AND MORE ...

home - attractions - europe - scotland - edinburgh castle

EDINBURGH CASTLE

Edinburgh Castle is an ancient fortress which, from its position atop Castle Rock, dominates the sky-line of the city of Edinburgh, and is Scotland's most famous (and most visited) landmark. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC. As it stands today though, few of the castle's structures pre-date the 16th century.

As with all castles, Edinburgh's fortress has been a centre of martial activity. Uniquely as an ancient fortress within Britain, Edinburgh castle still has a military garrison albeit mostly for ceremonial purposes, and is spiritual home to the Royal Scots regiment. The military governor is Major General Euan Buchanan Loudon, who is also GOC of the 2nd Division of the British Army which comprises the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Direct administration of the castle by the Ministry of Defence only came to an end in 1923 when the army moved to their new Edinburgh barracks at Redford. Nevertheless, the Castle continues to have a strong connection with the Army. Serving soldiers still stand watch at the castle gatehouse between 6 pm and 9 am, with responsibility for the Honours of Scotland. Furthermore the Army still use the Governor's House, as a Mess, and the New Barracks as quarters.

During the rest of the time the castle is now run and administered, for the most part, by Historic Scotland. Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Executive and undertakes the dual (and sometimes mutually contradictory) tasks of operating the castle as a commercially viable tourist attraction whilst simultaneously having responsibility for conservation of the site.

LOCATION OF EDINBURGH CASTLE

Edinburgh Castle stands at the heart of the City of Edinburgh. To the North and West of it lies the elegant Georgian New Town. To the South and East the historic Old Town.

Of course it is no mere coincidence that the castle is so centrally placed. During the turbulent, early history of Scotland (or, more accurately, the land which would become Scotland) the Castle Rock would have been immediately attractive to the inhabitants of the area as a strongly defensible position. As the population grew it would have been unfeasible for everyone to live within the defences of the castle and so, gradually, the city radiated out from it.

In broad terms the initial phase of the city's expansion took place along the ridge formed by the Castle Rock as it slopes down to that other volcanic site known today as Holyrood Park. This traverse between the two royal sites of the Castle and Holyrood Palace is popularly known as the Royal Mile (despite being 107 yards over a mile) and is now one of the busiest tourist streets in the city.

The next phase of the cities expansion was to the south. In large part this was dictated by topography. The ground to the north of the castle was a marsh extending to the Firth of Forth. This natural impediment to urban expansion had been further exacerbated by the creation of a man-made loch known as the Nor Loch. The loch can be seen in the painted view by Alexander Nasmyth reproduced in this article. It was not until the technology existed to bridge and subsequently, drain the loch that development to the north of the city became viable.

The castle lies within the parish of the Kirk of the Canongate, where the Governor of the Castle has his own pew.

POINTS OF INTEREST

At the top of the Royal Mile, in front of the castle, is a long sloping forecourt known as the Esplanade. It is upon this Esplanade that the famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo takes place annually. From the Esplanade may be seen the Half Moon Battery, which is a dominant feature visible in Nasmyth's painting. This drum-shaped building, 1574, incorporates parts of the keep of 1364, known as David's Tower. The castle proper is entered through a gatehouse in front of the Half Moon Battery. The road leads upward and around to the right of the battery and through an older portcullis gatehouse, to reach the courtyard known as Crown Square.

• DAVID'S TOWER

David's Tower was commissioned in 1386 by Robert the Bruce's son, David II of Scotland. David's tower was enormous by standards of the time, standing on the site of the present Half Moon Battery at 30 m high, with three stories (Twice as high as the Half Moon Battery). The tower initially served as the principal entrance to the castle, but by later years the tower was expanded to include many more rooms for guests and visiting nobility, and the original main entrance became boxed off by a guest room.

When the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots married James Hepburn in 1567, a large proportion of the (Protestant) nobility rebelled, resulting ultimately in the imprisonment of Mary in Loch Leven Castle. Although she eventually escaped and fled to England, some of the nobility remained faithful to Mary, retaining Edinburgh Castle. Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange held the castle under Lang Siege (Long Siege) for a year, until 1573, when the infant King James VI's regent, Regent Morton, requested assistance from Queen Elizabeth. Heavy guns were dispatched to the castle from Berwick, and within ten days of the commencement of the bombardment of the castle with these guns in May of that year, David's Tower collapsed.

The collapse of this tower blocked off the single source of water for the castle, the well, and within a few days the castle surrendered, around two weeks after the arrival of the new guns. Sir William was soon hanged, and much of the castle rebuilt, including the new Half Moon Battery.

• HALF MOON BATTERY

The Half Moon Battery was duly constructed on the site of the old David's Tower. This magnificent set of defenses, prominent on the East side of the castle today, sits over the old ruins, and several rooms from the ground and first floors of the tower still exist underneath the Battery, windows facing out onto the interior wall of the Battery. Several of these are accessible to the public, although the lower (Ground Floor) elements are generally closed.

The inaccessible areas include a former master Guest Bedroom, and a three-story room outside the original David's Tower (with large portions of the exterior wall still visible) created by the imposition of the Battery formerly used to house Pigeons for consumption during the winter months. The walls of this sections are correspondingly pitted with chunks of stone removed to provide nesting places for the birds. The Half Moon Battery was completed in 1588.

