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Scottish Horse Memorial, Edinburgh Castle Esplanade

A Category C Listed Building in Edinburgh, Edinburgh

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Coordinates

Latitude: 55.9489 / 55°56'56"N

Longitude: -3.1976 / 3°11'51"W

OS Eastings: 325305

OS Northings: 673525

OS Grid: NT253735

Mapcode National: GBR 8MG.SY

Mapcode Global: WH6SL.VQHV

Plus Code: 9C7RWRX2+HW

Entry Name: Scottish Horse Memorial, Edinburgh Castle Esplanade

Listing Name: Memorial to the Scottish Horse, Edinburgh Castle Esplanade, Edinburgh

Listing Date: 15 October 2001

Last Amended: 15 November 2019

Category: C

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 395637

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB48239

Building Class: Cultural

ID on this website: 200395637

Location: Edinburgh

County: Edinburgh

Town: Edinburgh

Electoral Ward: City Centre

Traditional County: Midlothian

Tagged with: Architectural structure Monument

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Description

The memorial is a pink Peterhead granite Celtic cross carved with scrollwork on the south side of the shaft of the cross, to about two thirds of the way down. The bottom of the shaft is carved with a lion rampant on a shield. All carving is in low relief. Below the shaft are four stages, the third one being made up of four rusticated layers. Attached to this are three bronze panels listing fallen soldiers. The fourth stage is a base of large flat stones, their edges left rough. It commemorates the men who died in South Africa during the Boer War of 1899-1902. It was designed by Stewart McGlashan and Son and was unveiled in 1905.

Statement of Interest

This is one of a group of statues on the Esplanade including the Statue of the Duke of York, the 72nd Highlanders Memorial, the 78th Highlanders Memorial, and the Monument to Colonel Mackenzie.

In November 1900, Lord Kitchener sanctioned the raising of a regiment known as the Scottish Horse to help annexe the South African Republic and Orange Free State to the British Empire. Men were recruited from Scotland, Australia and South Africa and conducted a guerrilla campaign, launching night raids on their Boer counterparts. This memorial commemorates the men who fell during this campaign.

The memorial was designed by the firm of Stewart McGlashan and Son, an Edinburgh based firm of monumental sculptors. The firm produced a large number of monuments for Glasgow and Edinburgh cemeteries and was also responsible for a number of public monuments including the William Wallace Monument, (Robroyston, Glasgow) and the Robert the Bruce and Boer War memorial in Dunfermline Abbey.

Statutory address and listed building record revised in 2019. Previously listed as 'EDINBURGH CASTLE ESPLANADE, SCOTTISH HORSE MEMORIAL'.

External Links

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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