Edinburgh and Edinburgh Castle 2
National Gallery of Scotland
Edinburgh has many museums and libraries, some of which are national institutions. These include the National Museum of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland, National War Museum of Scotland, the Museum of Edinburgh and the Museum of Childhood.[176] Compaq Presario CQ56Z-200 CTO keyboard
Edinburgh Zoo, covering 82 acres (33 ha) on Corstorphine Hill, is the second most popular paid tourist attraction in Scotland,[177] and currently home to two giant pandas, Tian Tian and Yang Guang, on loan from the People's Republic of China. Compaq Presario CQ56-250SA keyboard
Edinburgh contains Scotland's five National Galleries as well as numerous smaller galleries.[178] The national collection is housed in the National Gallery of Scotland, located on the Mound, and now linked to the Royal Scottish Academy, Compaq Presario CQ56-251SA keyboard
Compaq Presario CQ56-253SA keyboardwhich holds regular major exhibitions of painting. Contemporary collections are shown in the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, and the nearby Dean Gallery. The Scottish National Portrait Gallery focuses on portraits and photography.
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National Museum of Scotland
The council-owned City Art Centre shows regular art exhibitions. Across the road, The Fruitmarket Gallery offers world class exhibitions of contemporary art, featuring work by British and international artists with both emerging and established international reputations.[179]
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There are many private galleries, including Ingleby Gallery, the latter providing a varied programme including shows by Callum Innes, Peter Liversidge, Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Forster, and Sean Scully.[180]
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Compaq Presario CQ56-103EA keyboard
The city hosts several of Scotland's galleries and organisations dedicated to contemporary visual art. Significant strands of this infrastructure include: The Scottish Arts Council, Edinburgh College of Art, Talbot Rice Gallery (University of Edinburgh) and the Edinburgh Annuale. Compaq Presario CQ56-109SA keyboard
Compaq Presario CQ56-106EA keyboard
Shopping[edit]
The locale around Princes Street is the main shopping area in the city centre, with souvenir shops, chains such as Boots and H&M as well as Jenners.[181] George Street, north of Princes Street, is home to some upmarket chains and independent stores.[1Compaq Presario CQ56-110SA keyboard
Compaq Presario CQ56-261EA keyboard81] The St. James Centre, at the eastern end of George Street and Princes Street, hosts national chains including a large John Lewis.[182] Multrees Walk, adjacent to the St. James Centre, is a recent addition to the city centre, anchored by Harvey Nichols and hosting Louis Vuitton, Emporio Armani, Mulberry and Calvin Klein.[181]
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Edinburgh also has substantial retail developments outside the city centre. These include The Gyle Shopping Centre and Hermiston Gait in the west of the city, Cameron Toll Shopping Centre, Straiton Retail Park and Fort Kinnaird in the south and east, and Ocean Terminal to the north, on the Leith waterfront.[183] Compaq Presario CQ56-112SA keyboard
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Sport[edit]
Football[edit]
Edinburgh has two professional football clubs: Heart of Midlothian, founded in 1874 and Hibernian, founded in 1875. Both teams play in the Scottish Premier League and they are known locally as "Hearts" and "Hibs".[184] They are the oldest city rivals in Scotland and the Edinburgh derby is one of the oldest derby matches in world football.[citation needed] Compaq Presario CQ56-113SA keyboard
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Edinburgh was also home to senior sides St Bernard's, and Leith Athletic. Most recently, Meadowbank Thistle played at Meadowbank Stadium until 1995, when the club moved to Livingston, becoming Livingston F.C.. Previously, Meadowbank Thistle had been named Ferranti Thistle. The Scottish national team has occasionally played at Easter Road and Tynecastle.
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Rugby union[edit]
The Scotland national rugby union team as well as the professional Edinburgh Rugby plays at Murrayfield Stadium, which is owned by the Scottish Rugby Union and is also used as a venue for other events, including music concerts. It is the largest capacity stadium in Scotland, with 67130 seats after the installation of large screens.[18Compaq Presario CQ56-103SA keyboard
Compaq Presario CQ56-107SA keyboard5] Edinburgh is also home to RBS Premier One rugby teams Heriot's Rugby Club, Boroughmuir RFC, the Edinburgh Academicals and Currie RFC.[186]
The Scottish cricket team, which represents Scotland at cricket internationally and in the Friends Provident Trophy, play their home matches at the Grange cricket club.[187] Compaq Presario CQ56-104SA keyboard
Compaq Presario CQ56-105SA keyboard
The Edinburgh Capitals are the latest of a succession of ice hockey clubs to represent the Scottish capital. Previously Edinburgh was represented by the Murrayfield Racers and the Edinburgh Racers. The club play their home games at the Murrayfield Ice Rink The club play their home games at the Murrayfield Ice Rink and have competed in the ten-team professional Elite Ice Hockey League since the 2005–06 season.[188][189] Compaq Presario CQ71-135SA keyboard
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The Edinburgh Diamond Devils is a baseball club claiming its first Scottish Championship in 1991 as the "Reivers." 1992 saw the team repeat as national champions, becoming the first team to do so in league history and saw the start of the club's first youth team, the Blue Jays. The name of the club was changed in 1999.[190] Compaq Presario CQ71-130SA keyboard
Edinburgh has also hosted various national and international sports events including the World Student Games, the 1970 British Commonwealth Games,[191] the 1986 Commonwealth Games[191] and the inaugural 2000 Commonwealth Youth Games.[1Compaq Presario CQ71-140EA keyboard
Compaq Presario CQ71-317EA keyboard92] For the Games in 1970 the city built major Olympic standard venues and facilities including the Royal Commonwealth Pool and the Meadowbank Stadium. The Royal Commonwealth Pool is undergoing refurbishment and due to re-open for spring 2012, will host the Diving competition of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, held by Glasgow.[193] Compaq Presario CQ71-140SA keyboard
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In American football, the Scottish Claymores played WLAF/NFL Europe games at Murrayfield, including their World Bowl 96 victory. From 1995 to 1997 they played all their games there, from 1998 to 2000 they split their home matches between Murrayfield and Glasgow's Hampden Park, then moved to Glasgow full-time, with one final Murrayfield appearance in 2002.[1Compaq Presario CQ71-230SA keyboard
Compaq Presario CQ71 keyboard94] The city's most successful non-professional team are the Edinburgh Wolves who play at Meadowbank Stadium.[195]
The Edinburgh Marathon has been held in the city since 2003 with more than 16,000 taking part annually.[196] It is called by its organisers "the fastest marathon in the UK" due to the elevation drop of 40 metres (130 ft).[19Compaq Presario CQ71-235SA keyboard
Compaq Presario CQ71-403SA keyboard7] The city also has a half-marathon, as well as 10 km and 5 km races, including a 5 km race on 1 January each year.
Edinburgh has a speedway team, the Edinburgh Monarchs, which is based outside the city at the Lothian Arena in Armadale, West Lothian. Compaq Presario CQ71-300 keyboard
The Monarchs have won the Premier League championship three times in their history, in 2003[198] again in 2008[199] and yet again in 2010.
