Scheduled Maintenance
Please be advised that this website will undergo scheduled maintenance on the following dates: •
Tuesday 3rd December 11:00-15:00
During these times, some services may be temporarily unavailable. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Edinburgh, 12, 13 St Andrew Square, Guardian Royal Exchange
Office (20th Century)
Site Name Edinburgh, 12, 13 St Andrew Square, Guardian Royal Exchange
Classification Office (20th Century)
Alternative Name(s) George Street; 12a St Andrew Square; Caledonian Insurance Company
Canmore ID 115002
Site Number NT27SE 1074
NGR NT 25516 74057
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/115002
- Council Edinburgh, City Of
- Parish Edinburgh (Edinburgh, City Of)
- Former Region Lothian
- Former District City Of Edinburgh
- Former County Midlothian
Architect: Leslie Graham Thomson
Sculptor: Alexander Carrick - 1939
NMRS REFERENCE
Print Room
Inglis Photograph Collection
Guardian Royal Exchange exterior by night, including George Street front.
Interior entrance hall staircase and stained glass window.
Acc No 1994/90
Project (1997)
The Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (http://www.pmsa.org.uk/) set up a National Recording Project in 1997 with the aim of making a survey of public monuments and sculpture in Britain ranging from medieval monuments to the most contemporary works. Information from the Edinburgh project was added to the RCAHMS database in October 2010 and again in 2012.
The PMSA (Public Monuments and Sculpture Association) Edinburgh Sculpture Project has been supported by Eastern Photocolour, Edinburgh College of Art, the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust, Historic Scotland, the Hope Scott Trust, The Old Edinburgh Club, the Pilgrim Trust, the RCAHMS, and the Scottish Archive Network.
Field Visit (21 February 2002)
Bronze figures representing 'Insurance' and 'Security' stand on top of Cipollino marble columns flanking the entrance to the building. On top of the column on the left of the doorway is a naked man with a naked girl standing in front of him. He holds her hands on her shoulders. On top of the other column is a naked woman, with a baby held across her breasts with her right arm, and a small boy standing at her feet. Her left hand is on his head.
The building was erected for The Caledonian Insurance Company, the oldest fire insurance Institution in Scotland.
The bronze figures represent 'Insurance' and 'Security', 'symbolic of the aspirations and endeavours of the Caledonian'. (1)
On the Alexander Carrick website (www.alexandercarrick.webeden.co.uk) the figure group of the man and girl is titled 'Safety'. The group of the woman and children is adapted from Carrick's diploma work of 1936 titled 'Felicity'.
The bronze groups were cast by Carrick's pupil, George Mancini.
Inspected By : T.S.
Inscriptions : None
Signatures : None visible
Design period : 1938-1939
Year of unveiling : 1939
Information from Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (PMSA Work Ref : EDIN0650)
Field Visit (21 February 2002)
Door on left contains a panel carved with, from top: a star and two clouds in the sky above a hill on which grow two trees. Below are buildings over which are the words EDUCATION and FIRE, flames and a tree. Over the tree is the word LIFE. At the bottom of the panel are the roots of the tree.
Door on right contains a panel carved with an old airplane above hills and buildings over which are carved ACCIDENT, LIABILITY and MARINE. At the bottom is a boat on water. Over the buildings are two irregular shapes containing (top) an old car and (bottom) an old steam engine.
Above the entrance is a coat of arms, consisting of a shield decorated with a thistle. Above is a saltire and, above that, a helmet surmounted by a bare-breasted woman holding a staff in her right hand. The shield is supported by a lion (dexter) and an eagle [?] (sinister).
Inspected By : T.S.
Inscriptions : On door on left (top to bottom), in raised letters: EDUCATION / FIRE / LIFE
On door on right (top to bottom), in raised letters: ACCIDENT / LIABILITY / MARINE
On coat of arms: PROVIDEMUS
Signatures : None
Design period : 1938-1939
Year of unveiling : 1939
Information from Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (PMSA Work Ref : EDIN0651)
