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

ST BERNARD'S WELL, OFF ST BERNARD'S BRIDGE, INCLUDING STAIR, WALLS, RAILINGS AND PLAQUELB27905

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Group Category Details
100000019 - see notes
Date Added
14/12/1970
Local Authority
Edinburgh
Planning Authority
Edinburgh
Burgh
Edinburgh
NGR
NT 24451 74247
Coordinates
324451, 674247

Description

Alexander Nasmyth, 1789; restored by Thomas Bonnar Junior, 1888. Replacement statue of Hygeia by D W Stevenson, 1888. Roman Doric temple over mineral spring pump room, comprising open rotunda with 10 columns, on rusticated base; alternating paterae and triglyphs to entablature, surmounted by lead dome, with pineapple finial; 10-panel studded timber door at NE of base, leading to pump room, with tooled ashlar lintel, reading 'St Bernard's Mineral Well'; barred window at SW of base.

STAIR: ashlar T-plan stair with landings, to E, with ashlar treads, saddleback copes.

WALLS: squared and snecked sandstone wall to NW, with triangular coping, capped with roll moulding.

RAILINGS: ashlar copes surmounted by cast-iron railings with spear-headed finials at SE; decorative cast-iron railings to NW.

PLAQUE: pink granite and metal wall-mounted plaque, comprising round arch supported by Corinthian columns, with reverse ogee-moulded base, surmounted by entablature with armorial cartouche and foliate decoration. Metal medallion with profile bust, centred in recess, above inscription reading, 'The Liberal Deviseth Liberal Things. Erected by the Lord Provost Magistrates and Council of the City of Edinburgh to commemorate the public spirit and generosity of the late William Nelson of Salisbury Green who having purchased, restored and embellished St Bernard's Well and the surrounding grounds gifted them to the corporation for the benefit of the citizens of Edinburgh in all time coming. January 1888. The Right Hon Sir Thomas Clark Bart., Lord Provost'.

Statement of Special Interest

Part of the Edinburgh New Town A Group, one of the most important and best preserved examples of urban planning in Britain. St Bernard's Well was commissioned from Nasmyth in 1788 by Lord Gardenstone, replacing a well house of 1760, and building, by John Wilson, was begun the following year. The original figure of Hygeia was made of Coade stone. Although best known as a portrait and landscape painter, Nasmyth's experience as a landscape consultant lead to him to design various buildings, including bridges at Almondell, West Lothian and Tongueland, Kirkcudbrightshire. Nasmyth's original and much copied painting of St Bernard's Well is in the Georgian House, Edinburgh (National Trust for Scotland). St Bernard's Well was built at the expense of Francis Garden of Troup.

References

Bibliography

Gifford, McWilliam and Walker, EDINBURGH (1984), p404; Cooksey, ALEXANDER NASMYTH (1991), pp22-3, 89, 90; McKean, EDINBURGH (1992), p121; Colvin, A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS 1600-1840 (1995), p695, MacRae Heritors 41.

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 01:46