Linnaeus Monument

Linnaeus Monument

Designer: Robert Adam

Date: 1779

Material: Craigleith Sandstone with marble plaque

The Linnaeus Monument was erected by John Hope a year after Linneaus’ death. The monument, built at Hope’s own expense, is a lasting testament to his regard for Linnaeus. The monument would have originally stood in the garden at Leith Walk, in the ‘Linnaeus’ section of the design (areas of the garden were named to honour famous botanists, contemporary gardeners and other figures of national and international importance). The monument was moved when the gardens came to Inverleith and has stood in several locations around the garden through the years.

The memorial, designed by Robert Adam, is in the form of an urn on a plinth and bears the inscription ‘Linnæo posuit I Hope, 1779’ and is made from Craigleith sandstone and marble at the workshop of James Craig.

Three of Robert Adams designs for the monument are held in the Sir John Soane Museum in London. One is more or less as James Craig built it, which has certain similarities to a design of James Craig proposed for a monument to the Lord Provost Kincaid. The second is a slightly more elaborate version of the design, with the urn bearing handles and a female head and torso at the four corners of the plinth The final design appears to have been dropped early in the process, most likely due to cost, as it is a much more elaborate design.