Melville Monument

This column commemorates Henry Dundas, Viscount Melville, the most prominent Scottish politician of his time, sometimes known as the ‘Uncrowned King of Scotland’. The building of this 43m (140ft) high column in 1823 was supervised by Robert Stevenson, the famous lighthouse engineer, using a special crane he had developed to help construct the Bell Rock lighthouse. The similar Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square, London, was built 20 years later, and is 3m( 9 ft) higher.