Statue Of King Charles Ii, Parliament Square, Edinburgh is a Grade A listed building in the City of Edinburgh local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 14 December 1970. Statue. 3 related planning applications.

Statue Of King Charles Ii, Parliament Square, Edinburgh

WRENN ID
secret-tin-hemlock
Grade
A
Local Planning Authority
City of Edinburgh
Constituency
Edinburgh East and Musselburgh MP: Chris Murray (Lab)
Country
Scotland
Date first listed
14 December 1970
Type
Statue
Address
Statue Of King Charles Ii, Parliament Square, Edinburgh, EH1 1RF
OS grid reference
NT 257 735
Coordinates
55.94923, -3.19053
Source
Historic Environment Scotland listing

Also on this page: related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The statue of King Charles II, created in 1685, is an exceptional and important lead, life-size equestrian statue located in Parliament Square, Edinburgh. It is mounted on a tall, rectangular classical ashlar pedestal that was added in 1835, which incorporates an inscription tablet from 1685.

The equestrian statue depicts King Charles II dressed in Roman martial imperial attire, sitting astride a horse that is in a standing position with its right front leg raised. The pedestal features a shallow plinth, a deep moulded base course, and an overhanging cornice. Each side of the pedestal has sunken panels adorned with egg and dart moulding, and the inscription tablet is located on the east face.

Local climate

Statue Of King Charles Ii, Parliament Square, Edinburgh sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 970 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 76% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 53% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 43 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 81% of listed buildings. Of these, 25 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

Sign in or create a free account to unlock:

  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 3 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Create free account

Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.

Similar buildings

The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.

See all similar buildings →

this building   1 similar   nearby listed buildings

Nearby listed buildings

  1. Parliament Hall, Parliament Square, Edinburgh Grade A 44 m
  2. St Giles Cathedral, High Street, Edinburgh Grade A 45 m
  3. Market Cross, High Street, Edinburgh Grade A 50 m
  4. Police Chambers, 192 High Street, Edinburgh Grade A 62 m
  5. Signet Library, West Parliament Square, Edinburgh Grade A 63 m
  6. 188 High Street, Edinburgh Grade B 72 m
  7. 7 Old Fishmarket Close, 190 High Street, Edinburgh Grade B 74 m
  8. City Chambers, High Street, Edinburgh Grade A 76 m
  9. Including Wall And Railings, Advocates' Library, Parliament Square Grade A 76 m
  10. The Mackenzie Building, Old Assembly Close, 172 High Street, Edinburgh Grade B 81 m