Twelve Monuments Project

Some of Edinburgh’s most famous statues and monuments are to be restored as part of a new Edinburgh World Heritage initiative.

The three year project is expected to cost £550,000, and will be funded by EWH, the City of Edinburgh Council and external sponsorship.
 
David McDonald, World Heritage Site Project Manager said: "I think it’s difficult to overstate just how important Edinburgh’s statues and monuments are in making the city distinctive. The monuments on Calton Hill are of national significance, and gave Edinburgh its famous title, the ‘Athens of the North’. 

“The city’s statues remind us of some of the key characters in Edinburgh’s history, and add real drama and interest to the streetscape. Altogether they add enormously to the beauty of the World Heritage Site, and help to make Edinburgh truly unique.”

In 2007-8 the focus will be the Melville Monument in St. Andrew Square, and the Bow Well in the Grassmarket, adding conservation value to on-going public realm improvements in both areas.

The Black Watch War Memorial on the Mound will also benefit from restoration, with contributions from the Black Watch Association and the One O’Clock Gun Association.

The second year will focus on three monuments of national importance on Calton Hill, the National Monument, the Burns Monument and the Nelson Monument.

The final year of the project will see the restoration of St Bernard’s Well on the Water of Leith, along with work to some prominent city centre statues.

These will include George IV and William Pitt on George Street, David Livingstone and Allan Ramsay in Princes Street Gardens, and the equestrian statue of Charles II statue in Parliament Close.