Description

Jean-Baptiste Klagmann, sculptor, cast by Antoine Durenne, 1862. Tall ornate gilded cast-iron fountain in 2nd Empire style, quatrefoil in plan; 1st tier with lions' heads, scallop-shell basins and mermaids with over-flowing urns; 4 female figures representing Science, Art, Industry and Poetry above; surmounted by large female figure with cornucopia.

Statement of Interest

The A Group comprises The Allan Ramsay Monument, The Cottage, Dr Guthrie's Monument, The Police Box, The Ross Fountain, The Royal Scots Greys Monument, The Royal Scots Memorial, The Scottish American Memorial, The Shelters, The Simpson Monument, The Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial and The Statuary Group, all in West Princes Street Gardens. The Ross Fountain was displayed at the International Exhibition in London in 1862. It was purchased by the Edinburgh gun-smith Daniel Ross and presented to the City. It was shipped to Leith, and eventually erected in the Gardens in 1872. The fountain was cast in iron by Antoine Durenne, Maitre de Forges at Sommevoire sur Marne. . Klagmann also designed sculpture for the Medici fountain in the Jardin du Luxembourg, and for the Louvre Fountain. The design did not meet with universal approval in Edinburgh; it was described by Dean Ramsay, Minister of St John's Episcopal Church (whose own memorial, a Celtic cross designed by R Rowand Anderson, lies within the precinct of his church to the W of the fountain) as, 'grossly indecent and disgusting; insulting and offensive to the moral feelings of the community and disgraceful to the City.' The Fountain was restored 2001 by Edinburgh City Council in partnership with East of Scotland Water. West Princes Street Gardens were laid out by James Skene for the Princes Street proprietors circa 1820. In 1866 John Dick Peddie produced a plan, shown in 2 water-colours entitled 'the Athens of the North,' one looking NE across E Princes Street Gardens, showing Calton Hill with a completed National Monument/Parthenon, and the other, looking W across W Princes Street Gardens, showing the Gardens as a 'Walhalla' with a broad terrace with monuments and mausolea, fountains and a winter garden. The gardens were acquired by the city in 1876 and further landscaped by Robert Morham.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Ross Fountain at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q7369346

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
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  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
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  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
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  For the Record