Edinburgh Eagles are a rugby league team who play in the Rugby League Conference Scotland Division. Murrayfield Stadium has also hosted the Magic Weekend where all Super League matches are played (at Murrayfield) all on the one weekend. Compaq Presario CQ71-305SA keyboard
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Notable residents[edit]
Main article: List of Edinburgh people
See also: List of University of Edinburgh people
Sir Walter Scott
Edinburgh has a long literary tradition, which became especially evident during the Scottish Enlightenment, and in more recent years was declared the first UNESCO City of Literature in 2004.[200][201] Famous authors of the city include the economist Adam Smith, born in Kirkcaldy and author of The Wealth of Nations, [20Compaq Presario CQ71-312SA keyboard
Compaq Presario CQ71-401SA keyboard2] James Boswell biographer of Samuel Johnson, Sir Walter Scott, the author of famous titles such as Rob Roy,Ivanhoe and Heart of Midlothian, James Hogg, author ofThe Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Robert Louis Stevenson, creator of Treasure Island, Compaq Presario CQ71-314SA keyboard
Compaq Presario CQ71-320SA keyboardKidnapped and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Muriel Spark, author of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting, whose novels are mostly set in the city and often written in colloquial Scots, [203HP 640426-001 CPU fan
HP 532605-001 CPU fan] Ian Rankin, author of the Inspector Rebus series of crime thrillers, Alexander McCall Smith,[204] and J. K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, who began her first book in an Edinburgh coffee shop.[205] HP 640903-001 CPU fan
Scotland has a rich history in science and engineering, with Edinburgh contributing its fair share of famous names. James Clerk Maxwell, the founder of the modern theory of electromagnetism, was born here and educated at the Edinburgh Academy and University of Edinburgh, [202] as was the engineer and telephone pioneer Alexander Graham Bell.[20HP 650848-001 CPU fan
HP 531941-001 CPU fan2] Other names connected with the city include Max Born, physicist and Nobel laureate;[206] Charles Darwin, the biologist who discovered natural selection;[202] David Hume, a philosopher, economist and historian;[202] James Hutton, regarded as the "Father of Geology";[202] John Napier inventor of logarithms;[20HP 653627-001 CPU fan
HP 498480-001 CPU fan7] Joseph Black chemist and one of the founders of thermodynamics;[202] pioneering medical researchers Joseph Lister and James Young Simpson;[202] chemist and discoverer of the element nitrogen Daniel Rutherford, HP 665309-001 CPU fan
HP 487436-001 CPU fanColin Maclaurin, mathematician and developer of the Maclaurin series,[208] and Ian Wilmut, the geneticist involved in the cloning of Dolly the sheep just outside Edinburgh.[202] The stuffed carcass of Dolly the sheep is now on display in the National Museum of Scotland.[209] HP 666391-001 CPU fan
Deacon Brodie on Edinburgh's Royal Mile
Edinburgh has been the birthplace of actors like Alastair Sim and Sir Sean Connery, famed as the first cinematic James Bond;[210] the comedian and actor Ronnie Corbett, best known as one of The Two Ronnies[211] and the impressionist Rory Bremner. Famous city artists include the portrait painters Sir Henry Raeburn, Sir David Wilkie and Allan Ramsay. HP 650797-001 CPU fan
The city has produced or been home to musicians who have been extremely successful in modern times, particularly Ian Anderson, frontman of the band Jethro Tull; The Incredible String Band; The Corries; Wattie Buchan, lead singer and founding member of punk band The Exploited; Shirley Manson, lead singer for the band Garbage; the Bay City Rollers; The Proclaimers; Boards of Canada and Idlewild. HP 535439-001 CPU fan
Greyfriars Bobby
Edinburgh is the birthplace of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair who attended the city's Fettes College.[212]
Famous criminals from Edinburgh's history include Deacon Brodie, deacon of a trades guild and an Edinburgh city councillor by day and burglar by night, who is said to have been the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's story, HP 535766-001 CPU fan
HP 431311-001 CPU fan the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,[213] and murderers Burke and Hare who provided fresh corpses for anatomical dissection by the famous surgeon Robert Knox.[214]
Another well-known Edinburgh resident was Greyfriars Bobby. The small Skye Terrier reputedly kept vigil over his dead master's grave in Greyfriars Kirkyard for 14 years in the 1860s and 1870s, giving rise to a story of canine devotion which plays a part in attracting visitors to the city.[215] HP 582139-001 CPU fan
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear. HP 532617-001 CPU fan
There has been a royal castle here since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. From the 15th century the castle's residential role declined, and by the 17th century its principal role was as a military base with a large garrison. HP 534676-001 CPU fan
HP 657529-001 CPU fanIts importance as a historic monument was recognised from the 19th century, and various restoration programmes have been carried out since. As one of the most important fortresses in the Kingdom of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle was involved in many historical conflicts, from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century, HP 534684-001 CPU fan
HP 642731-001 CPU fan up to the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and has been besieged, both successfully and unsuccessfully, on several occasions.
Few of the present buildings pre-date the Lang Siege of the 16th century, when the medieval defences were largely destroyed by artillery bombardment. The most notable exceptions are St Margaret's Chapel, HP 576837-001 CPU fan
which dates from the early 12th century and is the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh,[2] the Royal Palace, and the early-16th-century Great Hall. The castle also houses the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish National War Memorial, and the National War Museum of Scotland. HP 579158-001 CPU fan
Edinburgh Castle is in the care of Historic Scotland, and is Scotland's most-visited paid tourist attraction, with over 1.3 million visitors in 2011.[3] The British Army is responsible for some parts of the castle, HP 602472-001 CPU fan
HP 637607-001 CPU fanalthough its presence is largely ceremonial and administrative, including a number of regimental museums. As the backdrop to the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo it has become a recognisable symbol of Edinburgh and of Scotland. HP 603690-001 CPU fan
Diagram of a crag and tail feature, such as the Castle Rock: A is the crag formed from the volcanic plug, B is the tail of softer rock, and C shows the direction of ice movement. In the case of Edinburgh, the castle stands on the crag (A) with the Royal Mile extending along the tail (B) HP 604787-001 CPU fan
The castle stands upon the plug of an extinct volcano, which is estimated to have risen some 350 million years ago during the lower Carboniferous period. The Castle Rock is the remains of a volcanic pipe, which cut through the surrounding sedimentary rock, HP 606574-001 CPU fan
HP 622028-001 CPU fan before cooling to form very hard dolerite, a type of basalt. Subsequent glacial erosion was resisted by the dolerite, which protected the softer rock to the east, leaving a crag and tail formation.[4] HP 606729-001 CPU fan
The summit of the Castle Rock is 130 metres (430 ft) above sea level, with rocky cliffs to the south, west and north, rearing up to 80 metres (260 ft) from the surrounding landscape.[5] This means that the only readily accessible route to the castle lies to the east, where the ridge slopes more gently. HP 608010-001 CPU fan
The defensive advantage of such a site is clear, but the geology of the rock also presents difficulties, since basalt is an extremely poor aquifer. Providing water to the Upper Ward of the castle was problematic, and despite the sinking of a 28-metre (92 ft) deep well, the water supply often ran out during drought or siege,[6] for example during the Lang Siege of 1573.[7] HP 608095-001 CPU fan
Earliest habitation[edit]
See also: Prehistoric Scotland
The castle is built on a volcanic rock, as seen here from the West Port area
Documentary reference to occupation of the Castle Rock can be found as early as the mid-2nd century AD.[8] Ptolemy (c. 83 – c. 168) refers to a settlement of the Votadini known to the Romans as "Alauna", meaning "rock place",Sony PCG-41111M Keyboard
which may be the earliest known name for the Castle Rock.[9] The Orygynale Cronykil of Andrew of Wyntoun (c. 1350 – c. 1423), an early chronicler of Scottish history, alludes to "Ebrawce" (Ebraucus), a legendary King of the Britons, who "byggyd [built] Edynburgh".[10] According to the earlier chronicler, Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1100 – c. 1155), Sony PCG-41112M Keyboard
Sony PCG-81411M KeyboardEbraucus had fifty children by his twenty wives, and was the founder of "Kaerebrauc" (York), "Alclud" (Dumbarton), and the "Maidens' Castle".[11] John Stow (c. 1525 – 1605), credited Ebraucus with building "the Castell of Maidens called Edenbrough" in 989 BC.[
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12]
The name "Maiden Castle", or Castellum Puellarum in Latin, was commonly used until at least the 16th century.[13] It appears in charters of David I (ruled 1124–1153) and his successors,[14] although its origins are obscure. Sony PCG-81212M Keyboard
Sony PCG-81313M KeyboardWilliam Camden's 1607 Britannia records that "the Britans called [it] Castle Myned Agned, the Scots, the Maidens Castle and the Virgins Castle, of certaine young maidens of the Picts roiall bloud who were kept there in old time".[1Sony PCG-81112M Keyboard
Sony PCG-81311M Keyboard5] According to the 17th-century antiquarian Father Richard Hay, the "maidens" were a group of nuns, who were ejected from the castle and replaced by canons, considered "fitter to live among soldiers".[1Sony PCG-21313M Keyboard
