Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

WILLIAM GLADSTONE MEMORIAL COATES CRESCENT AND SHANDWICK PLACELB27856

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
14/12/1970
Local Authority
Edinburgh
Planning Authority
Edinburgh
Burgh
Edinburgh
NGR
NT 24390 73497
Coordinates
324390, 673497

Description

J Pittendrigh McGillivray, 1916-17. Renaissance pedestrian monument, consisting of red granite plinth with central and subsidiary bronzes. (30ft high, 28ft wide, 15ft deep) Stepped and shaped base rising to dentilled cornice. Shaped split level plinth to front supports bronze of 2 boys with eagle and laurel wreath standard and inscribed banner. Large flanking consoles with pilasters to side and Doric scroll to rear support seated bronzes representing Eloquentia to left and Historia to right. Circular plan plinth bracketed at 4 corners to support subsidiary plinths. Life size bronze figures representing Fortitude and Measure to front, Militaria and Faith to rear, fronting bronze pilasters with half Ionic capitals. Cornice with bronze egg and dart moulding. Central plinth supports further bronze plinth with primary bronze figurative statue of W. E. Gladstone in Chancellors robes.

Statement of Special Interest

A fine example of the work of Glasgow based sculptor MacGillivray, the Gladstone memorial is especially noted for the carving of the 'Historia' figure. MacGillivray had a number of important commissions, including producing figures for Glasgow City Chambers. He also sculpted several other public memorials including Robert Burns in Irvine (1895) and the Byron statue in Aberdeen. Only a limited number of his public works survive, far outnumbered by his smaller private commissions. The Gladstone Memorial is an important example of his public work.

The figurative group which surrounds Gladstone outlines the virtues of the man and they each carry implements suitable to their subject. Historia is, for example, seen with an open book in her lap.

The memorial forms an important part of the streetscape past and present. Although originally sculpted for this site it was opposed by the proprietors and on completion it was placed on the West side of St. Andrew's Square between 1917 and 1955. Reinstated to its intended position it provides a key termination to the axis down Walker Street from Melville Street. As well as marking the centre of Coates Crescent and articulating the green space that separates Coates Crescent from Shandwick Place.

(List description revised in 2009 as part of re-survey.)

References

Bibliography

Glasgow Herald (18 January 1917), J Gifford, C McWilliam, D M Walker, The Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh (1988) p 371, R L Woodward, Virtue and Vision: Sculpture in Scotland, 1540 -1900 (1991), C Byrom, The Edinburgh New Town Gardens, (2005) pp 351-8,

www.victorianweb.org/sculpture/jpm/pmov.html (accessed 18.2.08),

www.edinphoto.org.uk (accessed 18.2.08),

www.glasgowsculpture.com (accessed 12.2.08).

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 29/03/2024 11:08