George Meikle Kemp

1795-1844

Had originally trained as a carpenter and was one of the 54 entrants in the 1836 competition for a Walter Scott memorial in Edinburgh. Inspired by medieval ruins and Gothic architecture, he entered under the pseudonym of John Morvo, a name that appears as an inscription on Melrose Abbey and is thought to have been of a mason working on the building. The proposals earned him one of three prizes, and when the competition was rerun in 1838 Kemp won the commission. His monument to Scott is a striking Gothic structure that dominates Princes Street. Sadly, Kemp drowned in the Union Canal before the monument’s completion.