Calton Hill; Nelson Monument
Burn, Robert
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Alternative Title
Nelson Monument
Date
1807-1815Description
General view, tower rising from square castellated base, time ball at top; A commemorative tower in honor of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson built between 1807 and 1815 to commemorate Nelson's victory over the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, and his own death at the same battle. In 1853 a time ball was added, (originally connected by an underground wire to the adjacent City Observatory) as a time signal to shipping in Leith harbor. The monument was restored in 2009. The monument stands 105 feet, on the highest point of Calton Hill, at 171 metres (561 ft) above sea-level. The monument was funded by public subscription, and an initial design was prepared by Alexander Nasmyth. This obelisk-like design proved too expensive, and an alternative design, in the form of an upturned telescope, was obtained from the architect Robert Burn. This Neo-Gothic design reflected the castellated prison buildings which stood on the south side of Calton Hill in the early 19th century. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 6/30/2012)
Type of Work
memorial column; observation tower; monumentSubject
architecture, military or war, Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815, Nelson, Horatio Nelson, Viscount, 1758-1805, Timekeeping, Nineteenth century, Gothic Revival
Rights
Rights Statement
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only