Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
signed are Hopetoun House, Culzean Castle and Edinburgh's Charlotte Sq, possibly the
finest example of Georgian architecture anywhere.
The New Town of Edinburgh, and other planned towns such as Inveraray (Argyll) and
Blair Atholl (Perthshire), are characterised by their elegant Georgian architecture.
Victorian (Mid- to Late-19th Century)
Alexander 'Greek' Thomson (1817-75) changed the face of 19th-century Glasgow with
his neoclassical designs. Masterpieces such as the Egyptian Halls and Caledonia Rd
Church in Glasgow combine Egyptian and Hindu motifs with Greek and Roman forms.
In Edinburgh, William Henry Playfair (1790-1857) contin-
ued Robert Adam's neoclassical tradition in the Greek temples
of the National Monument on Calton Hill, the Royal Scottish
Academy and the National Gallery of Scotland, before moving
on to the neo-Gothic style in Edinburgh University's New Col-
lege on The Mound.
The 19th-century boom in country-house building was led
by architects William Burn (1789-1870) and David Bryce
(1803-76). The resurgence of interest in Scottish history and
identity, led by writers such as Sir Walter Scott, saw architects
turn to the towers, pointed turrets and crow-stepped gables of
the 16th century for inspiration. The Victorian revival of the
Scottish Baronial style, which first made an appearance in 16th-century buildings such as
Craigievar Castle, produced many fanciful abodes such as Balmoral Castle, Scone Palace
and Abbotsford.
Top Prehistoric
Sites
»Kilmartin Glen
»Skara Brae
»Broch of Gurness
»Callanish
»Maes Howe
The 20th Century
Scotland's best known 20th-century architect and designer is Charles Rennie Mackintosh
(1868-1928), one of the most influential exponents of the art-nouveau style. His finest
building is the Glasgow School of Art (1896), which still looks modern more than a cen-
tury after it was built. The art-deco style of the 1930s made little impact in Scotland; the
few examples include St Andrews House in Edinburgh and the beautifully restored Luma
Tower in Glasgow.
During the 1960s Scotland's larger towns and cities suffered
badly under the onslaught of the motor car and the unsympath-
etic impact of large-scale, concrete building developments.
However, modern architecture discovered a new confidence in
the 1980s and 1990s, exemplified by the impressive gallery housing the Burrell Collection
