Field Visit
Date 24 May 2000
Event ID 612650
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/612650
The work is made up of a stone bench with an inscription carved in the stone 'fire made the seat beside the water', a riddle relating to the physical situation and natural environment: 'the seat' being Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano. Between the two lines of text is a bronze panel showing two swans (centre), a duck (right), and a nest with eggs in it (left), with Arthur's Seat and vegetation in the background.
The seat is paired with a bronze wall panel opposite [EDIN0036], which deals with the human history of Duddingston Village, and carries through the riddle 'Under the Seat beside the water makes a home for a' Jock Tamson's Bairns'. The Rev. John Thomson of Duddingston (1805-40) often referred to his parishioners as 'his Bairns'. The panel depicts a tree, representing the continuity of the generations of people who have built up the community and its history, with key historical events recorded on a thread of ribbon woven through the branches. At the foot of the tree is a fox (left) and a squirrel (right), and on one of the branches on the right is a bird.
The Duddingston Artworks originated with a suggestion in the Plan for Duddingston Village; a study by landscape architects Turnbull Jeffrey Partnership. The project was jointly funded by Edinburgh City Council and the National Trust for Scotland. Tim Chalk's proposal was selected by the local residents' association, Edinburgh City Council and the National Trust. The work was completed and installed in July 1999, and there was an unveiling ceremony on September 26th. The work was formerly unveiled by Roger Wheater, the Chairman of the National Trust for Scotland, and music was provided by the folk band 'Jock Tamson's Bairns'.
Inscriptions : On the upright part of the bench, above and below the bronze insert (incised letters): FIRE MADE THE SEAT / BESIDE THE WATER
Signatures : At bottom right of panel: T. CHALK '99
Design period : 1999
Year of unveiling : 1999
Unveiling details : 26 September 1999
Information from Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (PMSA Work Ref : EDIN0335)
