Edinburgh, Duddingston Village, General

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.

See EDIN0336

See EDIN0336

Inscriptions : Around the edges of the panel (incised letters): UNDER THE SEAT BESIDE / THE WATER MAKES A / HOME FOR A' JOCK / TAMSON'S BAIRNS

On the ribbon running through the branches of the tree, and below the fox and squirrel (incised cursive script):

Jacobite Headquarters 1745 / Curling Club Rules 1803 / Revd John Thomson Artist 1805-40 / Scott's "the [line drawing of a heart] of Midlothian" - 1813 / R.L. Stevenson's "Duddingstone" / Sheep Heid Inn C16th / Dodin Toun Kirk 1120 / Bronze Age Settlement c 800BC

Signatures : At bottom right of panel (incised letters): 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 : EDIN0336)

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)