Edinburgh's Old Town: new Chris Rutterford mural tells story of King David and the stag

Artist Chris Rutterford took the tale of David I and the stag as the inspiration for his latest work at Slater's Steps between the Royal Mile and Holyrood Road.

Chris Rutterford

The colourful four-panel mural on the side of an office building tells the story of the king out hunting in the woods where Holyrood Park now lies and being surprised by a mighty stag. The legend has it that David's horse bolted, leaving the king cowering in terror until he saw a  cross appear between the stag's antlers. It is said that David reached out to grab the cross, causing the stag to panic and flee and that he vowed to build an abbey dedicated to the Holy Cross or "Holy Rood".

Mr Rutterford - whose previous projects include the Colinton tunnel - took on the job after being approached by the owner of the building, property consultant Stephen Kay. 

Mr Rutterford said: "It's a commercial property in what was a fairly nondescript close and he just wanted to do something to brighten it up.  I said we should do something appropriate for the area. It being near Holyrood Park, I said why don't we do the legend of David I and the stag, so that's what I've done.

The mural is inspired by the legend of King David I and the stag | Chris Rutterford

"It starts off in the woods and David is riding his horse and there's animals watching, then it's him and the stag with the ruins of Holyrood abbey behind.

“It’s almost brought a bit of garden to the close.  It’s got Arthur's Seat in the background but it's Arthur's Seat when it was in the middle of a forest, so it has  woodland feel."

Mr Rutterford said he had not realised at first that 2024 was the 900th anniversary of David I creating royal burghs, of which Edinburgh was one of the first.  "But it means we're right on theme for the moment - and in the right spot at right time."

Mr Kay is delighted with the finished artwork. He said he had completed a full refurbishment of the building ready for it to be let as office space.  

Chris Rutterford

"It's really nice inside but the outside location, while being a very central part of town, was a bit drab and boring,” he said. "We were troubled a little bit with graffiti and it was bringing the whole area own.

"I had seen some of Chris's work around town and I approached him to see if he'd be interested. He's not interested in everything but I think he was really captured by the idea of the location and he tried to bring Holyrood and its story into this rather drab bit of town. We've had nothing but positive feedback from the neighbours about it.”

He’s hoping the mural could also help raise money for cancer care charity Maggie’s. He said: “My business, Cuthbert White, supports Maggie’s. We’ve added a couple of QR codes in. I was hoping that people who like the mural might scan them and make a donation.”