The Ross Fountain: Edinburgh's Scandalous Masterpiece
Why is it significant?
Stand in front of the Ross Fountain and take it in: an explosion of cast iron painted in deep turquoise and gold, with women, children, lion masks and sea creatures tumbling around its basins, and behind it the Castle rock rising sheer and dark. It is the most theatrical view in Edinburgh.
Key Facts
| Place | The Ross Fountain: Edinburgh's Scandalous Masterpiece |
|---|---|
| Address | West Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh EH2, UK |
| Geo Coordinates | 55.95010, -3.20300 |
| Part of Walk | Painted, Carved and Planted: Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens and the Mound |
| Generated | Generated |
Stand in front of the Ross Fountain and take it in: an explosion of cast iron painted in deep turquoise and gold, with women, children, lion masks and sea creatures tumbling around its basins, and behind it the Castle rock rising sheer and dark. It is the most theatrical view in Edinburgh.
The fountain was made in France, at the foundry of Antoine Durenne, and shown at the International Exhibition in London in 1862. An Edinburgh gunmaker, Daniel Ross, saw it, bought it, and gave it to his city. It arrived in more than a hundred pieces, and by the time it was finally installed here in 1872, Ross himself had died.
Then came the scandal. The women around the basin, representing science, the arts, poetry and industry, are draped only partly, and Dean Ramsay of St John's, the church you have just visited, condemned the fountain as grossly indecent. Good Victorian citizens averted their eyes. Edinburgh, being Edinburgh, complained loudly and left it exactly where it was.
Over the next century the fountain rusted, faded and was often switched off. In 2017 it was taken apart piece by piece and sent away for restoration, and in 2018 it came back, painted again in bold colours and with water flowing for the first time in years. Some locals loved the new look, others found it a bit much, which is more or less what the Victorians said.
Think about where you are standing. Not so long ago this was the bottom of the Nor' Loch, a place of sewage, rubbish and drowning. Today it is a garden with art at every turn: portraits and temples, a Gothic spire, a clock of flowers, soldiers and a bear in bronze, and a fountain once called indecent. Edinburgh drained its swamp and filled it with beauty. Find a bench, look up at the Castle, and enjoy it.