Edinburgh Museums

We visited two major museums in our short stay in Edinburgh, The National Museum of Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery.

The National Museum of Scotland was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Museum (so renamed in 1995), with collections covering science and technology, natural history, and world cultures. The two connected buildings stand beside each other on Chambers Street, by the intersection with the George IV Bridge, in central Edinburgh. The two buildings and two collections retain distinctive characters.

The Museum of Scotland is housed in a modern building opened in 1998.

The building’s architecture was controversial from the start, and Prince Charles resigned as patron of the museum, in protest at the lack of consultation over its design. The building is made up of geometric, Corbusian forms, but also has numerous references to Scotland, such as brochs and castellated, defensive architecture. It is clad in golden Moray sandstone, which one of its architects, Gordon Benson, has called “the oldest exhibit in the building”, a reference to Scottish geology. The building was a 1999 Stirling Prize nominee.

The former Royal Museum building was begun in 1861, and partially opened in 1866, with a Victorian Romanesque Revival facade and a grand central hall of cast iron construction that rises the full height of the building.

The challenge / dilemma with this sort of conjunction comes to a head where the two adjacent buildings come together. The results in this case get a mixed review.

This gee-whiz gallery provides the transition from the 1861 building to the 1995 building by in effect creating a museum eye-popping zone with lots of color, banners, decorative flooring and, to some degree, a disconnection from the museum buildings on each side. In addition, the circulation patterns and map graphics in the museum in general were difficult to follow.  It made, in a way, for two distinct museum experiences. Perhaps it would have been better to see them this way.

The galleries in the newer building present Scottish history in an essentially chronological arrangement, beginning at the lowest level with prehistory to the early medieval period, with later periods on the higher levels. We happened to come in at the lowest level, somewhere in the stone age I believe, and worked our way up from there. An exhibit like this skeletal remains enhanced the feeling of being dug up.

I liked the concept and the feeling that you were moving from excavated historic sites upward into the present.

In one area some techno-sculpture served as display cases for artifacts. In other areas, the presentation used more typical vitrines.

The sculptural quality of some of the industrial revolution machines carried their spaces physically and visually – and underscored the role that Scotland played in the nineteenth century and the development of steam power.

We wished we had had more time to take in the floors we didn’t get to see. We had another museum to visit.

The Scottish National Gallery is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, in a neoclassical building designed by William Henry Playfair, and first opened to the public in 1859.

The gallery houses the Scottish national collection of fine art, including Scottish and international art from the beginning of the Renaissance up to the start of the 20th century. This model inside the gallery explains its layout.

 

The building was originally divided along the middle, with the east half housing the exhibition galleries of the RSA, and the western half containing the new National Gallery, formed from the collection of the Royal Institution. Additional basement galleries were constructed in 1970. In the early 21st century, the Playfair Project saw the renovation of the Royal Scottish Academy Building and the construction of an underground connecting space between the Gallery and the Academy Building which opened in 2004 (the lower arcade structure in the model above). Now known as the Gardens Entrance, it provides a new access from Princes Street Gardens and contains a lecture theater, education area, shop, restaurant and an interactive gallery.

The origins of Scotland’s national collection lie with the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts in Scotland, founded in 1819. It began to acquire paintings, and in 1828 the Royal Institution building opened on The Mound. In 1826, the Scottish Academy was founded by a group of artists as an offshoot of the Royal Institution, and in 1838 it became the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA). A key aim of the RSA was the founding of a national collection. It began to build up a collection and from 1835 rented exhibition space within the Royal Institution building. Although the museum now has a fairly broad collection, including some modern galleries, we were interested in the Scottish galleries, since the work there is not something we were likely to see elsewhere. Getting to those galleries required solving a maze, going down at one point in order to go up and other roundabout excursions; but we made it.

 

The piece above could have been done in any number of European cities; but the seascape below could only have been painted in Scotland.

 

After all this museum going we retired to a pub just off the George IV bridge to think about the next part of our trip, the Isle of Arran.

As in Seattle, where it’s often wet and gray, pub life takes on a special meaning. We felt right at home.

Holyrood + Arthur’s Seat

The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace has served as the principal residence of the Kings and Queens of Scots since the 16th century, and is a setting for state occasions and official entertaining.

Holyrood Abbey was founded by David I, King of Scots, in 1128, and the abbey’s position close to Edinburgh Castle meant that it was often visited by Scotland’s monarchs, who were lodged in the guest house situated to the west of the abbey cloister. 

James IV constructed a new palace adjacent to the abbey in the early 16th century, and James V made additions to the palace, including the present north-west tower. Holyrood Palace was re-constructed in its present form between 1671 and 1679 to the Baroque design of the architect Sir William Bruce, forming four wings around a central courtyard, with a west front linking the 16th-century north-west tower with a matching south-west tower. This entrance gate leads into a gallery space that looks into the central courtyard and links the outstretched arms of the U-shaped 3-story palace behind.

 

Unfortunately, photography is not permitted inside the palace.  This Wikipedia photo of the dining room gives a sense of how the palace is used for entertainment in contemporary times.

Essentially, the queen visits annually, stays for a week, and conducts whatever royal business is before heading off to a royal vacation at Balmoral. We took a guided tour of the palace, one of the best tours of our trip, that included both historic rooms and the events that occurred there, but also spaces where contemporary events (concerts, performances, etc) had occurred – which we could see in photographs on display.

Outside again, we enjoyed the well-kept gardens.

And finally, rounding a last corner, yet another view of Arthur’s Seat.