Sony PCG-7143M Keyboard6] However, this story has been considered "apocryphal" by Daniel Wilson and later historians.[17] Possibly the name derives from a "Cult of the Nine Maidens" type of legend. Arthurian legends suggest that the site once held a shrine to Morgain la Fee, one of nine sisters.[18] Sony PCG-31311M Keyboard
Sony PCG-7162M KeyboardLater, St Monenna is said to have invested a church at Edinburgh, as well as at Dumbarton and other places, and is also said to have been one of nine companions.[19] More simply, the term "Maiden Castle" may refer to a castle which has never been taken by force.[20]
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The Castle seen from the North
An archaeological survey of the castle in the late 1980s shows evidence of the site having been settled during the late Bronze Age or early Iron Age, potentially making the Castle Rock the longest continually occupied site in Scotland.[2Sony PCG-51111M Keyboard
Sony PCG-7153M Keyboard1] However, the extent of the finds was not particularly significant and was insufficient to draw any certain conclusions about the precise nature or scale of this earliest known phase of occupation.[22] Sony PCG-51112M Keyboard
Sony PCG-51211M Keyboard
The archaeological evidence becomes more compelling in the Iron Age. Traditionally, it had been supposed that the tribes which inhabited this part of central Scotland had made little or no use of the Castle Rock. Excavations at nearby Traprain Law, Sony PCG-5S1M Keyboard
Sony PCG-7171M Keyboard
Sony PCG-7151M Keyboard Dunsapie Hill, Duddingston and Inveresk had revealed relatively large settlements and it was supposed that these sites had, for some reason, been chosen in preference to the Castle Rock. However, the excavations of the 1980s suggested that there was probably an enclosed hill fort on the rock, although only the fringes of the site were excavated. Sony PCG-5P1M Keyboard
Sony PCG-7141M KeyboardHouse fragments revealed were similar to Votadini houses previously found in Northumbria.[23]
The dig revealed clear signs of habitation from the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, consistent with Ptolemy's reference to "Alauna". Signs of occupation included a good deal of Roman material, including pottery, bronzes and brooches, Sony PCG-5N2M Keyboard
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potentially reflecting a trading relationship between the Votadini and the Romans beginning with Agricola's foray north in AD 80, and continuing through to the establishment of the Antonine Wall around AD 140, when the Romans temporarily established themselves nearby at Cramond. Sony PCG-7195M Keyboard
Sony PCG-7144M KeyboardThe nature of the settlement at this time is inconclusive, but Driscoll and Yeoman suggest it may have been a broch, similar to the one at Edin's Hall in the Borders.[24] There is no evidence that the Romans actually occupied the Castle Rock, as they did at nearby Traprain Law.[
Sony PCG-7194M Keyboard25] From this point onwards there is strong evidence pointing towards continuous habitation of the site through to the present, albeit with fluctuations in population levels.[26] Sony PCG-7196M Keyboard
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Early Middle Ages[edit]
The castle does not re-appear in contemporary historical records from the time of Ptolemy until around AD 600. Then, in the Brythonic epic Y Gododdin, there is a reference to Din Eidyn, "the stronghold of Eidyn". This has been viewed as an early reference to the Castle Rock.[27] The poem tells of the Gododdin King Mynyddog Mwynfawr,[28Sony PCG-7151M Keyboard
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] and his band of warriors, who, after a year of feasting in their fortress, set out to do battle with the Angles somewhere in contemporary Yorkshire. Despite performing glorious deeds of valour and bravery, the poem relates that the Gododdin were massacred.[29] Sony PCG-7161M Keyboard
The Irish annals record that in 638, after the events related in Y Gododdin, "Etin" was besieged by the Angles under Oswald of Northumbria, and the Gododdin were defeated.[30] The territory around Edinburgh then became part of the Kingdom of Northumbria, Sony PCG-7181M Keyboard
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which was itself absorbed by England in the 10th century, when Athelstan of England, according to the Annals of Clonmacnoise, "spoiled the Kingdom to Edinburgh".[31] The English withdrew, and Lothian became part of Scotland, during the reign of Indulf (ruled 954–962).[32] Sony PCG-3F1M Keyboard
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The archaeological evidence for the relevant period is entirely based on analysis of midden heaps, with no evidence of structures. Few conclusions can therefore be derived about the status of the settlement during this period, although the midden deposits show no clear break since Roman times.[26]
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St Margaret, depicted in a stained glass window in the chapel of Edinburgh Castle
High Middle Ages[edit]
Further information: Scotland in the High Middle Ages
The first documentary reference to a castle at Edinburgh is in John of Fordun's account of the death of King Malcolm III. Fordun places his widow, the future Saint Margaret, at the "Castle of Maidens", where she learns of his death in November 1093. Sony PCG-3H1M Keyboard
Sony PCG-3J1M Keyboard Fordun's account goes on to relate how Margaret died of grief within days, and how Malcolm's brother Donald Bane laid siege to the castle. However, Fordun's chronicle was not written until the later 14th century, and the near-contemporary account of the life of St Margaret, by Bishop Turgot, makes no mention of a castle.[3Sony PCG-61211M Keyboard
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3] During the reigns of Malcolm III and his sons, Edinburgh Castle became one of the most significant royal centres in Scotland.[34] Malcolm's son King Edgar died here in 1107.[35]
Malcolm's youngest son, King David I (ruled 1124–1153), developed Edinburgh as a site of royal power principally through his administrative reforms.[36Sony PCG-71213M Keyboard
Sony PCG-71811M Keyboard] Between 1139 and 1150, David held an assembly of nobles and churchmen, a precursor to the parliament of Scotland, at the castle.[34] Any buildings or defences would probably have been of timber,[3Sony PCG-71312M Keyboard
Sony PCG-61611M Keyboard7] although two 12th-century stone buildings are known. Of these, St. Margaret's Chapel remains at the summit of the rock. The second was a church, dedicated to St. Mary, which stood on the site of the Scottish National War Memorial.[37Sony PCG-71311M Keyboard
Sony PCG-61511M Keyboard] Given that the southern part of the Upper Ward (where Crown Square is now sited) was not suited to being built upon until the construction of the vaults in the 15th century, it seems probable that any earlier buildings would have been located towards the northern part of the rock; that is around the area where St. Margaret's Chapel stands.
Sony PCG-71D14M KeyboardThis has led to a suggestion that the chapel is the last remnant of a square, stone keep, which would have formed the bulk of the 12th-century fortification.[38] The structure may have been similar to the keep of Carlisle Castle, which David I began after 1135.[39]
David's successor King Malcolm IV (ruled 1153–1165) reportedly stayed at Edinburgh more than at any other location.[35] But in 1174, King William "the Lion" (ruled 1165–1214) was captured by the English at the Battle of Alnwick. Sony PCG-71313M Keyboard
He was forced to sign the Treaty of Falaise to secure his release, in return for surrendering Edinburgh Castle, along with the castles of Berwick, Roxburgh and Stirling, to the English King, Henry II. The castle was occupied by the English for twelve years, until 1186, when it was returned to William as the dowry of his English bride, Sony PCG-61212M Keyboard
Sony PCG-71411M KeyboardErmengarde de Beaumont, who had been chosen for him by King Henry.[40] By the end of the 12th century, Edinburgh Castle was established as the main depository of the national archives.[41] Sony PCG-5P2m Keyboard
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Wars of Scottish Independence[edit]
Statues of Robert the Bruce by Thomas Clapperton and William Wallace by Alexander Carrick were added to the gatehouse entrance in 1929
A century later, on the death of King Alexander III, the throne of Scotland became vacant. Edward I of England was appointed to adjudicate the competing claims for the Scottish crown, but attempted to use the opportunity to establish himself as the feudal overlord of Scotland. Sony PCG-5R2M Keyboard
Sony PCG-7186M KeyboardDuring the negotiations, Edward stayed briefly at Edinburgh Castle, and may have received homage from Scottish nobles at the castle.[42]
In March 1296, Edward I launched an invasion of Scotland, sparking the First War of Scottish Independence. Edinburgh Castle soon came under English control, surrendering after three days of bombardment.[
Sony PCG-7185M Keyboard43] Following the siege, Edward had much of the relics, records and treasure removed from the castle to England.[42] A large garrison was installed, 325 strong in 1300,[4Sony PCG-5T2M Keyboard
Sony PCG-7183M Keyboard4] and Edward brought up his master craftsmen from the Welsh castles, including Thomas de Houghton and Master Walter of Hereford, both of whom travelled from Wales to Edinburgh in the first years of the century.[ Sony PCG-5T1M Keyboard
Sony PCG-7184M Keyboard45] After the death of Edward I in 1307, however, England's control over Scotland weakened. On 14 March 1314, a surprise night attack by Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, recaptured the castle. Sony PCG-7181M Keyboard
Sony PCG-7182M KeyboardJohn Barbour's narrative poem The Brus relates how a party of thirty hand-picked men were guided by one William Francis, a member of the garrison who knew of a route along the north face of the Castle Rock, and a place where the wall might be scaled. Making the difficult ascent,
Randolph's men took the garrison by surprise and took control. Robert the Bruce immediately ordered the destruction of the castle's defences to prevent re-occupation by the English.[46] Shortly after, Bruce's army secured victory at the Battle of Bannockburn. Sony VPCEE2M1E keyboard
