.1 The 3 year monument restoration programme is being funded jointly from the Councils Property Maintenance Revenue Budget and the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust with support from other private and public organisations. The project has attracted widespread interest from a number of external organisations and members of the public. The Black Watch Association has committed a substantial sum to assist with the restoration of the Black Watch Memorial. 3.2 The planned expenditure profile for the 3 year project is set out in Appendix 2. 3.3 A further report will be made to Committee on future funding arrangements following completion of exploratory work on the next groups of monuments.
4 Recommendations

4.1 The Committee; i) Notes the effective partnership with the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust; ii) Approves the 3 year programme; and iii) Acknowledges the valuable contribution of other sponsors and partners who have been involved, particularly the Black Watch Association, and encourage further sponsors to be sought.

Dave Anderson Director of City Development

Appendices

Appendix 1 : Historical information on the Statues and Monuments Appendix 2 : Planned expenditure profile Anne Crawford, Property Manager, Asset Management Tel No 0131 529 5877 or e-mail anne.crawford@edinburgh.nov.uk City wide None

Contactltel

Wards affected Background Papers

Appendix 1 Historical information on the statues and monuments

1. Bow Well
In 1674, the citys first piped water supply was put in place by Lord Provost, Sir Andrew Ramsay. The work involved Sir William Bruce (architect of Holyrood Palace), George Sinclair as surveyor, Peter Brauss, a German engineer who made the lead pipe-work, and Robert Mylne, the Kings Master Mason who built the wellheads. A number of wells were built on the High Street. The Bow Well sits at the bottom of Victoria Street, near the Grassmarket. Previously water was sourced from springs and delivered to houses by water caddies. The gravitational water-supply for the wells was piped from Comiston Springs on the south side of the city and flowed to a large cistern at the head of the West Bow, from where it was piped through elm-wood pipes to the well heads down the High Street and presumably the Bow Well. The Bow Well has the inscription VIRTUTE AQUlSlTUR HONOS (Honour is acquired by virtue). Above the door is the date 1732 and on the doorplate is inscribed: THE WEST BOW WELL. ERECTED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL, 1674. REPAIRED AND ALTERED BY RICHARDSON BROTHERS, MERCHANTS, WEST BOW. 1861. On the South side the Edinburghs coat-of-arms and motto is visible: NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA -All is in vain without the Lord.

2. Black Watch War Memorial, Bank Street

The Black Watch War Memorial was commissioned by the Black Watch, on a site given by the Bank of Scotland in 1906. It was designed and built by sculptor W. Birnie Rhind, R.S.A. and unveiled on 27th June 1910. It commemorates General Wauchope and the men of the Black Watch regiment who fell in the South African War 1899-1902. The monument consists of a polished granite square base, with a bronze statue of a kilted Black Watch soldier standing on top looking toward the Castle. The Black Watch crest "Am Freiceadan Dubh" is visible on top of the base, below a frieze of fighting soldiers. Inscriptions on square base plinth: West: "To the memory of Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Men of the Black Watch who fell in the South African War. 1899-1902. North: - List of men who died from disease. South: - List of men who died in action or from wounds.

3. Melville Monument
The Melville Monument consists of a fluted column with an internal staircase and is surmounted by a statue. The ornate base has an acanthus leaf decoration with eagles at each corner. The architect, William Burn, used Trajans Column in Rome as a model. He was assisted by Robert Stevenson, the builder of the Bell Rock Lighthouse, in the preparation of the foundation. The 4.2m statue stands at the top of the 26m column. The statue was not part of the original design. It was modelled by Francis Chantrey and carved by Robert Forrest. Forrest had a sculptors yard on Calton Hill and also executed the statue of John Knox in Glasgow's Necropolis. The stone used was the yellowish grey sandstone from the Cullalo quarries at the Grange and Newbigging. The statue is of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville (1742 - 1811) who was a dominant force in British politics for over four decades. He held office as Treasurer for the Navy (under Pitt), Home Secretary, Secretary for War, and Lord Advocate. The movement to erect a monument originated with a group of Naval officers who admired his work at the Admirality. A committee was formed in1817 and almost f3500 was raised.

