Salisbury Crags Edinburgh  

‘There is a perfect dependence of architecture on its situation. Judging the beauty of a building in the abstract is utterly impossible. So the choice of a design and its site should be simultaneous. The effect of all works of art is twofold: on the mind and on the eye.’ This is a quote from The Claudians: gardens, landscapes, reason and faith: John Claudius Loudon and Claudius Buchanan, Tom Turner (Kindle, 2024). 

John Ruskin’s Reflections on Salisbury Crags as a Monument Site

Ruskin wrote: ‘But suppose we were to throw the old chapel down, would the site be fit for Scott. Not by any means. It is conspicuous certainly, but only conspicuous to the London road, and the Leith glass-houses. It is visible certainly from the Calton and the Castle: but, from the first, barely distinguishable from the huge, black, overwhelming cliff behind; and, from the second, the glimpse of it is slight and unimportant, for it merely peeps out from behind the rise to Salisbury Crags, and the bold mound on which it stands is altogether concealed; while, from St. Leonard's and the south approaches, it is quite invisible. Then for the site itself, it is a piece of perfect desolation; a lonely crag of broken basalt, covered with black debris, which have fallen from time to time from the cliffs above, and lie in massive and weedy confusion along the flanks and brow of the hill, presenting to the near spectator the porous hollows, and scoriaceous lichenless surface, which he scarcely dares to tread on, lest he should find it yet scorching from its creative fires. This is, indeed, a scene well adapted for the grey and shattered ruins, but altogether unfit for the pale colours and proportioned form of any modern monument.’

Ruskin’s Architectural Philosophy: The Importance of Site and Situation

John Ruskin emphasised that the placement of a monument is as crucial as its design, arguing that Salisbury Crags, despite its dramatic appearance, was unsuitable for the Scott Monument. He believed that the rugged, natural landscape of the Crags was better suited to ancient ruins rather than new, proportioned structures. According to Ruskin, the desolate nature of the site, with its rough basalt terrain and dark, fragmented cliffs, would overwhelm and clash with the pale, refined forms of a modern monument. His thoughts highlight the necessity of considering both the visual and emotional impact of architecture within its natural environment, a principle that continues to influence architectural planning today.