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| “It started as a challenge… a challenge to record part
of our nation’s history pictorially, focussing on a small section
of the capital city of Edinburgh, where the age and variety of buildings
illustrates a mixture of activities – religion, government,
commerce and family life – all contained in one ‘living’ street.
“The chosen section, the north facing facade extending from St Mary’s Street westwards for half a mile to Edinburgh Castle esplanade, is also the extent of the ‘Royal Burgh of Edinburgh’ founded by King David in 1130 AD. This section of the Royal Mile contains probably the most interesting and historic variety of buildings. They vary from the Gothic style of St. John's Church on Castlehill, the eclectic styles of St Giles Cathedral, the high narrow facades of the domestic dwellings and almost medieval frontages. “After early sketches showing the building frontages had been produced by pacing out (900mm pace), I enlisted the help of my wife Anne, to measure the building frontages. I decided to use a steel measuring tape for accuracy so, on Sunday mornings when the streets were quiet, we completed the measurements in detail. “Levels obtained on manhole covers established the street gradients, and the heights of the buildings were measured using an ‘inclinometer’ – an instrument like a simplified sextant. “Rough sketches were produced, and the drawing was transferred to a card panels, and completed in colour using acrylic paints. Frequent visits to Edinburgh were necessary to check out details, and to try to capture the colour of the facades, which varied depending on the light and the time of year. “The complete painting, almost 30 feet long in six panels, was finished in May 2003. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland has agreed to add my work to its archives, so it will indeed, as I had hoped, be a record held for posterity.” William Highet, 2004 |
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