The Melville Monument

No tour of the architectural beauty of Edinburgh would be complete without a stop by the Melville Monument.

The Melville Monument looks out over Edinburgh

To the uninitiated, this 42.6 meter high column was erected in honor of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, a renowned Scottish lawyer who held a variety of offices during his lifetime including First Lord of the Admiralty under William Pitt the Younger, among many other positions. Dundas also had the notable and somewhat unfortunate distinction of being the last person to have been impeached from public office in the whole of the United Kingdom.

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Edinburgh’s Melville Monument, A Landmark In St. Andrew’s Square

Standing at the center of St. Andrew’s Square, the impressive landmark has an interesting history involving some unique characters and milestones. The story of the Melville Monument begins in 1817, when a private group of prominent Naval officers formed a committee to memorialize Viscount Melville, and succeeded in raising several thousand pounds to fund the project. During his life, Dundas was considered to be the most powerful man in Scotland, and was referred to by contemporaries as “King Henry the Ninth”, such was his influence.

Melville Monument takes pride of place in the centre of St. Andrew's Square, Edinburgh

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Melville Monument, Watchful Tower Over Edinburgh’s New Town

The overall structure was designed by William Burn, which he modeled after Trajan’s Column in Rome. The statue that sits atop pillar, meanwhile, was created by Robert Forrest and Francis Chantrey. Weighing in at over 1500 tons, the Melville Monument was so massive that special considerations had to be taken for the foundation to support its mass. Robert Stevenson, a respected lighthouse engineer and also grandfather to the author Robert Louis Stevenson, used the first line balance crane ever built to erect the towering edifice. The column was finished in 1823, while the statue had to wait until 1828 until being put into place.

Edinburgh's Melville Monument watches as the sun goes down over the city

While rather drab in appearance, the Melville Monument is still a sight to behold for sheer height and size. In recognition of its landmark status, a plaque in honor of the monument was placed in St. Andrews Square by the Institute of Civil Engineers to commemorate its erection. Once off limits to tourists, the garden surrounding the Melville Monument is now thankfully open to visitors.
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