Blair Castle, walled garden. View of stone eagle by MR Greenway, stonecutter, Bath 1752. Digital image of PT 4426.

Description Blair Castle, walled garden. View of stone eagle by MR Greenway, stonecutter, Bath 1752. Digital image of PT 4426.

Date 1973

Catalogue Number SC 767097

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of PT 4426

Scope and Content Statue of an eagle, Walled Garden, Blair Castle, Perth & Kinross This large carved stone eagle stands on a pedestal in the walled garden, and castle accounts show he cost £1.15 in 1752. The wall was heightened in 1762 between the pigeon house and the outhouse, leaving a cleft in which the eagle sits. The bird's pose is heraldic and proud, and the carving is boldly executed. This eagle was carved from Bath stone by a Mr Greenaway, a stonecutter in Bath. The statue is one of many ordered by James, 2nd Duke of Atholl to adorn his estate. His choice of statuary was very varied, and included Classically-inspired sculptures: a 'Hercules', a 'Temple of Fame' with 'Bustos of the Poets', and 'The Four Seasons', as well as figures of a Fowler, a 'hay-makeing man', a 'Highland Lassy' and a 'Harlequin Woman'. Blair Castle, the seat of the Dukes of Atholl, was begun in 1269, extended in the 15th and 16th centuries, and remodelled to resemble a Georgian mansion by architect James Winter in the mid-1700s. The south-east wing was built in 1743-5, and rebuilt to include a clock-tower to designs by architect Archibald Elliot in 1814 after a fire. The castle was 're-baronialised' to designs by architect David Bryce in 1869-71, who also designed the ballroom (1826-7). It was modified again in 1886 (J C Walker), 1904-5 (J McIntyre Henry) and 1920-1 (Sir Robert Lorimer). Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/767097

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap