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Latitude: 55.8211 / 55°49'15"N
Longitude: -3.0784 / 3°4'42"W
OS Eastings: 332528
OS Northings: 659174
OS Grid: NT325591
Mapcode National: GBR 61Y4.B4
Mapcode Global: WH6T7.PY9C
Plus Code: 9C7RRWCC+CJ
Entry Name: Stream Ornament, Sunken Garden, Arniston House
Listing Name: Arniston Policies, Sunken Garden, Stream Ornament
Listing Date: 19 March 1998
Category: C
Source: Historic Scotland
Source ID: 391961
Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB45146
Building Class: Cultural
ID on this website: 200391961
Location: Borthwick
County: Midlothian
Electoral Ward: Midlothian South
Parish: Borthwick
Traditional County: Midlothian
Tagged with: Architectural structure
Early 19th century. Probably gargoyle. Stone block with hole to base; monkey-like carving above hole.
The sunken garden, to the south of Arniston House, is a highly original example of informal garden planning. Separated from the house by steeply sloping parkland, it runs either side of Purvies Hill Burn, although the garden ornaments are primarily on the north bank. Originally the ornamental urns, benches and bridges were surrounded by informal clusters of trees and plants. These were replaced by more formal carpet bedding, although today the garden ornaments themselves are all that survive (1997). The hole in the base of this carved stone suggests that it may originally have been a decorative hopper. It is possible that it originated on Parliament House, Edinburgh, which was re faced by Robert Reid in 1803. Lord Chief Baron Robert Dundas (1758-1819) brought cartloads of the architectural fragments from Parliament house, where they "were treated as mere rubbish" (Arniston Memoirs p297), to Arniston where they were incorporated into picturesque structures in the walled and sunken gardens (see separate listings). Other fragments were acquired by famous writer and antiquarian Walter Scott for his house at Abbotsford.
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