Image: William Pitt Statue by Till Westermayer, sourced from Wikimedia Commons and licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Chantrey’s bronze William Pitt punctuates the formal axis of George Street at Frederick Street.
Quick facts
- Date
- Erected 1833
- Architect / designer
- Sir Francis Chantrey
- Type
- Bronze standing political figure on a stepped ashlar pedestal
- Designation
- Listed building, Category A (LB27868)
- OS grid reference
- NT 25141 73980
Architecture and continuing use
A standing bronze figure occupies a massive square pedestal with a battered, panelled centre and restrained inscription. The scale and open junction make silhouette and urban alignment more important than surface ornament.
Its story
The Pitt Club of Scotland commissioned the statue for £3,000 in 1831 and it was erected in 1833. It completed Chantrey’s sequence of major figures along the First New Town’s central street.
Why it is included
It is both a Category A sculpture and a deliberate intervention in James Craig’s urban plan.
What to notice
- Controlled standing pose and broad cloak.
- Severe unornamented pedestal.
- Relationship to George IV and the axial sequence of George Street monuments.
Reading the surroundings
View from public pavements and crossing islands, taking great care with buses, cycles and event traffic. Do not climb the base.
Timeline
- Erected 1833 The Pitt Club of Scotland commissioned the statue for £3,000 in 1831 and it was erected in 1833. It completed Chantrey’s sequence of major figures along the First New Town’s central street.
- Present Public monument occupying a major junction in Edinburgh’s First New Town.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
Future George Street public-realm works may alter pedestrian approaches, but not the monument’s designation or historic axis.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: William Pitt Statue, Edinburgh, LB27868 — Designation status, mapped location, construction phases, fabric, authorship and architectural or historical interest.
- City of Edinburgh Council: George Street heritage statement — Commission history, current urban setting and relationship to the First New Town plan.
Location
OS grid reference NT 25141 73980 · Location confidence: High: the statutory designation supplies an official mapped National Grid Reference and the current source confirms the Place relationship or present identity. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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