After Bruce's death in 1329, Edward III of England determined to carry on Edward I's project, and supported the claim of Edward Balliol, son of the former King John Balliol, over that of the young David II, son of the Bruce. Edward invaded in 1333, Sony VPCEE3E0E keyboard
Sony VPCEE3S1E kseyboard marking the start of the Second War of Scottish Independence, and the English forces reoccupied and refortified Edinburgh Castle in 1335,[47] holding it until 1341. This time, the Scottish assault was led by William Douglas, Sony VPCEE3L0E keyboard
Sony VPCEE3Z0E keyboard Lord of Liddesdale. Douglas's party disguised themselves as merchants from Leith bringing supplies to the garrison. Driving a cart into the castle, they halted it to prevent the gates closing. A larger force hidden nearby rushed to join them, and the castle was retaken.[40] The English garrison, numbering 100, were all killed.[47] Sony VPC EL series Keyboard
David's Tower and the 15th century[edit]
The Treaty of Berwick of 1357 brought the Wars of Independence to a close. David II resumed his rule, and set about rebuilding Edinburgh Castle, which became his principal seat of government.[48] David's Tower was begun around 1367, Sony VPCEL2S1E/B Keyboard
Sony VGN-N38M Keyboardand was incomplete when David died at the castle in 1371, being completed by his successor, Robert II, in the 1370s. The tower stood on the site of the present Half Moon Battery, and was connected by a section of curtain wall to the smaller Constable's Tower, a round tower built between 1375 and 1379 where the Portcullis Gate now stands.[40][49] Sony VPCEL3S1E/W Keyboard
A late-16th-century depiction of the castle, from Braun & Hogenberg's Civitates orbis terrarum, showing David's Tower at the centre
In the early 15th century, another English invasion, this time under Henry IV, reached Edinburgh Castle and began a siege, but due to a lack of supplies, the English withdrew.[40] From 1437, Sir William Crichton was Keeper of Edinburgh Castle,[5Sony VPCEL2S1E Keyboard
Sony VGN-N38E Keyboard0] and soon after became Chancellor of Scotland. In an attempt to gain the regency of Scotland, Crichton sought to overthrow the power of the Earls of Douglas, the principal noble family in the kingdom. The sixteen-year-old William Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas, and his younger brother David, were summoned to Edinburgh Castle in November 1440. Sony PCG-71C11M Keyboard
The so-called "Black Dinner" which followed saw the two boys summarily beheaded on trumped-up charges, in the presence of the ten-year-old King James II (ruled 1437–1460). Douglas' supporters subsequently laid siege to the castle, causing some damage.[5
Sony VGN-N31Z Keyboard1] Construction continued throughout this period, with the area now known as Crown Square being laid out over vaults in the 1430s. Royal apartments were built, forming the nucleus of the later palace block, and a Great Hall was in existence by 1458. In 1464, the access to the castle was improved, Sony PCG-7T1M Keyboard
Sony VGN-N31S Keyboard with the current approach road up the north-east side of the rock being created for easier movement of the royal artillery train in and out of the castle.[49] Sony PCG-7T2M Keyboard
In 1479, Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany, was imprisoned in David's Tower for plotting against his brother, King James III (ruled 1460–1488). He escaped by getting his guards drunk, then lowering himself from a window on a rope. Sony PCG-7X1M Keyboard
Sony VGN-N31L Keyboard [51] Albany fled to France, then England, where he allied himself with King Edward IV. In 1482, Albany marched into Scotland with Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III) and an English army. James III was shut up in the castle from 22 July to 29 September 1482 until he negotiated a settlement with his brother.[51] Sony PCG-7X2M Keyboard
Edinburgh Castle as it may have looked before the Lang Siege of 1573, with David's Tower and the Palace block, centre and left
During the 15th century the castle was increasingly used as an arsenal and armaments factory. The first known purchase of a gun was in 1384, and the "great bombard" Mons Meg was delivered to Edinburgh in 1457.[5Sony PCG-7Y1M Keyboard
Sony VGN-N21Z Keyboard2] The first record of an armoury for the manufacture of guns occurs in 1474, and by 1498 the master gunner Robert Borthwick was casting bronze guns at Edinburgh.[53] By 1511 Edinburgh was the principal foundry in Scotland, supplanting Stirling Castle, with Scottish and European smiths working under Borthwick, Sony PCG-7Y2M Keyboard
Sony VGN-N21S Keyboardwho by 1512 was appointed "master melter of the king's guns".[54] Their output included guns for the Scottish flagship, Great Michael, and the "Seven Sisters", a set of cannon described by a Venetian writer as powerful and beautiful weapons which were captured by the English at Flodden in 1513.[ Sony VGN-N11M Keyboard
Sony VGN-N21M Keyboard55] From 1510 Dutch craftsmen were also producing hand culverins, an early firearm.[56] After Flodden, Borthwick continued his work, producing an unknown number of guns, of which none survive. He was succeeded by French smiths, who began manufacturing hagbuts (another type of firearm) in the 1550s,[5Sony VGN-N11SR Keyboard
Sony VGN-N21E Keyboard7] and by 1541 the castle had a stock of 413 hagbuts.[58] Sony VGN-N11S Keyboard
Meanwhile, the royal family began to stay more frequently at the Abbey of Holyrood, at the opposite end of Edinburgh's "Royal Mile". Around the end of the fifteenth century, King James IV (ruled 1488–1513) built Holyroodhouse, by the abbey, for his principal Edinburgh residence, and the castle's role as a royal home subsequently declined.[51] Sony VGN-NW31EF Keyboard
James IV did, however, construct the present Great Hall, which was completed in the early 16th century.[49]
16th century and the Lang Siege[edit]
Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange, painted by Jean Clouet
James IV was killed in battle at Flodden Field, on 9 September 1513. Expecting the English to press their advantage, the Scots hastily constructed a town wall around Edinburgh and augmented the castle's defences. Sony VGN-NW20ZF Keyboard
Sony VGN-NS20EF/P keyboard Robert Borthwick and a Frenchman, Antoine d'Arces, were involved in designing new artillery defences and fortifications in 1514, although little work appears to have been carried out.[59] Three years later, King James V (ruled 1513–1542), still only five years old, was brought to the castle for safety.[5Sony VGN-NW24S Keyboard
Sony VGN-NW26M Keyboard
Sony VGN-NS30Z keyboard1] Upon James' death 25 years later, the crown passed to his week-old daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots. English invasions followed, as King Henry VIII attempted to force a dynastic marriage on Scotland, although Edinburgh Castle remained largely unaffected.[49] Sony VGN-NW20EF Keyboard
Sony VGN-NS30E keyboardFollowing these campaigns, refortifications included an earthen angle-bastion, known as the Spur, of the type known as trace italienne, one of the earliest examples in Britain.[60] It may have been designed by Migiliorino Ubaldini, an Italian engineer from the court of Henry II of France,[60Sony VGN-NW20SF Keyboard
Sony VGN-NW24EG Keyboard
Sony VGN-NS20M keyboard] and was said to have the arms of France carved on it.[61] James V's widow, Mary of Guise, acted as regent from 1554 until her death at the castle in 1560.[51] The following year, her daughter Mary returned from France to begin her reign. Sony VGN-NW24JG Keyboard
The reign of the Catholic Queen Mary was marred by crises and quarrels amongst the powerful Protestant Scottish nobility. In 1565, the Queen married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and the following year, in a small room of the Palace at Edinburgh Castle, she gave birth to James, who would later be King of both Scotland and England. Sony VGN-NW24MG Keyboard
Sony VGN-NS20J keyboard Mary's own reign, however, was already drawing to a close. Three months after the murder of Darnley at Kirk o' Field in 1567, she married James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, one of the murder suspects. Sony VGN-NW24MR Keyboard
Sony VGN-NS20E keyboard A large proportion of the nobility rebelled, resulting ultimately in the imprisonment and forced abdication of Mary at Loch Leven Castle. She escaped and fled to England, and some of the nobility remained faithful to her cause. Sony VGN-NW26EG Keyboard
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Edinburgh Castle was initially handed by its Captain, James Balfour, to the Regent Moray, who had forced Mary's abdication, and now held power in the name of the infant King James VI. Moray appointed Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange as Keeper of the Castle.[51] Sony VGN-NW20SF Keyboard
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Detail of a contemporary drawing of Edinburgh Castle under siege in 1573, showing the attacking batteries constructed around it
Kirkcaldy of Grange was a trusted lieutenant of the Regent, but after Moray's murder in January 1570 his allegiance to the King's cause began to waver. Intermittent civil war continued between the supporters of the two monarchs, Sony VGN-NW31EF Keyboard
Sony VGN-NS11J keyboard and in April 1571 Dumbarton Castle fell to the King's men. Under the influence of William Maitland of Lethington, Mary's secretary, Grange changed sides, occupying the town and castle of Edinburgh for Queen Mary, and against the new regent, the Earl of Lennox.[
Sony VGN-NS10L keyboard62] The stand-off which followed was not resolved until two years later, and became known as the "Lang Siege", from the Scots word for "long". Hostilities began in May, with a month-long siege of the town, and a short second siege in October. Blockades and skirmishing continued meanwhile, Sony VGN-NW31ZF/S Keyboard
Sony VGN-NS10E keyboard and Grange continued to refortify the castle. The King's party appealed to Elizabeth I of England for assistance, as they lacked the artillery and money required to reduce the castle, and feared that Grange would receive aid from France. Elizabeth sent ambassadors to negotiate,
