Restoring Edinburgh's Parthenon

Work has begun on restoring the National Monument on Calton Hill. The project is part of the Twelve Monuments Project, a joint initiative of Edinburgh World Heritage and the City of Edinburgh Council which is restoring some of the city’s famous statues and monuments.

The National Monument was designed by Charles Cockerell and William Playfair, who were inspired by the Parthenon in Athens. It was intended to commemorate
Scottish servicemen who died in the Napoleonic War, and funds for its construction were raised by a public appeal. Work started in August 1822, but only the twelve columns we see today were ever completed. 

Adam Wilkinson, Director of Edinburgh World Heritage said: "The National Monument can rightly claim to be amongst the most talismanic symbols of Scotland and a key to understanding Edinburgh as ‘the Athens of the North’. Calton Hill is one of the most fantastic landscapes of monuments in Europe and is a principal part of the World Heritage Site”

The biggest challenge is to move one of the enormous stone lintels at the top of the monument, which over time has shifted out of position. This will be lifted back into place using crane and new lime mortar added. The top of the monument will also be investigated to see if more stonework repairs are needed. Areas of crumbling mortar on the base of the monument need to be replaced with new lime mortar, and weeds and bushes will be cleared away from the base of the stonework.

The work is expected to cost around £78,000 and is due to be completed at the beginning of December 2008. The work is being funded by Edinburgh World Heritage and the City of Edinburgh Council, with contributions from the Binks Trust and the War Memorials Trust.

Download the Calton Hill heritage trail....Click here (pdf 2.28MB)