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Waverley Ball, Edinburgh — Statues for the Sir Walter Scott Monument; below, Portion of the Monument Showing One of the Principal Niches for the Reception of the Present Statues, and the Arrangements Made for the Smaller Ones in The Illustrated London News (12 April 1845). No. 154, Vol. VI: 237. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
Sculptor Alexander Handyside Ritchie (1804-70) has depicted Meg Merrillees, the central figure over the arch on the east face of the monument, from Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer (1815), as a young Gypsy holding a green bough (fashioned from copper). The sculptor "Represents her as a sibyl in frenzy, at the time when standing on a bank which overhung the road, — with a roll of cloth on her head in the form of a turban, her long and tangled hair falling in elf locks on her neck and shoulders, and a piece of broken sapling in each hand, — she delivered the fearfully prophetic address to Godfrey Betram regarding the ruin of his house" (Colston, 97).
Sculptor Peter Slater, R. A. (1809-60), has depicted Ellen Douglas, the central figure on the archway of the south face, from The Lady of the Lake (1810). The Lady from Scott's narrative poem is "Represented in the act of stepping out of a boat to the shore. She is attired in garments of flowing drapery" (Colston, 96).
Sculptor James Ritchie (1809-88) has depicted The Harp o' the North or the principal figure in The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805) as if he were Sir Walter Scott himself. He appears above the archway on the west face of the monument.
Sculptor Alexander Handyside Ritchie (1804-70) has depicted Prince Charles Edward Stewart or Bonnie Prince Charlie, from both Waverley (1814) and Red Gauntlet (1824), as the central figure over the archway on the north face of the Walter Scott Monument. The Stuart claimant to the British throne is "Represented in the act of drawing a claymore, dressed in highland costume, with bonnet and cockade" (Colston, 97) as he must have appeared at the ill-fated Battle of Culloden (1745).
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image, and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Colston, John. History of the Scott Monument, Edinburgh. Edinburgh, 1881. Rpt. Pitfield, Milton Keynes: Legare Street Press.
"Inauguration of the Scott Monument, Edinburgh." The Illustrated London News, No. 225, Vol. 9 (22 August 1846): 113-114.
"Scott Monument." Wikipedia. Viewed 20 September 2007.
Watt, Francis M., and Andrew Carter. "Title-page Vignette: The Scott Monument." Picturesque Scotland: Its Romantic Scenes & Historical Associations Described in Lay and Legend, Song and Story. London: John M. Murdoch [1887?].
"Waverely Ball, Edinburgh — Statues for the Scott Monument." The Illustrated London News, No. 154, Vol. 6 (12 April 1845): 237-238.
Created 17 June 2025