Ross Fountain in Princes Street Gardens

Photograph - December 2003

Below are two pictures taken from the same negative. The photograph was taken at dusk, 4.20pm, on 21 December 2003. This was the first day of the winter that snow had fallen in Edinburgh. The weather was cold.

Santa was feeding the reindeer at the West End of Princes Street Gardens, close to the Ross Fountain, and a coach and horses (just visible at the right hand side of this photograph) was giving rides around the Gardens.

History of the Fountain

The fountain was cast in iron by Durenne of Paris for an International Exhibition in Paris in 1862. When gunsmith Danniel Ross saw it, he purchased it and donated it to the City of Edinburgh in 1867.

It was shipped to Leith in 122 pieces then transferred by road the three miles to Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh. It was still awaiting assembly in Princes Street Gardens when Daniel Ross died in 1871.

The statue was described as "having 4 female figures ; seated between them semi-circular basins with consoles, surmounted by a standing figure above the basins and nymphs". An article in 1869 described it as "one of the most elaborate and ornate structures of its class in Europe"

Today

The fountain is now looking attractive again, following its restoration in the 1990s. The water is now flowing again.

Sources:

- The Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh
- Catalogue of Monuments and Burial Grounds, Vol 4.