4. National Monument
The idea for a National Monument was first aired at a meeting of the Highland Society in 1816. Charles Robert Cockerell was appointed architect for the monument, and William Henry Playfair was taken on as his assistant. The Duke of Hamilton laid the foundation stone in August 1822. It was decided the monument would take the form of a National Memorial Church, to commemorate Scottish servicemen who died in the Napoleonic wars. It would also serve as a National Mausoleum where illustrious Scotsmen would be laid to rest in the catacombs. It was estimated that f42,000 was required. The subscription received the support of many eminent people including George IV, the Duke of Atholl and Sir Walter Scott, but after 16 months only f16,000had been raised. During the the first phase 1826-29, twelve pillars cost f13,500, and due to the lack of further funds the impetus was lost. As it stands today, the National Monument on Calton Hill is clearly an imposing structure and is made of twelve massive columns with a substructure containing catacombs. The design is based on the Parthenon at Athens. Some of the largest pieces of stone ever taken from the Craigleith Quarry in Blackhall were incorporated. Since 1829 numerous proposals of varying credibility have been proposed for the National Monuments completion and use.

5. Burns Monument
Originally the Burns Monument contained a white marble statue of Robert Burns (1759 to 1796) which is now located in the National Portrait Gallery on Queen Street. The idea to erect a monument to Burns was first proposed by Mr. John Forbes Mitchell in Bombay in 1812 and expatriates raised a subscription. However the idea was not taken up at home until 1819, when a meeting at the Free Mason's Tavern in London, noblemen and gentlemen - admirers of the Bard - formed a committee under the chairmanship of the Duke of Atholl. Thomas Hamilton, the architect was appointed as he had already designed the Burns Monument at Alloway in 1820 and the nearby Royal High School, Edinburgh. Hamilton designed a circular Neo-Greek temple which has a Corinthian peristyle and lyre reliefs on cella walls. It is built of Ravelston sandstone. He did not charge for the design work. The interior decoration and surrounding planting of laurels, hollies and Ayrshire roses were also donated by Mr. Robert Buchan, house painter and Mr. Eagle Henderson, nurseryman. The foundation stone of the monument was laid on the 8th of September 1831. The Subscribers Committee looked after the monument until 1839, when it was handed over to the city. At this time it was suggested the internal statue (designed by John Flaxman R.A. in 1824) should be moved due to soot from the gasworks below was affecting the marble.

6. Nelson Monument
This Craigleith stone battlemented tower was erected to commemorate the death of Nelson after the victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The public subscription and relief fund for the wounded and relatives of the war dead lead to the site being granted by the Town Council on the 21st October 1807, on the second anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. The Monument Committee adopted the plan of Robert Burn for a signal tower at a cost of f2000,and the foundation stone was laid in 1807. Insufficient funds hampered progress and work stopped by the end of 1808. In 1814 a new committee was formed and the monument taken into Town Council care. It was completed in 1816. It is a 'signal tower' surmounted by a 'time-ball' -which [when working] is raised each day and drops in conjunction with the One O'clock Gun -which is fired at the Castle. The ball dropping is a visible signal and the gun was an audible signal for sailors in Leith docks to be able to set their chronometers which were used for accurate navigation. The circular tower has an internal staircase with 143 steps to the viewing platform or 'bartizan' which rises 28m from the pentagonal ground floor building, which originally sold 'soup and sweetmeats'. Above the entrance are two panels, the lower with the date of Trafalgar in Roman numerals - MDCCCV i.e. 1805, and above a representation of Nelson's crest stating: "Upon waves of the sea, the stern of a Spanish man of war, inscribed San Josef'. The monument inscription reads: "To the memory of Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson, and of the great victory of Trafalgar, too dearly purchased with his blood, the grateful citizens of Edinburgh have erected this monument: not to express their unavailing sorrow for his death: nor yet to celebrate the matchless glories of his life, but by his noble example to teach their sons to emulate what they admire, and like him, when duty requires, to die for their country. MDCCCV."

