Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

MELVILLE CRESCENT, 2ND VISCOUNT MELVILLE MONUMENTLB27866

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
14/12/1970
Local Authority
Edinburgh
Planning Authority
Edinburgh
Burgh
Edinburgh
NGR
NT 24288 73624
Coordinates
324288, 673624

Description

John Steele, 1857. Pedestrian bronze statue of Robert Viscount Melville to centre of Melville Crescent. Large sandstone ashlar plinth. Stepped to base with cornice to top of pedestal. Further plinth over cornice supporting bronze statue. Figure shown leaning on bronze plinth to left, holding scroll in right hand. Bronze inscription to plinth: Robert Viscount Melville, Born 14th March 1771 Died 10th June 1851.

Statement of Special Interest

The Melville Statue is a striking bronze on a high plinth that is a key termination to various axis through the former Walker Estate plan, and an excellent example of the work of a prominent sculptor, Sir John Steel. It forms an especially strong link with the Gladstone Memorial in Coates Crescent with which it forms a visual axis down Walker Street. The OS survey of 1852 shows an alternate design for the square with a circular garden to the centre.

Sir John Steel (b. 1804), was one of the foremost sculptors of his day, producing numerous works in Edinburgh, the most prominent of which is the statue of Sir Walter Scott for the Scott Monument on Princes Street (see separate listing), and an equestrian statue of Wellington in Glasgow (see separate listing). In 1844 after sculpting a figure of Queen Victoria he was appointed sculptor to her Majesty in Scotland, and was later knighted in 1876 after the unveiling of an equestrian statue of Prince Albert in Charlotte Sqaure.

(List description revised 2009 as part of re-survey.)

References

Bibliography

Ordnance Survey, Sheet 34 Edinburgh and Environs, (1852); Ordnance Survey, Large Scale Town Plan, (1893-94); J Gifford, C McWilliam, D M Walker, The Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh (1988) p. 376; Youngson, The Making of Classical Edinburgh, (1988) p. 216; West End Community Trust, Edinburgh's West End, A Short History, (1984); James Grant, Cassell's Old and New Edinburgh, (c.1880) Volume IV p. 210.

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 28/03/2024 17:32