| The
Quadrangle, which is entered from the Pend, is bounded on the north
and east by a cloistered piazza with  rounded
arches. This piazza was used by the boys as a shelter in bad weather.
Over
the archway within the Quadrangle on the
north side is a decorated
niche, in which appears a statue of George
Heriot, 5 ft. 10 in. in height, standing
on a richly carved corbel. This figure
was completed
by Robert Mylne and the likeness was taken
from an original painting by Paul Van
Somer, a copy of which, by Scougal, hangs
in the Council
Room. The shafts of  the
column are totally ornamented with diamond
facets. On the frieze is
inscribed CORPORIS HAEC, ANIMI EST HOC
OPUS EFFIGIES (This statue represents my
body, this work my soul). A group of cherubs
above the entablature points
to
various
emblems
around them.
 A
view of this north range from within the courtyard is, as Alistair
Rowan states, "one of the finest architectural ensembles in
the whole of Scotland". |
Over
the range of windows in the Quadrangle on the north side is a series
of medallion  portraits,
in high relief, suggesting the loyalty of the masons to the crown.
In the upper range are Henrietta Maria, Charles II, Anne of Denmark,
James VI, Princess Elizabeth, Elector Palatine, and young Prince Henry;
on the lower range are smaller heads and the Founder's arms.
On
the east side of the Quadrangle there are many carved figures. The
four Evangelists are represented over the central upper windows. David,
with his lyre, appears over the north window of this row, and Solomon
is over the south. On the lower storey there is represented the Tree
of Life, with two babes watering it. On the north comer of the row
are mermaids; on the south comer, supposedly scorpions. On the middle
of the east side is a stone tablet with the inscription "Honour the
Lord with thy riches and with the first of all thine increase, so
shall thy barnes be filled with abundance. To doe good and to distribute
forgett not, for with such sacrifices God is pleased".
On
the west side, above the windows of the top storey are carved allegorical
figures of the four continents then
known -Europe, Asia, Africa and America. (Australasia had yet to he
discovered). Of the remaining two windows, one represents Death, with
the hand on the skull, and the other, supposedly, Adam and Eve.
The
entrance to the former Refectory is on this side. Above the door are
the arms of the Founder, within a square tablet, in a carved frame
of raised stone, with the motto "I distribute cheerfully", and underneath
"George Heriot Jeweller". The door appears to have been copied from
Vignola's design of the main portal of the Farnese villa at Caprarola,
south of Rome.
Altogether
there are 202 sculptured windows in the Hospital and 18 finely carved
initials of the Founder. Only two of the decorations above the windows
are the same; they are the ground floor windows on either side of
the midway external turret on the west side. The interior of the Quadrangle
was laid with pavement in the late 17th
century, and the numbers 1-180 were inscribed on the surface. Each
boy had his own
number and used it for roll-call every morning. The numbers are closely
spaced, indicating the small size of the boys of the period. The windows
of the inner court were protected by wire trellis to prevent damage
to the glass when the boys were engaged in their favourite game of
ball (the
balls were made by the boys from tailors' clippings and sheepskins).
There was from 1649 a well of stone-carved work in the middle of the
Quadrangle; this was removed in the early nineteenth century.
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