7. St. Bernards Well

The mineral springs , which later became St. Bernards Well are said to have been discovered by three boys from Heriot's Hospital. The mineral waters, similar to those at Harrogate, became popular and in 1760 the area was roofed over. In 1789, the owner, Francis Garden of Troup (Lord Gardenstone), then a Senator of the College of Justice, commissioned a new pump house. Architect Alexander Naismith's design was based on Sybils Temple at Tivoli with an open rotunda of Roman Doric style, with ten columns in a circle surrounding a statue of Hygeia, executed by Coade of London. There are alternating paterae and triglyphs on the entablature, surmounted by a lead dome with a pineapple finial. The foundation stone was laid on May 1st 1789 with the inscription: "ERECTED FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC AT THE SOLE EXPENSE OF FRANCIS GARDEN ESQ. OF TROUP, OF THE SENATORSOF THE COLLEGE OF JUSTICE, ALEXANDER NAISMITH, ARCHITECT, JOHN WILSON, BUILDER". In 1887 the building was extensively renovated, at the expense of the then owner, William Nelson (the publisher). Thomas Bonnar was commissioned to carry out the work. The original statue of Hygeia had fallen into such a bad state of repair it was replaced by a new marble figure, sculpted by DW Stevenson. After completion, Nelson's Trustees offered the well to Edinburgh Town Council as a gift. The original Coadestone statue of Hygeia was replaced by a new white marble figure, sculpted by DW Stevenson. After completion, it was also offered to Edinburgh Town Council as a gift.

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8. George IV Statue
This pedestrian bronze statue of George IV on a granite plinth was funded by public subscription under the chairmanship of Lord Meadowbank. Sir Francis Chantry was the sculptor and it was unveiled on 26 November 1831. It was erected to commemorate the visit of George IV to Edinburgh in 1822, the first visit by a monarch since the Union of the Crowns. The visit was orchestrated by Sir Walter Scott. Scott's efforts convinced the King (and the assembled dignitaries) to wear tartan. Inscribed on the South side George IV visited Scotland MDCCCXXII" (1822) on the North side "Erected MDCCCXXXI" (1831) and on the West side "Chantry, Sc."