 

Out in front we took in the fountain that provides the centerpiece for the entry plaza

And then we headed back to our B+B via a walk that circumnavigates Arthur’s Seat

Arthur’s Seat is the main peak of the group of hills in Scotland which form most of Holyrood Park, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as “a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bold design”. It is situated in the center of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. The hill itself rises above the city to a height of 822 ft, provides excellent panoramic views of the city, is relatively easy to climb, and is popular for hill-walking. Many claim that its name is derived from the myriad legends pertaining to King Arthur, such as the reference in Y Gododdin. Some support for this theory may be provided by the fact that several other hilltop and mountaintop features in Britain bear the same or similar names, such as the peak of Ben Arthur (The Cobbler) in the western highlands, sometimes known as Arthur’s Seat, and Arthur’s Chair on the ridge called Stone Arthur in the Cumbrian lake district. In any case, it dominates the city in both large and small ways, popping into views when least expected as at this street end.

Or behind this modest housing neighborhood near our B+B

Or at the Prestonfields Golf course where I played Scotland’s version of municipal links golf one day

Or, finally from the south, where it truly puts the city in scale

 

St Andrews – Home of Golf

For golfers, St Andrews is a must-see sight in Scotland; and being so close, I also didn’t want to pass up the opportunity.

St Andrews is also known worldwide as the “home of golf”. This is in part because the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, founded in 1754, exercises legislative authority over the game worldwide (except in the United States and Mexico), and also because the famous links (acquired by the town in 1894) is the most frequent venue for The Open Championship, the oldest of golf’s four major championships. Visitors travel to St Andrews in great numbers for several courses ranked among the finest in the world (there are actually six including the most famous “old course”.

The Old Course at St Andrews is considered by many to be the “home of golf” because the sport was first played on the Links at St Andrews in the early 1400. Golf was becoming increasingly popular in Scotland until in 1457, when James II of Scotland banned golf because he felt that young men were playing too much golf instead of practicing their archery. The ban was upheld by the following kings of Scotland until 1502, when King James IV became a golfer himself and removed the ban (and, I assume, gave up archery).

In 1552, Archbishop John Hamilton gave the town people of St. Andrews the right to play on the links. St Andrews Links had a scare when they went bankrupt in 1797. The Town Council of St. Andrews decided to allow rabbit farming on the golf course to challenge golf for popularity. Twenty years of legal battling between the golfers and rabbit farmers ended in 1821 when a local landowner and golfer named James Cheape of Strathtyrum bought the land and is credited with saving the links for golf. In 1754, 22 noblemen, professors, and landowners founded the Society of St Andrews Golfers. This society would eventually become the precursor to the Royal and Ancient which is the governing body for golf everywhere outside of the United States and Mexico.

The Royal and Ancient club is housed in the grey stone building on the left of the photo above. The taller red brick building is a hotel. The bleachers in front of it face on to the 18th green. These golfers are playing the first hole, having just teed off from in front of the Royal and Ancient. The 1st and 18th holes share this broad fairway.

The course evolved without the help of any one architect for many years. However, the more significant people to its design were Daw Anderson in the 1850s and Old Tom Morris (1865–1903) who designed the 1st and 18th holes. Originally, it was played over the same set of fairways out and back (to the shore or beach) to the same holes. As interest in the game increased, groups of golfers would often be playing the same hole, but going in different directions.

An older gentleman (green shirt below) gave a group of us a tour and filled in all sorts of miscellaneous information.

One unique fact is that the course is owned by the burgh of St Andrews as a public park. This means that – as long as you don’t interfere with the golfers – you can walk on the course at any time.  And – except for tournaments – the course is closed to golf on Sundays, when townspeople can use it for walks or picnics or whatever.

The Old Course was pivotal to the development of how the game is played today. For instance, in 1764, the course had 22 holes. The members would play the same hole going out and in with the exception of the 11th and 22nd holes. The members decided that the first four and last four holes on the course were too short and should be combined into four total holes (two in and two out). St Andrews then had 18 holes and that was how the standard of 18 holes was created. Around 1863, Old Tom Morris had the 1st green separated from the 17th green, producing the current 18-hole layout with seven double greens. Here’s a layout of the area that we walked – the 1st and 18th holes and near the 17th green, the famous “road hole” in which the road next to the green is part of the hole and a wicked road hole bunker (yellow) guards the approach to the green.

The Old Course is home of The Open Championship, the oldest of golf’s major championships. The Old Course has hosted this major 28 times since 1873, most recently in 2010 and is currently played there every five years.

One modest but well-known feature of the 18th fairway is the Swilcan Bridge, over which you walk after you’ve hit your tee shot. The bridge crosses a birn, a small creek confined within steep walls.

Obviously you don’t want your golf ball to end up in it. The birn snakes its way across both the 18th and 1st fairways and, not shown on TV, runs right in front of the 1st green, turning an easy starting hole into a devilish one. Often golfers, and tourist-golfers, have their pictures taken when standing on the bridge, so of course . . .

A lot of famous people have walked across this bridge – but not this day.  All the red in the background shows off the facilities for the Women’s British Open that was played the week after we were there.

Around the corner from the Royal and Ancient the burgh has built a museum of golf which we checked out. It’s pretty complete in that it shows the development of the equipment from the beginning in the 1500’s.

 

I found this display pretty amusing; but these two gentlemen seem to be taking their golf equipment work seriously.

It was really fun to see all of this up close and personal. I would have loved to play; but the cost is high and the work of getting a tee time even more difficult; so I took the opportunity to play later in our trip. That story in another post.