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Adam Brown · Last edited by Adam Brown on Thu Jun 02, 2011 12:52 pm; edited 1 time in total

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Memorials
Location: Picardy Place
Os Ref: NT 259 743
Sculptor: Gerald Ogilvie Laing
Foundry:

There are two memorials to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in Picardy Place. A small plaque opposite where he was born in the now demolished houses which included 11 Picardy Place.

And slightly along from this plaque and on the other side of the road looking out over the Greenside roundabout is a statue of Sherlock Holmes.

Rather than a statue of Conan-Doyle it represents his most famous creation.

Occasionally you see poor Holmes with a cone on his head and now and again a football scarf since he is on the route between Easter Road and the bus station. Because he is just over life size he actually suits a scarf!

The pedestal always looks quite grubby I’m afraid, and on this visit had quite a lot of graffiti on the front.

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Scottish War Memorials Project
Scottish War Graves Project

Adam Brown · Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 1:26 pm Post subject:

Another statue in the care of Edinburgh Council, this is what they say about it on the website:

Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Statue

The Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Memorial consists of a 1 and a 1/4 life-size bronze pedestrian statue of Sherlock Holmes on a 6 foot high sandstone plinth. Conan Doyle was born in Picardy Place.

Holmes, the famous literary detective, is shown meditating on the death of his author. His pipe has the words 'Ceci n'est pas une pipe' in homage to the surrealist Magritte and there is a footprint of the Hound of the Baskervilles on the bronze pedestal.

Money for the sculpture was raised by a variety of means including a ticketed amateur boxing match which took place in a pub.

It was sculpted and cast by Gerald Ogilvie Laing at Kinkell Castle in Sutherland (Mod edit: actually near Dingwall, in Ross-shire) in 1989.

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I only read this after taking the photographs so I haven’t got a shot of the hound’s paw-print. It’s a six foot pedestal so you can’t see the base of the statue anyway. I will try and visit it again soon and see what I can find.

Here is a close up of the pipe showing the 'pas une pipe' bit of text.

Adam
_________________
Scottish War Memorials Project
Scottish War Graves Project