Sony VGN-NR21S/T Keyboard and in July 1572 a truce was agreed and the blockade lifted. The town was effectively surrendered to the King's party, with Grange confined to the castle.[63] Sony VGN-NR31E Keyboard
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The truce ran out on 1 January 1573, and Grange began bombarding the town. His supplies of powder and shot, however, were running low, and despite having 40 cannon available, there were only seven gunners in the garrison.[6Sony VGN-NR31J Keyboard
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Sony VGN-NR21S Keyboard4] The King's forces, now with the Earl of Morton in charge as regent, were making headway with plans for a siege. Trenches were dug to surround the castle, and St Margaret's Well was poisoned. Sony VGN-NR31S Keyboard
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Sony VGN-NR21J Keyboard [65] By February, all Queen Mary's other supporters had surrendered to the Regent, but Grange resolved to resist, despite water shortages within the castle. The garrison continued to bombard the town, killing a number of citizens. They also made sorties to set fires, burning 100 houses in the town, and then firing on anyone attempting to put out the flames.[6Sony VGN-NR31Z Keyboard
Sir William Drury, painted by an unknown artist
In April, a force of around 1,000 English troops, led by Sir William Drury, arrived in Edinburgh. They were followed by 27 cannon from Berwick-upon-Tweed,[64] including one that had been cast within Edinburgh Castle and captured by the English at Flodden. Sony VGN-NR31Z/T Keyboard
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6]
[51] The English troops built a battery on Castle Hill, immediately facing the east walls of the castle, and five other batteries to the north, west and south. By 17 May these were ready, and the bombardment began. Over the next 12 days, the gunners dispatched around 3,000 shots at the castle.[7]
Sony VGN-NR21E Keyboard On 22 May, the south wall of David's Tower collapsed, and the next day the Constable's Tower also fell. The debris blocked the castle entrance, as well as the Fore Well, although this had already run dry.[7Sony VGN-NR38E Keyboard
Sony VGN-NR11Z/T Keyboard] On 26 May, the English attacked and captured the Spur, the outer fortification of the castle, which had been isolated by the collapse. The following day, Grange came out, calling a ceasefire while surrender could be negotiated. When it was made clear that he would not be allowed to go free, Grange resolved to continue the resistance, but the garrison threatened to mutiny. Sony VGN-NR38M Keyboard
Sony VGN-NR38S Keyboard
Sony VGN-NR11Z KeyboardHe therefore arranged for Drury and his men to come into the castle on 28 May, surrendering to the English rather than to the Regent Morton.[67] Edinburgh Castle was handed over to George Douglas of Parkhead, the Regent's brother, and the garrison were allowed to go free.[68] William Kirkcaldy of Grange,
Sony VGN-NR11S Keyboardhis brother James, with the two jewellers Mossman and James Cokke who had been minting coins in Mary's name inside the castle, were hanged at the mercat cross on 3 August.[69]
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Nova Scotia and Civil War[edit]
Much of the castle was subsequently rebuilt by Regent Morton, including the Spur, the new Half Moon Battery, and the Portcullis Gate. Some of these works were supervised by William MacDowall, the master of work who fifteen years earlier had repaired David's Tower.[7Sony VGN-NR38Z Keyboard
Sony VGN-NR38Z/T Keyboard0] The Half Moon Battery, while impressive in size, is considered by historians as an ineffective and dated artillery fortification.[71] This may be due to a shortage of resources, although the battery's position: obscuring the ancient David's Tower; and enhancing the prominence of the palace, has been seen as a significant decision.[7Sony VPCF11C4E/B Keyboard
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2]
The battered palace block remained unused, particularly after James VI departed to become King of England in 1603.[73] James had repairs carried out in 1584, and in 1615–1616 more extensive repairs were carried out in preparation for his return visit to Scotland.[74] The mason William Wallace and master of works James Murray introduced an early Scottish example of the double-pile block.[75Sony VPCF11C5E Keyboard
Sony VPCF13M1E/H Keyboard] The principal external features were the three, three-storey oriel windows on the east façade, facing the town and emphasising that this was a palace rather than a place of defence.[76] During his visit of 1617, James held court in the refurbished palace, but still preferred to sleep at Holyrood.[49] Sony VPCF11D4E Keyboard
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Memorial plaque to Sir William Alexander, on the Castle Esplanade
In 1621, King James granted Sir William Alexander the land in North America between New England and Newfoundland, as Nova Scotia ("New Scotland"). To promote the settlement and plantation of Nova Scotia, Sony VPCF11S1E/B Keyboard
Sony VPC-F2 Keyboard
Sony VPCF12S1E/B Keyboardthe Baronetage of Nova Scotia was created in 1624. Under Scots Law, baronets had to "take sasine" by symbolically receiving the earth and stone of the land of which they were baronet. To make this possible, since Nova Scotia was far distant, the King declared that sasine could be taken either in Nova Scotia or, alternatively, "at the castle of Edinburgh as the most eminent and principal place of Scotland."[77Sony VPC-F21Z1E Keyboard
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]
James' successor, King Charles I, visited Edinburgh Castle only once, hosting a feast in the Great Hall, and staying the night before his coronation as King of Scots in 1633, the last occasion that a reigning monarch has resided in the castle.[51] In 1639, in response to Charles' attempts to reform the Scottish Church, Sony VPCF22L1E Keyboard
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Sony VPCF13Z8E/BI Keyboard civil war broke out between the King's forces and the Presbyterian Covenanters. The Covenanters, led by Alexander Leslie, captured Edinburgh Castle after a short siege, although it was restored to Charles after the Peace of Berwick of June the same year. The peace was short lived, however, Sony VPCF22S1E Keyboard
Sony VPCF22S8E Keyboard
Sony VPCF13Z8E Keyboardand the following year the Covenanters took the castle again, this time after a three-month siege, during which the garrison ran out of supplies. The Spur was badly damaged, and was demolished in the 1640s.[4Sony VPCF23M1E Keyboard
Sony VPCF11C4E/B Keyboard9] The Royalist commander James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, was imprisoned here after his capture in 1650.[78]
In May 1650, the Covenanters signed the Treaty of Breda, allying themselves with King Charles II against the English Parliamentarians, who had executed King Charles I the previous year. In response,
Sony VPCF13M1E/B KeyboardOliver Cromwell launched an invasion of Scotland, defeating the Covenanter army at Dunbar in September. Edinburgh Castle was taken after a three-month siege, which caused further damage. The Governor of the Castle, Colonel Walter Dundas, surrendered to Cromwell despite having enough supplies to hold out, allegedly because he wished to change sides.[78]
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Garrison fortress: Jacobites and prisoners[edit]
An engraving of Edinburgh Castle made in about 1753
After his Restoration as King of England and Scotland in 1660, Charles II opted to maintain a full-time standing army based on Cromwell's New Model Army. From this time until 1923, a garrison was continuously maintained at the castle.[79Sony VPCF23Q1E Keyboard
Sony VPCF231S1E Keyboard
Sony VPCF13E8E Keyboard] The medieval royal castle was transformed into a garrison fortress, but continued to see military and political action. The Marquis of Argyll was imprisoned here in 1661, during the mopping up of the King's enemies after the Restoration. Twenty years later, his son, the Earl of Argyll,
Sony VPCF13E4E Keyboard was also imprisoned in the castle for religious Nonconformism. He escaped by disguising himself as his sister's footman, but was brought back to the castle after his failed rebellion against King James VII in 1685.[78] Sony VPCF23S1E Keyboard
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James VII was deposed and exiled by the Glorious Revolution of 1688–89, which installed William of Orange as King of England. The Parliament of Scotland also accepted William as their new king, and required the Duke of Gordon, Governor of the Castle, to surrender the fortress. Gordon, who had been appointed by James VII as a fellow Catholic, Sony VPCF24M1E Keyboard
Sony VPCF12F4E/H Keyboard refused. In March 1689, the castle was blockaded by 7,000 troops, against a garrison of 160 men, who were further weakened by religious disputes. On 18 March, Viscount Dundee climbed up the western side of the Castle Rock, and attempted to persuade Gordon to ride out with him in rebellion against the new King.[80Sony VPCF11S1E Keyboard
Sony VPCF12E1E/H Keyboard] Gordon chose to stay, but during the ensuing siege he refused to fire upon the town, while the besiegers inflicted little damage on the castle. Despite Dundee's initial successes in the north, Gordon eventually surrendered on 14 June, due to dwindling supplies, and having lost 70 men during the three-month siege.[81][8Sony VPCF11C4E/B Keyboard
Sony VPCF11Z1E/BI Keyboard] Under the terms of the Acts of Union, which joined England and Scotland in 1707, Edinburgh was one of the four Scottish castles to be maintained and permanently garrisoned by the new British Army, along with Stirling, Dumbarton and Blackness.[83] Sony VPCF13S1E/B Keyboard
Edinburgh Castle with the Nor Loch in foreground, around 1780, by Alexander Nasmyth
The castle was almost taken in the first Jacobite rising in support of James Stuart, the "Old Pretender", in 1715. On 8 September, just two days after the rising began, a party of around 100 Jacobite Highlanders, Sony VPCF13S0E/B Keyboard
Sony VPCY11M1R Keyboard led by Lord Drummond, attempted to scale the walls with the assistance of members of the garrison. However, the rope ladder lowered by the castle sentries was too short, and the alarm was raised after a change in the watch. The Jacobites fled, while the deserters within the castle were hanged or flogged.[ Sony VPCF12Z1E Keyboard
