He had feared that his lack of architectural qualifications and reputation would disqualify him, but his design was popular with the competition's judges, and they awarded him the contract to construct the monument in 1838.

John Steell was commissioned to design a monumental statue of Scott to rest in the centre space within the tower's four columns.

It is made from white Carrara marble and shows Scott seated, resting from writing one of his works with a quill pen, his dog Maida by his side.

[6]: 25–52 [7] The foundation stone was laid on 15 August 1840 by Sir James Forrest of Comiston in his capacity as Lord Provost and as Grand Master Mason of Scotland.

A restoration programme was undertaken involving replacing old repairs and damaged areas with Binny stone for which purpose the original quarry was re-opened.

[13] The monument is now administered by the Culture and Sport division of the City of Edinburgh Council (See External Links for visitor information) who in 2016 installed a new LED lighting system.

The design of the lights was "intended to highlight the monument’s architectural features with a soft warm glow" and were first illuminated on 21 September 2016.

[14] The monument is featured prominently in the 2012 film Cloud Atlas, as a location which the character Robert Frobisher frequents[15][16] An imagined copy of the monument is featured in the 1899 painting by James Ford, Holiday Time in Cape Town, depicting a Victorian era imagined utopian future Cape Town.