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9. Charles II Statue
The lead equestrian statue of King Charles II, is the oldest statue in Edinburgh, and one of the oldest lead statues in Britain. It was erected in 1685 at the expense of the Edinburgh Town Council, "formed in the Roman manner, like one of the Caesars". The statue was reputed to have come from the Netherlands and recent evidence attributes the statue to the workshop of the famous Dutch sculptor and master carver, Grinling Gibbons. The plinth, in Craigleith sandstone was executed by Robert Mylne, the Kings Master Mason in Scotland. The statue was not completed until a month before the King's death; and the plinth was not ready until after his demise in February 1685. The burgh records read "the King's majesties statu in metall is raddie to be put up in parliament close". In total the statue and plinth cost f3,557- 2s-4d Scots, exclusive of a gratuity paid to William Clerk for his composition of a Latin eulogy to the King, which is inscribed on the east side of the base: "TO CHARLES THE SECOND, MOST AUGUST AND MOST MAGNIFICENT, THE INVINCIBLE RULER OF BRITAIN, FRANCE AND IRELAND, UPON WHOSE BIRTH DIVINE PROVIDENCE SMILED AT THE VERY MOMENT WHEN A STAR WAS CONSPICUOUS IN THE NOONDAY SKY*, AND WHO, AFTER A YOUTH SPENT IN ARMS AFTER HIS FATHER AND AFTER THE LATTER HAD IN THE END BEEN BEHEADED, MAINTAINED HIS OWN RIGHT FOR TWO YEARS WITH ENERGY INDEED BUT WITHOUT SUCCESS; FOR UNABLE TO COPE WITH A REBELLION THAT WAS TOO OFTEN VICTORIOUS, HE WAS COMPELLED TO CHANGE HIS COUNTRY FOR ALMOST A DECADE. ABROAD, HOWEVER, DESPITE THE PACTS, THE WILES, THE THREATS, AND THE MILITARY POWER OF THE USURPER, HE WAS DEFENDED AND PROTECTED BY THE WATCHFULNESS OF HEAVEN, AND AT LENGTH EMERGING LIKE THE SUN, ALL THE BRIGHTER FROM THE CLOUDS THAT HAD ENVELOPED HIM, HE RETURNED TO HIS OWN REALMS WITHOUT ANY SHEDDING OF BLOOD AND SIMPLY THROUGH RECOGNITIONOF HIS LAWFUL CLAIM, WHEREUPON HE ESTABLISHED, ENLARGED, STRENGTHENED AND CONFIRMED THE CHURCH, THE STATE, PEACE AND COMMERCE. THEN, WINNING FAME BY HIS WAR WITH. HOLLAND, HE STRAIGHTWAY BECAME ARBITER OF PEACE AND WAR BETWEEN EMBATTLED NEIGHBOURS. FINALLY, WHEN THE OLD REBELLION RECENTLY SHOWED SIGNS OF RECRUDESCENCE, HE CHECKED THE BASILISK WHILE IT WAS STILL IN EMBRYO, CRUSHED IT AND TROD IT UNDERFOOT BY SHEER SAGACITY AND NOT BY FORCE OF ARMS. TO HIM, THEREFORE, A PRINCE OF MARVELS, IN A SEASON OF PROFOUND PEACE AND AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS GLORY [THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED] In 1766 it was "in great disrepair and in hazard of falling" and in 1769 f 8 - 12s-6d was paid to Alexander Nicholson for "repairing Charles II and plumber work.. . I ' (plumber from the Latin 'plumbum' - lead). And in 1786 John Donaldson painted the statue and pedestal with three coats of 'strong [white lead] paint'. The inscription plaque was removed in 1817 to a vault in Parliament House, and in 1824 when the statue and pedestal were in a poor state of repair they were removed to Calton Jail, while 12

St. Giles was being rebuilt. In 1835 when it was rebuilt, f30-6s-6d was paid to the superintendent who was thanked "for his kind and gratious services in supervising the repairs on the Horse, whose symmetry has been rendered more perfect than ever by his attentions". Major repairs were also undertaken in the 1920s when cracks in the lead allowed water to corrode the internal iron armatures, which burst the leadwork.

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I O . David Livingstone Statue

David Livingstone was born in 1813 in Blantyre, Lanarkshire, to working class parents, and worked in a cotton factory. At the age of 20 he became a Christian and in 1840, after two years study in London he was ordained as a missionary. He was sent to South Africa on missionary work and became a noted African explorer, journeying to Lake Ngami, the Zambezi River and the Victoria Falls. Upon his return in 1856 he was awarded the Gold medal of the Royal Geographic Society for his discoveries. He died in 1873 and is buried in Westminster Abbey. The commemorative pedestrian bronze statue shows the missionary wearing a cloak and haversack, having cast off a lion skin. He is holding a walking stick and a Bible, with a pistol and compass at his waist. The statue was sculpted by Amelia Paton Hill (1820 - 1904), one of the few women sculptors in lgthcentury Edinburgh. She also completed three character statues on the Scott Monument. Amelia Paton Hill was a gifted artist, but has been overshadowed by her more famous artist brothers, Sir Noel Paton and Hugh Waller Paton, and her husband - pioneering photographer David Octavius Hill. The statue was cast by R. Masefield and Co brassfounders of London.

