The Glenfinnan Monument is a Category A listed monument in Glenfinnan, Lochaber, erected in 1814 and dedicated to the Scottish Highlanders who fought in the Jacobite Army during the Jacobite rising of 1745.[1]
 The monument in 2008, looking southwest | |
 | |
| 56°52′09″N 05°26′13″W / 56.86917°N 5.43694°W | |
| Location | Glenfinnan Scotland |
|---|---|
| Designer | James Gillespie Graham |
| Type | Statue |
| Material | Rubble |
| Height | 69 ft (21 m) |
| Opening date | 1814 |
By 1814, Jacobitism was no longer a political threat to the House of Hanover. Alexander Macdonald, a member of Clan Macdonald of Clanranald, ordered the construction of the tower to commemorate the Highlanders who fought on the side of Charles Edward Stuart during the rebellion. The tower, which is 59 ft (18 m) in height, was designed by Scottish architect James Gillespie Graham.[2] The tower's construction was funded partially by the wealth accrued from slave plantations in Jamaica owned by Macdonald's father, also named Alexander.[3] A statue of an unknown Highlander designed by John Greenshields, referred to at the point of commission as Stewart himself, was added in 1835.[4]
The monument's location at Glenfinnan was made possible by a new road (now the A830), built by Thomas Telford and opened in 1812, between Fort William and Arisaig. Since 1938, the monument has been in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. The Trust has constructed a visitor centre, providing tickets, information, exhibitions, a shop, a café and toilets. In 2021, the Trust replaced a portrait of Stewart in the visitor centre with a display which detailed the links between the monument and slavery along with information on the ownership of slaves by Highland elites.[5]
Gallery
edit-
Ground view of the monument -
Close-up of the Unknown Highlander statue
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Glenfinnan Monument – Historic Environment Scotland
- ^ Boundless magazine article, Sept/Oct 2020, page 25
- ^ Carrell, Severin (7 January 2021). "Slave trade links of Scotland's Glenfinnan memorial revealed". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ "John Greenshields (1792-1835), sculptor, a biography".
- ^ Carrell, Severin (7 January 2021). "Slave trade links of Scotland's Glenfinnan memorial revealed". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 4 February 2024.