Interior. Detail of fireplace in the Tapestry Room. Digital image of B 38797.

Description Interior. Detail of fireplace in the Tapestry Room. Digital image of B 38797.

Date 1950 to 1960

Collection Papers of George Hay, architect, Edinburgh, Scotland

Catalogue Number SC 774366

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of B 38797

Scope and Content Detail of the Tapestry Room fireplace, Prestonfield House, No 71 Priestfield Road, Edinburgh This shows the carved wooden fire surround in the Tapestry Room. Winged heads on scrolling supports are surmounted by pots of flowers, whilst a pair of mer-babies with foliate tails grasp the central cartouche and wreath. The inner part of the surround is made of variegated marble with an ornate cast metal margin. The Tapestry Room is named after a series of early 18th-century Mortlake tapestries illustrating tales from Ovid which hang here. The room was originally a drawing room, and would be used for entertaining guests after dinner. This important room is richly furnished in order to impress visitors with their host's wealth and style. Prestonfield House was rebuilt for Sir James Dick in 1687 by the architect Sir William Bruce (c.1630-1710) after being burnt down during a student riot in 1681. A single-storeyed extension was added in c.1830, and in 1890 architects MacGibbon & Ross added a bathroom extension. Within the grounds is an unusual circular stable block built in 1816 to designs by James Gillespie Graham (1777-1855). The house has been run as a hotel since 1959. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Accession Number 1991/27

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/774366

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap