[Greyfriars Churchyard]

1843–1847

Medium

Salted paper print from a paper negative

Dimensions

15.7 × 12.1 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-800395

> Described in *Chambers Edinburgh Journal* of 1836 as "the Westminster Abbey of Scotland," Greyfriars Kirk dates from 1620 and was the first church to be built in the capital city after the Reformation. In 1638 the National Covenant, a declaration of the Presbyterian faith, was signed there. Its churchyard is the oldest cemetery in Edinburgh. > > In this image the panoramic backdrop of the castle is replaced with a myriad of tenement buildings in the Old Town. The almost decorative quality of the architecture conveys a sense of the medieval city, densely organized around narrow closes and wynds. (See [84.XO.734.4.4.47](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/99426/hill-adamson-greyfriars-churchyard-the-castle-1843-1847/), [84.XM.263.5](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/38273/hill-adamson-greyfriars'-churchyard-the-dennistoun-monument-with-d-o-hill-and-his-nieces-scottish-1843-1847/), [84.XO.734.4.4.40](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/99419/hill-adamson-greyfriars-churchyard-1843-1848/), [84.XO.734.4.4.44](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/99423/hill-adamson-greyfriars-churchyard-heriot's-hospital-1843-1847/) for other views of Greyfriars a…