New William Henry Playfair statue officially unveiled

A new statue of Scots architect William Henry Playfair has been officially unveiled outside the National Museum of Scotland.

The new statue of William Henry Playfair being installed on Chambers Street. Picture: Neil Hanna

The statue - by renowned sculptor Sandy Stoddart - was craned into place on a new plinth in June.

It will stand alongside a statue of publisher and former Lord Provost, William Chambers on a widen plaza, part of a multi-million revamp of Edinburgh’s Chambers Street.

The project has been jointly funded by National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh City Council, which is responsible for the Chambers statue, and Edinburgh University, along with a number of private donations.

Playfair is considered one of the greatest architects of the 19th century, and is the creative genius behind many of the capital’s neo-classical landmarks, helping to earn it the moniker ‘Athens of the North.’

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