Leaflet on General Register House - National Archives of Scotland
Leaflet on General Register House - National Archives of Scotland
Leaflet on General Register House - National Archives of Scotland
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GENERAL REGISTER HOUSE
GENERAL REGISTER HOUSETHE ‘ADAM DOME’The top-lit domed rotunda is the most importantroom in <strong>Register</strong> <strong>House</strong>. At 50 feet in diameter and80 feet in height, and with an area in excess <strong>of</strong>2000 square feet, it is also Adam’s highest andlargest surviving room. Inspired by the Panthe<strong>on</strong>in Rome, the <strong>on</strong>ly source <strong>of</strong> natural light is thecentral oculus, 15 feet in diameter. Originallydesigned as a public space giving access to differentareas <strong>of</strong> the building and for the storage <strong>of</strong> recordvolumes, it also served as a legal search roomfrom 1923 until 2007. The rotunda was renovatedin 2008 as part <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Scotland</strong>sPeople Centre forfamily history research.In 1785 Thomas Clayt<strong>on</strong> junior, an Edinburgh-basedplasterer who had worked for Robert Adam atInveraray Castle, was awarded the c<strong>on</strong>tract forcompleting the plasterwork according to Adam’sdesign. The eight medalli<strong>on</strong>s were chosen inL<strong>on</strong>d<strong>on</strong> by Adam himself, at a total cost <strong>of</strong> £33 12s.and were shipped to Edinburgh in 1786. Five <strong>of</strong>them are based <strong>on</strong> antique bas reliefs depictingRoman marriage and civic cerem<strong>on</strong>ies, while theremaining three appear to be c<strong>on</strong>temporarydesigns illustrating scenes from Greek myths andlegends. Their ic<strong>on</strong>ography is thereforeunc<strong>on</strong>nected with the purpose <strong>of</strong> the building.Adam’s introducti<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> Scottish thistles into theanthemi<strong>on</strong> frieze forming the first band <strong>of</strong> ceilingdecorati<strong>on</strong> acknowledged the building’s nati<strong>on</strong>alidentity.
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF SCOTLANDWe know from surviving accounts for painting therotunda ceiling that Adam’s original decorativescheme comprised a st<strong>on</strong>e coloured (ie <strong>of</strong>f-white)background, with the decorative details picked outin white. This scheme was c<strong>on</strong>firmed byinvestigati<strong>on</strong>s by Historic <strong>Scotland</strong> c<strong>on</strong>servators in2003 and 2007. They also established that the st<strong>on</strong>ecolour was subtly shaded rather than flat, and thatthe background <strong>of</strong> the medalli<strong>on</strong>s and the plasterornaments around the oculus had been painted ina delicate blueish-grey shade. St<strong>on</strong>e colour wasalso used <strong>on</strong> the rotunda walls and throughout themost <strong>of</strong> the rest <strong>of</strong> the building. A sample ispreserved in the west lobby <strong>of</strong> the rotunda.Adam favoured such m<strong>on</strong>ochromatic white andst<strong>on</strong>e-coloured schemes for libraries and halls,usually reserving polychromy and gilding for thedrawing rooms and dining rooms <strong>of</strong> his greathouses. Successive redecorati<strong>on</strong>s <strong>of</strong> the rotundafrom the mid-nineteenth century <strong>on</strong>wards,however, gave rise to more colourful schemes,derived from what was then understood to be theAdam style, but lacking the sophisticati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> theoriginal. While the present decorative scheme,completed in 2008, closely follows Adam’s originalc<strong>on</strong>cept, it also includes elements from laterversi<strong>on</strong>s, such as the gilding, which was firstintroduced in 1850.The cast-ir<strong>on</strong> railing surrounding the gallery wasdesigned by Adam, manufactured by Carr<strong>on</strong> & Co.<strong>of</strong> Falkirk, and installed in 1788.
GENERAL REGISTER HOUSESTATUE OF KING GEORGE IIIThe overlife-sized, standing statue <strong>of</strong> King George IIIin his cor<strong>on</strong>ati<strong>on</strong> robes was commissi<strong>on</strong>ed in 1787 byLord Frederick Campbell from his niece the amateursculptor Anne Seymour Damer (1749-1828). It wasoriginally placed in the centre <strong>of</strong> the rotunda in1795. The gilt metal crown and sceptre are byVulliamy <strong>of</strong> L<strong>on</strong>d<strong>on</strong>, the royal clockmaker, whosupplied the clock and wind dial for the building’sturrets. The statue was c<strong>on</strong>served in 2008.