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Sony VPCYB3V1E Keyboard 84] General Wade reported in 1728 that the castle's defences were decayed and inadequate,[78] and major refortifications were carried out throughout the 1720s and 1730s, when most of the artillery defences and bastions on the north and west sides of the castle were built. Sony VPCF12M0E/B Keyboard
Sony VPCYB3Q1R Keyboard These were designed by military engineer Captain John Romer, and built by William Adam. They include the Argyle Battery, Mills Mount Battery, the Low Defences and the Western Defences.[85] Sony VPCF13M8E/B Keyboard
The last military action at the castle was during the second Jacobite rising of 1745. The Jacobite army, under Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") captured Edinburgh without a fight in September 1745, but the castle remained in the hands of the ageing Deputy Governor, General George Preston, who refused to surrender.[8Sony VPCF13Z0E/B Keyboard
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6] After their victory over the government army at Prestonpans on 21 September, the Jacobites attempted to blockade the castle. Preston's response was to bombard Jacobite positions within the town. After several buildings had been demolished, and four people killed, Charles called off the blockade.[87][ Sony VPCY21S1E Keyboard
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Sony VPCYB1S1R Keyboard 88] The Jacobites themselves had no heavy guns with which to respond, and by November they had marched on to England, leaving Edinburgh to the castle garrison.[89]
Over the next century, the castle vaults were used to hold prisoners of war during several conflicts, including the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), Sony VPCYB3V1E/R Keyboard
Sony VPCYB1S1E Keyboard the American War of Independence (1775–1783) and the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815).[90] During this time, several new buildings were erected within the castle, including powder magazines, stores, the Governor's House (1742), and the New Barracks (1796–1799). Sony VPCY11M1E Keyboard
19th century to the present[edit]
King George IV waves from the battlements of the Half Moon Battery in 1822, drawn by James Skene
A mass prison break in 1811, in which 49 prisoners of war escaped via a hole in the south wall, persuaded the authorities that the castle vaults were no longer a suitable prison. This use ceased in 1814,[91] and the castle began to take on a different role as a national monument. In 1818, Sony VPCY11S1E Keyboard
Sony VPCYA1V9E Keyboard Sir Walter Scott was given permission to search the castle for the Crown of Scotland, which had been stored away since the union of Scotland and England in 1707. Breaking open the Crown Room, he retrieved the Honours of Scotland, which were then put on public display, with an entry charge of one shilling.[9Sony VPCY11S1E Keyboard
Sony VPCW1E8R/BU Keyboard
Sony VPCYA1C5E Keyboard 2] In 1822, King George IV made a visit to Edinburgh, becoming the first reigning monarch to visit the castle since Charles II in 1651. In 1829, the cannon Mons Meg was returned from London, and the palace began to be opened up to visitors during the 1830s.[93] St Margaret's Chapel was "rediscovered" in 1845, Sony VPCY11V9E Keyboard
Sony VPCY22C5E Keyboard having been used as a store for many years.[92] Works in the 1880s, funded by the publisher William Nelson and carried out by Hippolyte Blanc, saw the Argyle Tower built over the Portcullis Gate, and the Great Hall restored after years of use as a barracks.[49] A new gatehouse was built in 1888. Sony VPCY11V9E/S Keyboard
Sony VPCY21S1E/L Keyboard
Sony VPCY21V9E Keyboard During the 19th century, several schemes were put forward for rebuilding the whole castle as a Scottish Baronial style château. Work began in 1858, but was soon abandoned, Sony VPCY21S1E/P Keyboard
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and only the hospital building was eventually remodelled in 1897.[49] Following the death of Prince Albert in 1861, the architect David Bryce put forward a proposal for a 50-metre (160 ft) keep as a memorial, although Queen Victoria objected, and the scheme was not pursued.[94]
Soldiers of the Castle garrison in an early photograph c.1845
In 1905, responsibility for the castle was transferred from the War Office to the Office of Works,[95] although the garrison remained until 1923, when the troops moved to Redford Barracks in south-west Edinburgh. Sony VPCY21A7E Keyboard
The castle again became a prison during the First World War, when "Red Clydesider" David Kirkwood was confined here, and during the Second World War, when it housed German Luftwaffe pilots.[96Sony VPCY21B7E Keyboard
Sony VPCY21C5E Keyboard ] The position of Governor of Edinburgh Castle, which had been vacant since 1876, was revived in 1935 as an honorary title for the General Officer Commanding in Scotland, the first holder being Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Cameron of Lochiel.[97] The castle passed into the care of Historic Scotland when it was established in 1991, and was designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1993.[9Sony VPCF12K4E Keyboard
Sony VPCF12B4E Keyboard8] The buildings and structures of the castle are further protected by 24 separate listings, including 13 at category A, the highest level of protection for a historic building in Scotland.[99] The Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, a World Heritage Site inscribed by UNESCO in 1995, is described as "dominated by a medieval fortress".[100] Sony VPCF13K4E Keyboard
Description[edit]
Edinburgh Castle is located at the top of the Royal Mile, at the west end of Edinburgh's Old Town. The volcanic Castle Rock offers a naturally defended position, with sheer cliffs to north and south, and a steep ascent from the west. The only easy approach is from the town to the east, and the castle's defences are situated accordingly, with a series of gates protecting the route to the summit of the Castle Rock.[101]
Plan of Edinburgh Castle
Key:
A Esplanade · B Gatehouse · C Ticket office · D Portcullis Gate & Argyle Tower · E Argyle Battery · F Mills Mount Battery & One o'Clock Gun · G Cartsheds · H Western Defences · I Hospital · J Butts Battery · K Scottish National War Museum · L Governors House · M New Barracks · N Military Prison · O Royal Scots Museum · P Foog's Gate ·Sony VPCF13D4E Keyboard
Q Reservoirs · R Mons Meg · S Pet Cemetery · T St. Margaret's Chapel · U Half Moon Battery · V Crown Square · W Royal Palace · X Great Hall · Y Queen Anne Building · Z Scottish National War MemorialSony VPCF13F4E Keyboard
Outer defences[edit]
In front of the castle is a long sloping forecourt known as the Esplanade. Originally the Spur, a 16th-century hornwork, was located here. The present Esplanade was laid out as a parade ground in 1753, and extended in 1845.[49] It is upon this Esplanade that the Edinburgh Military Tattoo takes place annually. From the Esplanade the Half Moon Battery is prominent, with the Royal Palace to its left.[102] Sony VPCF13G4E Keyboard
The gatehouse at the head of the Esplanade was built as an architecturally cosmetic addition to the castle in 1888.[103] Statues of Robert the Bruce by Thomas Clapperton and William Wallace by Alexander Carrick were added in 1929, and the Latin motto Nemo me impune lacessit is inscribed above the gate. Sony VPCF13J4E Keyboard
Sony VPCF11J4E Keyboard The dry ditch in front of the entrance was completed in its present form in 1742.[104] Within the gatehouse are offices, and to the north is the most recent addition to the castle; the ticket office, completed in 2008 to a design by Gareth Hoskins Architects.[105] Sony VPCF13K4E Keyboard
Sony VPCF11J1E/B KeyboardThe road, built by James III in 1464 for the transport of cannon, leads upward and around to the north of the Half Moon Battery and the Forewall Battery, to the Portcullis Gate. In 1990, an alternative access was opened by digging a tunnel from the north of the esplanade to the north-west part of the castle, separating visitor and service traffic.[106] Sony VPCF13L0E Keyboard
The Portcullis Gate
Portcullis Gate and Argyle Tower[edit]
The Portcullis Gate was begun by the Regent Morton after the Lang Siege of 1571–73 to replace the round Constable's Tower, which was destroyed in the siege.[107] In 1584 the upper parts of the gatehouse were completed by William Schaw,[108] Sony VPCF13S8E Keyboard
Sony VPCF11J04E/H Keyboardand these were further modified in 1750.[109] In 1886–1887 this plain building was replaced with a Scots Baronial tower, designed by the architect Hippolyte Blanc, although the original Portcullis Gate remains below. The new structure was named the Argyle Tower, in the belief that the 9th Earl of Argyll had been held here prior to his execution in 1685.[1Sony VPCF22M0E Keyboard
Sony VPCF11H4E Keyboard10] Described as "restoration in an extreme form",[110] the rebuilding of the Argyle Tower was the first in a series of works funded by the publisher William Nelson.[110]
Just inside the gate is the Argyle Battery overlooking Princes Street, with Mills Mount Battery, the location of the One O'Clock Gun, to the west. Below these is the Low Defence, Sony VPCF22C5E Keyboard
Sony VPCF11G4E Keyboardwhile at the base of the rock is the ruined Wellhouse Tower, built in 1362 to guard St. Margaret's Well.[111] This natural spring provided an important secondary source of water for the castle, the water being lifted up by a crane mounted on a platform known as the Crane Bastion.[112] Sony VPCF12D4E Keyboard
Military buildings[edit]
The New Barracks
The areas to the north and west of the Argyle Tower are largely occupied by military buildings erected after the castle became a major garrison in the early 18th century.[113] Adjacent to Mills Mount are the 18th-century cart sheds, now the tea rooms.[104Sony VPCF12H4E Keyboard
Sony VPCF11E4E Keyboard] The Governor's House to the south was built in 1742 as accommodation for the Governor, Storekeeper, and Master Gunner,[114] and was used until the post of Governor became vacant in the later 19th century; it was then used by nurses of the castle hospital. Today, it functions as an officers' mess, and as the office of the Governor since the restoration of the post in 1936.[115] Sony VPCF11A4E Keyboard
