This website presents our knowledge and research on this important aspect of the Royal Collection. As of April 2026 it will not be regularly updated and new research on this topic will sit within the main website.

Landscape, Nature and Architecture

Technological improvements enabled Prince Albert to collect photographs of places that were significant to him

    AFTER GEORGE WASHINGTON WILSON (1823-93)

    Stirling Castle

    1883 after an c. 1859 original

    Carbon print | 7.9 x 7.3 cm (image) | RCIN 2320231

    Photograph of Stirling Castle as viewed from Lady's Rock, with a cluster of buildings surrounded by trees and bordered by a wall around the base. A path runs vertically from the foreground towards the castle, with a steeply descending hillside to the left.

    Stirling Castle was constructed on the 'Stirling Sill', a quartz dolerite formation that offered a natural defensive position. Construction began during the early 12th century with further improvements and additions made during the 16th and 17th centuries. The buildings that can be seen today date to the late 15th and early 17th centuries. This photograph is a carbon copy of the original albumen photograph. Carbon was a process that was less susceptible to fading, unlike an albumen print that is prone to discolouration over time.
    • Creator(s)

      After George Washington Wilson (1823-93) (photographer)

      Jabez Hughes (1819-84) (photographer)

    • 7.9 x 7.3 cm (image)

      17.2 x 13.0 cm (mount)

    • From an album of photographs collected and arranged by Albert, Prince Consort, between 1860 and 1861

    • Subject(s)
      • Places
        • Europe
          • Great Britain
            • Scotland
              • Stirlingshire [Scotland]
                • Stirling [Scotland]
                  • Stirling Castle [Scotland]
      • Arts, Recreation, Entertainment & Sport
        • Architecture
          • Domestic architecture
            • Castles
      Object type(s)
        • visual works
          • photographs