Sherlock Holmes statue unveiled to mark birthplace of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A newly refurbished statue of Sherlock Holmes has been unveiled in Edinburgh marking the birthplace of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The life-sized bronze sculpture was removed in 2018 while Trams to Newhaven works were carried out.

It was renovated by Black Isle Bronze in Nairn and is now in place at Picardy Place island.

The Homes statue was sculpted by Gerald Ogilvie Laing and was originally installed near 11 Picardy Place, where Conan Doyle was born, which has since been demolished.

Conan Doyle’s relative and creator of the Sherlock Homes Tartan, Tania Henzell, helped unveil the statue.

‘I am pleased to see that Sherlock Holmes has returned to the new location, Picardy Place island, to keep a watchful eye in the heart of Edinburgh,’ Tania said.

‘Many of his followers have asked where he had gone; to the north of Scotland to solve a long running case, I replied.’

Barry Young of The Sherlock Holmes Society of Scotland said: ‘It’s wonderful to see Conan Doyle’s most famous creation back in the heart of the capital.

‘We understand that in his absence Holmes has met the head lama in Tibet, travelled through Persia and sorted out a spot of trouble with the Statue of Liberty, the results of which he has communicated to the foreign office.

‘He now retakes his rightful place in Picardy Place, overseeing the teeming metropolis and ready to undertake the investigation of whatever mysterious domestic issues might be puzzling the authorities.

City Archaeologist John Lawson added: ‘We are delighted to see this statue back in place, now due to the creation of this new island we were now able to place closer to the original birth place of Arthur Conan Doyle.’

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