South of the Governor's House is the New Barrack Block, completed in 1799 to house 600 soldiers, and replacing the outdated accommodation in the Great Hall. It now houses the Regimental Headquarters of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and the Regimental Headquarters and Museum of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys). Sony VPCCA Battery
The latter was first opened in 1995 by the regiment's Colonel, Queen Elizabeth II.[116] Also nearby, in the former Royal Scots drill hall, constructed in 1900, is the regimental museum of the Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment).[1Sony VPCCA1S1E Battery
Sony VPCCB4X1E Battery17] The military prison was built in 1842 for the castle garrison and was extended in the 1880s. It was last used in 1923, when the garrison moved to Redford Barracks.[93]
National War Museum of Scotland[edit]
Main article: National War Museum of Scotland
West of the Governor's House, a store for munitions was built in 1747–48, and this was later extended to form a courtyard, in which the main gunpowder magazine also stood.[11Sony VPCCA2C5E Battery
Sony VPCCB3S1E Battery8] In 1897 the area was remodelled as a military hospital, formerly housed in the Great Hall. The building to the south of this courtyard is now the National War Museum of Scotland, which forms part of the National Museums of Scotland. It was formerly known as the Scottish United Services Museum, and, prior to this, Sony VPCCA2S0E Battery
Sony VPCCB3PQE Battery the Scottish Naval and Military Museum, when it was located in the Queen Anne Building.[119] It covers Scottish military history over the past 400 years, and includes a wide range of military artefacts, Sony VPCCA2S1E Battery
Sony VPCCB3 Batterysuch as uniforms, medals and weapons. The exhibitions also illustrate the history and causes behind the many wars in which Scottish soldiers have been involved. Beside the museum is Butts Battery, named for the archery butts (targets) formerly placed here.[120] Sony VPCCA3 Battery
Sony VPCCB2S1E BatteryBelow it are the Western Defences, where a postern gate gives access to the western slope of the rock.[121]
Upper Ward[edit]
Foog's Gate
The Upper Ward occupies the highest part of the Castle Rock, and is entered via the late 17th-century Foog's Gate.[104] The origin of this name is unknown, although it was formerly known as the Foggy Gate, which may relate to the dense sea-fog, known as haar, which commonly affects Edinburgh.[122Sony VPCCA3E1E Battery
Sony VPCCB2M0E Battery] Adjacent to the gates are the reservoirs, built to reduce the castle's dependency on well water, and a former fire station, now used as a shop. The summit of the rock is occupied by St Margaret's Chapel and the 15th-century siege gun Mons Meg. Sony VPCCB Battery
Sony VPCCB2 BatteryOn a ledge below this area is a small 19th-century cemetery of soldiers' and regimental mascot dogs. Beside this, the Lang Stair leads down to the Argyle Battery, past a section of a medieval bastion,[1Sony SVE1511A1EW Keyboard
Sony SVE1513Q1E Keyboard04] and gives access to the upper part of the Argyle Tower. The eastern end of the Upper Ward is occupied by the Forewall and Half Moon Batteries, with Crown Square to the south.[102]
St. Margaret's Chapel
St. Margaret's Chapel[edit]
Main article: St. Margaret's Chapel
The oldest building in the castle, and in Edinburgh, is the small St. Margaret's Chapel.[2] One of the few 12th-century structures surviving in any Scottish castle,[39] it dates to the reign of King David I (ruled 1124–1153), Sony SVE1511L1E Keyboard
Sony SVE1513H1E Keyboardwho built it as a private chapel for the royal family and dedicated it to his mother, Saint Margaret of Scotland, who died in the castle in 1093. It survived the slighting of 1314, when the castle's defences were destroyed, and was used as a gunpowder store from the 16th century, Sony SVE1511M1E Keyboard
Sony SVE1513E9E Keyboard when the present roof was built. In 1845, when it was "discovered" by the antiquary Daniel Wilson, it formed part of the larger garrison chapel, and was restored in 1851–1852.[49] The chapel is still used for various religious ceremonies, such as weddings.[123]
Mons Meg[edit]
The siege gun Mons Meg and gun stones
Main article: Mons Meg
The 15th-century siege cannon known as Mons Meg is on display outside St. Margaret's Chapel. Mons Meg was constructed in Flanders on the orders of Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1449, and was given by him to his niece's husband, King James II in 1457.[5Sony SVE1511Q1E Keyboard
2] The 6-tonne (13,000 lb) bombard is displayed alongside some of its 150-kilogram (330 lb) gun stones. On 3 July 1558, Mons Meg was fired in salute to the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, to the French dauphin François II. Workmen were paid to find and retrieve the stones from Wardie Mure, near the River Forth, Sony SVE1511W1E Keyboard
Sony SVE1513C5E Keyboardsome 2 miles (3.2 km) distant.[124] Mons Meg has been defunct since her barrel burst on 30 October 1681 when firing a salute for the arrival of the Duke of Albany, the future King James VII and II.[125] Sony SVE1512B1E Keyboard
Half Moon Battery and David's Tower[edit]
Half Moon Battery and Palace Block seen from the Esplanade
The Half Moon Battery, which remains a prominent feature on the east side of the castle, was built as part of the reconstruction works supervised by the Regent Morton, and was erected between 1573 and 1588.[104Sony SVE1512C6E Keyboard
Sony SVE1512M1E Keyboard The Forewall to the north was built between 1689 and 1695 to link the Half Moon to the Portcullis Tower, although part of the original wall of 1540 was incorporated into it.[104] The Half Moon Battery was built around and over the ruins of David's Tower, two storeys of which survive beneath, Sony SVE1512J1E Keyboard
Sony SVE1512K1E Keyboardwith windows facing out onto the interior wall of the battery. David's Tower was built on an L-plan, the main block being 15.4 by 11.6 metres (51 by 38 ft), with a wing measuring 6.3 by 5.6 metres (21 by 18 ft) to the west.[10Sony SVE1711R1E Keyboard
Sony SVE1713Z1E Keyboard4] The entrance was via a pointed-arched doorway in the inner angle, although in the 16th century this was filled in to make the tower a solid rectangle. Prior to the Lang Siege, the tower was recorded as being 18 metres (59 ft) high, and the remaining portions stand up to 15 metres (49 ft) from the rock.[126] Sony SVE1711X1E Keyboard
Artefacts found during excavation of David's Tower
The tower was rediscovered in 1912, and excavations below the Half Moon Battery revealed the extent of the surviving buildings. Several rooms are accessible to the public, although the lower parts are generally closed. Outside the tower, but within the battery, is a three-storey room,
Sony SVE1713Z1E Keyboardwhere large portions of the exterior wall of the tower are still visible, showing shattered masonry caused by the bombardment of 1573.[126] Beside the tower, a section of the former curtain wall was discovered, with a gun loop which overlooked the High Street: a recess was made in the outer battery wall to reveal this gun loop. Also in 1912–1913, Sony SVE1712Z1E Keyboard
Sony SVE1513M1E Keyboardthe adjacent Fore Well was cleared and surveyed, and was found to be 33.5 metres (110 ft) deep, and mostly hewn through the rock below the castle.[126]
Crown Square[edit]
Crown Square, also known as Palace Yard, was laid out in the 15th century, during the reign of King James III, as the principal courtyard of the castle. The foundations were formed by the construction of a series of large stone vaults built onto the uneven Castle Rock in the 1430s. Sony SVE1713C5E Keyboard
Sony SVE1513B4E KeyboardThese vaults were used as a state prison until the 19th century, although more important prisoners were held in the main parts of the castle.[127] The square is formed by the Royal Palace to the east, the Great Hall to the south, the Queen Anne Building to the west, and the National War Memorial to the north.[128] Sony SVE1511A1EB Keyboard
The Royal Palace in Crown Square
Royal Palace[edit]
The Royal Palace comprises the former royal apartments, which were the residence of the later Stewart monarchs. It was begun in the mid 15th century, during the reign of James IV,[129] and it originally communicated with David's Tower.[104] Sony SVE14A1S1EP Keyboard
The building was extensively remodelled for the visit of James VI to the castle in 1617, when state apartments for the king and queen were built.[130] On the ground floor is the Laich (low) Hall, now called the King's Dining Room, and a small room, known as the Birth Chamber or Mary Room, where James VI was born to Mary, Queen of Scots, in June 1566. The commemorative painted ceiling and other decoration was added in 1617. Sony SVE1511Q1EB Keyboard
On the first floor is the vaulted Crown Room, built in 1615 to house the Honours of Scotland: the crown, the sceptre and the sword of state.[131] Sony SVE1511R9ESI Keyboard
Sony SVE1513A4E Keyboard The Stone of Scone, upon which the monarchs of Scotland were traditionally crowned, is also kept in the Crown Room since its return to Scotland in 1996. To the south of the palace is the Register House, built in the 1540s to house state archives.[132] Sony SVE1511V1EW Keyboard
Great Hall[edit]
Interior of the Great Hall
The Great Hall measures 29 by 12.5 metres (95 by 41.0 ft), and was the chief place of state assembly in the castle, although there is no evidence that the Parliament of Scotland ever met here, as is sometimes reported.[13Sony SVE1511W1ESI Keyboard
Sony SVE1512X9E Keyboard3] Historians have disagreed over its dating, although it is usually ascribed to the reign of King James IV, and is thought to have been completed in the early years of the 16th century.[134] The decorative carved stone corbels supporting the roof have Renaissance detailing, which has been compared to works at Blois, France, of around 1515, Sony SVE14 Keyboard
Sony SVE1511R9E Keyboard indicating that the arts in Scotland were relatively advanced at this time.[133] It is one of only two medieval halls in Scotland with an original hammerbeam roof.[135]
