Skip to main content
Statue of a young man wearing a headscarf with Edinburgh castle in the background

Allan Ramsay


The Allan Ramsay Memorial in Princes Street Gardens celebrates one of Scotland's most beloved poets. Arriving in Edinburgh as a wig-maker's apprentice, Ramsay (1684-1758) opened his own shop in the Grassmarket in 1712 but soon found his true calling in poetry. He cleverly sold single-page poems for a penny, so popular that women would send their children to buy "Ramsay's last piece." A true innovator, Ramsay established Britain's first lending library and even built a playhouse. His success allowed him to move to his famous octagonal villa nicknamed the ‘goose pie’, now part of Ramsay Gardens behind the statue.


The statue of Ramsay was completed by Sir John Steell in 1865. Steell also completed the statue of Sir Walter Scott at the nearby Scott Monument. Ramsay appears as one of the figures on the monument, further linking these literary figures.