Glenfinnan Monument
{{Short description|Statue in the Highlands of Scotland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox monument
|monument_name = Glenfinnan Monument
|native_name =
|image = File:Glenfinnan Monument - geograph.org.uk - 966363.jpg
|caption = The monument in 2008, looking southwest
|location = Glenfinnan
Scotland
|designer = James Gillespie Graham
|type = Statue
|material = Rubble
|length =
|width =
|height = {{cvt|69|ft|m}}
|begin =
|complete =
|open = {{start date and age|1814}}
|dedicated_to =
|map_image = Scotland Highland
|map_caption =
|map_width =
|coordinates = {{Coord|56|52|09|N|05|26|13|W|region:GB|display=inline,title}}
|lat =
|long =
|extra =
}}
The Glenfinnan Monument is a Category A listed monument in Glenfinnan, Lochaber, erected in 1814 and dedicated to the Scottish Highlanders who fought in the Jacobite Army during the Jacobite rising of 1745.[https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB308 Glenfinnan Monument] – Historic Environment Scotland
History
By 1814, Jacobitism was no longer a political threat to the House of Hanover. Alexander Macdonald, a member of Clan Macdonald of Clanranald, ordered the construction of the tower to commemorate the Highlanders who fought on the side of Charles Edward Stuart during the rebellion.{{cite book | last=Rodger | first=Johnny | title=The Hero Building | publisher=Routledge | publication-place=Burlington, VT | date=2016-03-09 | isbn=978-1-317-02914-4 | page=40}} Alexander's father had hosted Charles Edward Stuart for a night in 1745 on his travels. The tower, which is {{cvt|59|feet}} in height, was designed by Scottish architect James Gillespie Graham.Boundless magazine article, Sept/Oct 2020, page 25
The monument's location at Glenfinnan was made possible by a new road (now the A830), built by Thomas Telford and opened in 1812, between Fort William and Arisaig. The tower's construction was funded partially by the wealth accrued from slave plantations in Jamaica owned by Macdonald's father, also named Alexander.{{Cite magazine|first=Severin|last=Carrell|title=Slave trade links of Scotland's Glenfinnan memorial revealed|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jan/07/history-of-scotlands-glenfinnan-memorial-rewritten-after-to-slave-trade-revealed|magazine=The Guardian|publisher=Guardian Media Group|date=7 January 2021|access-date=4 February 2024}} A statue of an unknown Highlander designed by John Greenshields, referred to at the point of commission as Stewart himself, was added in 1835.{{Cite web |url=http://www.glasgowsculpture.com/pg_biography.php?sub=greenshields_j |title=John Greenshields (1792-1835), sculptor, a biography}}
=The monument today=
Since 1938, the monument has been in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. The Trust has constructed a visitor centre, providing tickets, information, exhibitions, a shop, a café and toilets. In 2021, the Trust replaced a portrait of Stewart in the visitor centre with a display which detailed the links between the monument and slavery along with information on the ownership of slaves by Highland elites.{{Cite magazine|first=Severin|last=Carrell|title=Slave trade links of Scotland's Glenfinnan memorial revealed|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jan/07/history-of-scotlands-glenfinnan-memorial-rewritten-after-to-slave-trade-revealed|magazine=The Guardian|publisher=Guardian Media Group|date=7 January 2021|access-date=4 February 2024}}
Gallery
Image:Glenfinnanmonument-wyrd-5214.jpg|Ground view of the monument
File:UnkownHighlanderStatue.JPG|Close-up of the Unknown Highlander statue