Following Oliver Cromwell's seizure of the castle in 1650, the Great Hall was converted into a barracks for his troops, and was subdivided into three storeys in 1737, to house 312 soldiers.[49] Following the construction of the New Barracks in the 1790s, Sony SVE14A1S1E Keyboard
Sony SVE15 Keyboard it became a military hospital until 1897. It was then restored by Hippolyte Blanc in line with contemporary ideas of medieval architecture.[110] The Great Hall is still sometimes used for ceremonial occasions, and is a venue on Hogmanay for BBC Scotland's Hogmanay Live programme. To the south of the hall is a section of 14th-century curtain wall, although with a later parapet.[1HP G72-100 Keyboard
04]
The Queen Anne Building (centre-right)
Queen Anne Building[edit]
In the 16th century, this area housed the kitchens serving the adjacent Great Hall, and was later the site of the Royal Gunhouse.[13HP G72-102SA Keyboard
HP Pavilion G72-B20SA Keyboard6] The present building was named for Queen Anne and was built during the attempted Jacobite invasion by the Old Pretender in 1708. It was designed by Captain Theodore Dury, military engineer for Scotland, who also designed the eponymous Dury's Battery on the south side of the castle in 1713.[1HP G72-105SA Keyboard
HP Pavilion G72-B15SA Keyboard37] The Queen Anne Building provided accommodation for Staff Officers, but after the departure of the army it was remodelled in the 1920s as the Naval and Military Museum, to complement the newly-opened Scottish National War Memorial.[10HP G72-a10SA Keyboard
HP Pavilion G72-B02SA Keyboard4] The museum later moved to the former hospital in the western part of the castle, and the building now houses a function suite and an education centre.[138]
Scottish National War Memorial[edit]
Main article: Scottish National War Memorial
The Scottish National War Memorial
The Scottish National War Memorial occupies a converted barrack block on the north side of Crown Square. It stands on the site of the medieval St. Mary's Church which was rebuilt in 1366, and was converted into an armoury in 1540. It was demolished in 1755, and the masonry reused to build a new North Barrack Block on the site.[139] HP G72-a30SA Keyboard
HP Pavilion G72-B01SA Keyboard Proposals for a Scottish National War Memorial were put forward in 1917, during the First World War, and the architect Sir Robert Lorimer was appointed in 1919. Construction began in 1923, and the memorial was formally opened on 14 July 1927 by the Prince of Wales.[ HP G72-b01EA Keyboard
HP Pavilion G72-B01EA Keyboard140] The exterior is decorated with gargoyles and sculpture, while the interior contains monuments to individual regiments. The stained-glass windows are by Douglas Strachan.[141] HP G72-b02SA Keyboard
HP Pavilion G72-A40SA Keyboard
The memorial commemorates Scottish soldiers, and those serving with Scottish regiments, who died in the two world wars and in more recent conflicts. Upon the altar within the Shrine is a sealed casket containing Rolls of Honour which list over 147,000 names of those soldiers killed in the First World War.After the Second World War, another 50,000 names were inscribed on Rolls of Honour held within the Hall, and further names continue to be added there.[140][1HP G72-b10SA Keyboard
HP Pavilion G72-A30SA Keyboard42] The memorial is maintained by a charitable trust known as the Scottish National War Memorial.[143]
Present use[edit]
Edinburgh Castle is in the ownership of the Scottish Ministers, as heads of the devolved Scottish Government. The castle is run and administered, for the most part, by Historic Scotland, an executive agency of the Scottish Government, although some parts of the castle are managed by the Army.[144] HP G72-b15SA Keyboard
A re-enactor portraying James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, a husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, in the Great Hall
Tourist attraction[edit]
Historic Scotland undertakes the dual tasks of operating the castle as a commercially viable tourist attraction, while simultaneously having responsibility for conservation of the site. Edinburgh Castle remains the most popular paid visitor attraction in Scotland, with over 1.3 million visitors in 2011.[3HP G72 Keyboard
HP Pavilion G72-A20SA Keyboard
] Historic Scotland maintains a number of facilities within the castle, including two cafés/restaurants, several shops, and numerous historical displays. An educational centre in the Queen Anne Building runs events for schools and educational groups, and employs re-enactors in costume and with period weaponry.[145] HP G72 PC Series Keyboard
HP Pavilion G72-105SA Keyboard
Military role[edit]
Direct administration of the castle by the War Office came to an end in 1905, and in 1923 the Army formally moved to the city's new Redford Barracks. Nevertheless, the castle continues to have a strong connection with the Army, HP G72T-200 CTO Keyboard
and is one of the few ancient castles in Britain that still has a military garrison, albeit for largely ceremonial and administrative purposes. Public duties performed by the garrison include guarding the Honours of Scotland, and armed sentries stand watch at the castle gatehouse outside opening hours. HP Pavilion G72-110SA Keyboard
The post of Governor of Edinburgh Castle is now a ceremonial post, held by the General Officer Commanding Scotland. The New Barrack Block is home to the Regimental Headquarters of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The Army is also responsible for the Governor's House, which serves as the Officers' Mess, the Royal Scots Museum, and the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum.[144][146] HP Pavilion G72-130SA Keyboard
Military Tattoo[edit]
Main article: Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Royal Marines emerging from Edinburgh Castle during the Military Tattoo 2005
A series of performances known as the Edinburgh Military Tattoo take place on the Esplanade each year during August. The basis of the performance is a parade of the pipes and drums of the Scottish regiments, HP Pavilion G72-A10SA Keyboard
HP Pavilion G72-102SA Keyboardand since the first performance in 1950 the Tattoo has developed a complex format which includes many invited performers from around the world, although still with a largely military focus. The climax of the evening is the lone piper on the castle battlements, playing a pibroch in memory of dead comrades in arms, Levono Ideapad G560 Keyboard
followed by the massed pipe bands joining in a medley of traditional Scottish tunes. The Tattoo attracts an annual audience of around 217,000 people, and is broadcast around the world.[147]
The One O'Clock Gun being fired from Mill's Mount Battery
One O'Clock Gun[edit] Levono Ideapad Z560 Keyboard
The One O'Clock Gun is a time signal, and is fired every day at precisely 13:00, excepting Sunday, Good Friday and Christmas Day. The 'Time Gun' was established in 1861 as a time signal for ships in the Firth of Forth,
Levono Ideapad Z575 Keyboard and complemented the 'Time Ball', which was installed on the Nelson Monument in 1852, but which was useless as a visible signal during foggy weather. The gun could easily be heard by ships in Leith Harbour, 2 miles (3.2 km) away. Because sound travels relatively slowly (approximately 343 metres per second (770 mph)), Levono Ideapad Y560P Keyboard
a map was produced in 1861 to show the actual time when the sound of the gun would be heard at various locations across Edinburgh.[148]
The original gun was an 18-pound muzzle-loading cannon, which needed four men to load, and was fired from the Half Moon Battery. This was replaced in 1913 by a 32-pound breech-loader, and in May 1952 by a 25-pound Howitzer.[149] Levono Ideapad V570A Keyboard
Levono Ideapad Z565 KeyboardThe present One O'Clock Gun is an L118 Light Gun, brought into service on 30 November 2001.[150]
The gun is now fired from Mill's Mount Battery, on the north face of the castle, by the District Gunner from 105th Regiment Royal Artillery (Volunteers). Although the gun is no longer required for its original purpose, the ceremony has become a popular tourist attraction. The longest-serving District Gunner, Levono Ideapad V570 Keyboard
Levono Ideapad Y570 Keyboard Staff Sergeant Thomas McKay MBE, nicknamed "Tam the Gun", fired the One O'Clock Gun from 1979 until his retirement in January 2005. McKay helped established the One O'Clock Gun Association, which opened a small exhibition at Mill's Mount, and published a book entitled What Time Does Edinburgh's One O'clock Gun Fire?.[15Levono Ideapad V570C Keyboard
1] In 2006 Sergeant Jamie Shannon, nicknamed "Shannon the Cannon", became the 29th District Gunner,[152] and in 2013 Bombardier Allison Jones became the first woman to fire the gun.[153]
Symbol of Edinburgh[edit] Levono Ideapad B570 Keyboard
Edinburgh Castle as it appears on the coat of arms of the city
The castle has become a recognisable symbol of Edinburgh, and of Scotland.[154] It appears, in stylised form, on the coats of arms of the City of Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh. During the Second World War it featured on the badge of No. 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron based at RAF Turnhouse (now Edinburgh Airport). Levono Ideapad B575 Keyboard
Levono Ideapad G575 Keyboard Images of the castle are used as a logo by organisations including Edinburgh Rugby, the Edinburgh Evening News, Hibernian F.C. and the Edinburgh Marathon. It also appears on the "Castle series" of Royal Mail postage stamps, and has been represented on various issues of banknotes issued by Scottish clearing banks. Levono Ideapad B570A Keyboard
Levono Ideapad B570G KeyboardIn the 1960s the castle was illustrated on £5 notes issued by the National Commercial Bank of Scotland,[155] and since 1987 it has featured on the reverse of £1 notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland.[1HP Probook 4320S Keyboard
HP Probook 5330M Keyboard56] Since 2009 the castle, as part of Edinburgh's World Heritage Site, has appeared on £10 notes issued by the Clydesdale Bank.[157] The castle is a focal point for annual fireworks displays which mark Edinburgh's Hogmanay (new year) celebrations,[158] and the end of the Edinburgh Festival in the summer.[159