Edinburgh—Historical Architecture Destination
Welcome to Issue XVII of Historical Architecture Destinations! Today we're diving into the story of Edinburgh as told through three of its historical buildings.
Origins: Bronze Age to Celts
Occupied since the Bronze Age there has been activity where Edinburgh now stands for thousands of years.
When the Romans came to the area of Edinburgh (north of Hadrian’s Wall) they found a Celtic tribe who they called Votadini. The Romans built their Antonine Wall (1st century AD) across Scotland and ending at Edinburgh. But the Romans were only able to hold the Antonine Wall for around 8 years before they abandoned it for their more southern Hadrian’s Wall.
The 2nd century AD world map of Greek cartographer Ptolemy showed a settlement named ‘Alauna’ meaning ‘rock place’ in the territory of Votadini. This is believed to be ‘Castle Rock’ the site of our first building.
1. Edinburgh Castle
Towering 430ft (131m) above sea level ‘Castle Rock’ the site of Edinburgh Castle has been occupied since the Bronze Age with excavations showing activity on the cliff top from 900 BC.
Around 600 AD the Celtic tribe Votadini defended their hilltop fort at this site until they were defeated by the Angles as described in this 7th century Welsh poem.
Y Goddodin
A 7th century Old Welsh poem Y Goddodin tells a tale of the Goddodin (known to the Romans as the Votadini) and their year-long feast at 'Din Eidyn' preparing for battle. After the defeat of the Goddodin at the hands of the Angles, the name of the hillfort was anglicized to Edinburgh.
Not much is known about Edinburgh Castle during the early Middle Ages until the reign of Scottish King Malcolm III (who avenged his father by killing Macbeth) and his sons who developed the site into a royal center.
In 1130 the youngest son of Malcolm III, David I built a chapel to honor his late mother the former Queen Margaret. The Chapel of Saint Margaret is the oldest remaining part of the original fortress at Edinburgh Castle. The well of the chapel was later poisoned during the Lang Siege of the 16th century.
In 1296 King Edward I invaded Scotland.
The castle fell and the Stone of Destiny was taken from Scotland and brought to Westminster Abbey. This stone was used in coronations of Scottish monarchs for centuries, maybe as early as the fifth century.
The legend says that where the Stone of Destiny lies is where Scottish Kings rule.
This held true when James Stuart became both King James VI of Scotland and James I of England. The stone was returned to Scotland 700 years later (in 1996) and now resides in Edinburgh Castle. It’s still used for coronations today (like for King Charles III coronation on May 6th, 2023).
11 years after his invasion, King Edward I died and the English hold on the castle weakened.
In 1314 Thomas Randolph (nephew of Robert the Bruce) led a surprise night attack and recaptured the Edinburgh Castle by scaling the cliff walls of Castle Rock. Once the castle was controlled again by the Scottish, King Robert the Bruce ordered the demolition of the castle to prevent the English from capturing it. After Bruce's death, the castle ruins were captured again by the English in 1335.
However, in 1341 a small group of Scottish men disguised as merchants blocked the castle gates open and retook the castle, killing the 100 English men inside.
Robert the Bruce's son and successor King David II began rebuilding the castle and he commissioned David's Tower.
In 1440, David's Tower was the site of the 'Black Dinner'.
The Black Dinner
Two young heirs to the powerful Douglas Clan were cordially invited to Edinburgh Castle. During dinner they were presented with a bull’s head on a platter. This signaled that the boys were to be taken away and executed.The young heirs were executed in front of then 10 year old King James II.
Edinburgh castle faced retaliation from the Douglas Clan and incurred subsequent damages. The infamous 'Black Dinner' partly inspired the Red Wedding in the Game of Thrones series.
The Lang Siege (1571-3) took place at Edinburgh Castle when Mary Queen of Scots forced abdication caused civil unrest. 1,000 English Troops, 27 cannons, and 3000 shots were fired at the castle. David's Tower collapsed. Jewelers minting coins in Mary's honor were hanged.
Much of the castle was rebuilt including the Half Moon Battery to replace David's Tower.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Edinburgh castle was a prison for war captives from Jacobite rebels, pirates of the Caribbean, and Americans fighting in the War of Independence.
Edinburgh Castle has remained a defensible position as it’s one of the most besieged places in the world. A previous home of royals, army headquarters and now a national icon, Edinburgh Castle is steeped in history.
During the time when the oldest surviving part of Edinburgh Castle was just being built King David I was also dedicating an abbey which brings us to our next building.
2. Holyrood Abbey
The Legend
In 1127 David I was hunting when he was thrown from his horse and speared in the thigh by a stag. But miraculously an appearance of a holy cross presented itself and his life was saved. In honor of this he had an abbey built on this very spot and dedicated it to the Holy Rood meaning Holy Cross.
The Holyrood Abbey was originally built in 1128 and rebuilt nearly a hundred years later.
It’s now a ruin but you can still see the Gothic nave built in the 1200s and the Romanesque door from the 1100s. As Edinburgh grew in size and importance the royal family sought privacy and instead of residing at Edinburgh Castle in the center of Old Town they stayed a mile away in a guest house connected to the abbey instead.
This guest house was converted into the Renaissance Palace known as Holyrood House and became the primary residence of the Scottish royal family.
Today it’s the official residence of the British Monarchy in Scotland.
3. Scott Monument
During the second half of the 18th century Scotland experienced a cultural and intellectual renaissance.
Some even nicknamed it the Athens of the North for its New Town streets of Neo-Classical architecture and for being a hotbed of learning. Scotland was home to famed thinkers including James Hutton (father of modern geology), Tobias Smollett (novelist, surgeon, playwright) and also writer Sir Walter Scott.
After Scott’s death in 1832 a competition was held to design a monument in honor of him.
An architect going by a pseudonym (because he feared his lack of formal qualifications would disqualify him) won the competition. The winner was self-taught architect George Meikle Kemp.
He designed the Victorian Gothic monument that is now a landmark of the Princes Street Gardens. It was made from stone quarried in nearby West Lothian. The monument contains 68 statues not including Scott and his dog.
The base of the monument has a statue of Sir Walter Scott himself and his beloved dog carved from a single block of Carrera marble.
Present day
Today Edinburgh blends its medieval Old Town built around Edinburgh Castle with the Georgian Neo-Classical buildings of New Town to create a vibrant cultural hub.
Deep dives
For the tale of Scottish history spanning millennia check out the captivating Scotland: The Story of a Nation by Magnus Magnusson
And for the seventh of Sir Walter Scott’s Waverly Novels check out The Heart of Mid-Lothian a novel that takes into account the Porteous Riot in Edinburgh in 1736.
The first eBook has launched 🥳
I’m excited to announce the Historical Architecture Lover’s Guide to Vienna is out now! In collaboration with photographer and traveler CK we’ve created the guide that we wish we had. It is jam packed with over 40 pages of fascinating architectural history designed and curated with the historical architecture lover in mind.
To celebrate the launch you can grab your copy for less than the cost of brunch.
(here’s a sneak peek ⇣)
Congratulations, you made it to the end!
Thank you for subscribing and reading. I would love to hear your feedback. And if you enjoyed the issue, please share it with your friends and family.
My goal:
My goal is to inspire people to slow down and experience the beauty in this world to awaken their sense of wonder ✨
To get daily updates about the world’s architectural wonders follow me on Twitter.