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11. Allan Ramsay Statue

Allan Ramsay (1685 -1758) was involved in the early eighteenth century revival of Scots vernacular poetry and is best remembered for his five-part work The Gentle Shepherd. In 1725 he opened what is generally regarded as Britains first circulating library on the Royal Mile. The ten-foot high statue depicts the poet and publisher standing with a plaid over his shoulder, holding a book in his left hand, and a pencil in his right. It was sculpted by Sir John Steel1 from an eighteen ton Carrara marble block and stands on an ornate Binny sandstone plinth. The pedestal is decorated with medallions of Ramsays relatives - Lord Murray; Mrs Ramsay (Margaret Lindsay) his Daughter-in-law, General Ramsay - grandson of the poet; and Lady Campbell and Mrs Malcolm, the poets grand daughters. The monument was built at the instigation of Lord Murray, a descendant of Allan Ramsays, who met the costs personally. It was originally to be sited in Ramsay Garden where the poet lived in Goose Pie House (from its unusual eight-sided shape). The Goose Pie House is now incorporated as part of the residential buildings at Patrick Geddes, Ramsay Garden. The statue was unveiled by Sir John McNeil on the 2!jth March 1865, at a dual ceremony to inaugurate the Professor John Wilson statue on the other side of the Royal Academy. Another Ramsay Monument - an obelisk stands near Penicuik, south of Edinburgh.

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12. William Pitt Statue

This is a pedestrian bronze statue of Pitt draped in a cloak, by Sir Francis Chantrey, on a Craigleith stone plinth, erected in 1833. Commemorating William Pitt (17591806), the statesman who became Britain's youngest Prime Minister at the age of 21. Pitt introduced Income tax, largely to help pay for the Napoleonic Wars. Pitt was a descendant of the early Stuarts, his grandmother descended from James I. The statue was built at the instigation of the Pitt Club (membership 675) of Edinburgh, under the chairmanship of Lord Meadowbank.

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13. Buccleuch Memorial

The bronze statue of the 5th Duke of Buccleuch and 7th Duke of Queensberry (18061884) sits on an ornate Gothic plinth (Binnie sandstone) decorated with various bronze figures and panels. It was built by public subscription with almost 1200 subscribers. The Buccleuch Testimonial committee were granted a Parliament Square site bythe Edinburgh Town Council in 1885. Sir Joseph Boehm R.A. was the sculptor for the statue and the plinth was designed by Sir Rowand Anderson. The bronze figures and panels were done by Clark Stanton, Birnie Rhind, Stuart Burnett and D.W. and W.G. Stevenson. The panels generally depict leading incidents from the family history of the Buccleuchs and the 5th Duke himself. The unveiling ceremony on the 7th February 1888 was attended by the full Edinburgh Town Council and the Lord Provost accepted the Memorial on behalf of the city.

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Appendix 2 - Planned expenditure profile for the three-year programme.

YEAR 1 (2007/2008)
Bow Well (Grassmarket)

SCOPE
Restoration Restoration

CEC
10,805 2,613 2,613 9,685

TOTAL
21,61C 14,911

Black Watch Memorial (The

Melville Monument Andrew Square)

(St

Restoration

40,000

40,000

80,000

Calton Hill Monuments

Condition Report

4,930

4,930 823

9,860 823

(Parliament Square) 18,947 (Parliament Square) and Restoration 18,947

YEAR ONE TOTAL YEAR 2 (2008/2009)

Buccleuch Memorial Restoration

58,348

78,118

9,685

146,151

18,371 15,000

18,371 30.000

Hill) 50,000 Burns Monument (Regent Road) Restoration 50,000 50,000 100,000 100,000

YEAR TWO TOTAL YEAR 3 (2009/2010)

St Bernards Well (Stockbridge)

1 15,000

1 15,000

18,371

248,371

Restoration Restoration

32.500 25,000

32,500 25,000 25,000

65,000 75,000

Charles II Statue (Parliament Square) David Livingstone Statue (Princes Street) Alan Ramsay Statue (Princes Street) William Pitt Statue (George Street) George IVTtatue (George Street)

Restoration

7,500

7,500

15,000

Restoration

12,500

12,500

25,000

Restoration

7,500

7,500

15,000

Restoration

7.500

7,500

15,000

f92,500

f25,000

210,000

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