• CROWN SQUARE

Crown Square is the citadel at the top of the castle. The square is formed by the War Memorial to the North, the Royal Palace block to the East, the Great Hall to the South and the Queen Anne Building to the West.

• THE KING'S LODGING

These are the former Royal Apartments, dating from the 15th century and including a small room known as Birth Chamber or Mary Room where King James VI of Scotland, who was to become James I of England was born to Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary, through claiming the throne of England, incited the anger of her cousin, Elizabeth I of England, who had her captured, imprisoned and eventually beheaded.

• THE GREAT HALL

The Great Hall of the Castle was built in 1511 on the orders of King James IV. It has a hammer beam roof. It was used for meetings of the Parliament of Scotland prior to the building of Parliament Hall next to St Giles Cathedral in 1639. The Great Hall is still sometimes used for ceremonial occasions.

• THE CROWN ROOM

This vaulted chamber contains the Honours of Scotland. These are the Crown jewels and regalia. They include the crown, sceptre and sword of state. The crown dates from 1540, is made of Scottish gold and is set with 94 pearls, ten diamonds and 33 other precious and semi-precious gemstones. The Sceptre is also made of gold, and topped with a large Rock Crystal (Quartz). The most treasured possession of Scotland is also located among the honours. It is the Stone of Destiny, otherwise known as the Stone of Scone and upon which the monarchs of Scotland are traditionally crowned. It had been taken to England and incorporated into the Coronation Throne in Westminster Abbey but was returned to Scotland in 1996 on the understanding that it be returned to the Abbey for subsequent coronations.

• SCOTTISH NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL

The Scottish National War Memorial was built after World War I to commemorate Scots and those serving with Scottish regiments who had died in the war and subsequent conflicts. It was designed by Sir Robert Lorimer and was formally opened on 14th July 1927. The stained glass windows are by Douglas Strachan. As a mark of respect photography is prohibited within this building.

• NATIONAL WAR MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND

The museum forms part of the National Museums of Scotland. It was formerly known as the Scottish United Services Museum, and prior to this, the Scottish Naval and Military Museum. It covers Scottish military history and wars over the past 400 years and includes a wide range of military artifacts, such as uniforms, medals and weapons. The exhibitions also place a lot of emphasis on explaining the history and causes behind the many Wars Scotland has been involved in.

• ST. MARGARET'S CHAPEL

The oldest building in the castle, and in Edinburgh, is St. Margaret's Chapel which dates to the start of the 12th century, King David I built it as a private chapel for the royal family and dedicated it to his mother, Margaret, who died in the castle in 1093.

It is one of the smallest churches in Britain and certainly the smallest within Edinburgh.

Robert the Bruce had the Edinburgh Castle destroyed by the Earl of Moray to prevent English capture in the event of an unsuccessful battle at Bannockburn however he relented over the chapel and ordered its restoration. In any event the campaign was a success and Robert the Bruce defeated Edward II.

This building is still used for various religious ceremonies such as weddings and christenings, it is said to hold approximately 25 people.

• MONS MEG

The great fifteenth century siege gun Mons Meg can be seen today outside St. Margaret's Chapel. The six ton bombard faces North across the city. From this vantage modern visitors to the castle will be able to see the city's Botanic Gardens which lie roughly 3.2 kilometres from the castle (almost 2 miles). It was on this site that one of the cannon's 150 kg (330lbs) gun stones was found to have landed, when it was fired from the Castle in celebration of the marriage of Mary Queen of Scots to the French dauphin Fran�ois II in 1558. Mons Meg has been defunct since her barrel burst on the 14th of October 1681 when firing a birthday salute for the Duke of Albany.

TRADITIONS AT EDINBURGH CASTLE

• MILITARY FUNCTION

Although the castle is a tourist attraction, it still has a function as a military headquarters of the British Army. The main barrack block houses the headquarters of the 52nd Infantry Brigade, the Regimental Headquarters of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and the Headquarters and museum of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys). Also within the Castle is the museum of the Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment). Both museums are open to the public and entrance is free (for those already within the castle).

• MILITARY TATTOO

A series of spectacular performances known as the Edinburgh Military Tattoo takes place on the Esplanade each year during the month of August. The basis of the performance is a parade of the pipes and drums of the Scottish regiments, but after more than fifty years, the Tattoo has developed a complex format which includes many invited performers as diverse as (in 2006) a Choir of Ugandan orphans and a Kung Fu troupe. The climax of the evening is the haunting sound of a lone piper playing a pibroch in memory of dead comrades in arms from the castle battlements, followed by the tremendous noise of the massed bands joining in a medley of Scotland's most rousing tunes. Because of the enormous popularity of the Tattoo it is broadcast in Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

• ONE O'CLOCK GUN

The One O'Clock Gun is fired every day (except Sunday) at precisely 13:00, allowing citizens and visitors to check their clocks and watches. The origin of the tradition lies in the days before accurate timepieces, when sailing ships in the Firth of Forth needed a reliable means to check and reset their chronometers.

In 1861 Captain Wauchope, a Scottish Naval Officer in the Royal Navy invented the time ball, still seen today on top of Nelson's Monument, Calton Hill. At one o'clock the ball drops giving the signal to sailors, but this meant that someone would have to be looking out for it and it often couldn't be seen in foggy weather.

So, in the same year the gun was fired simultaneously to the time ball dropping. Originally an 18-pound muzzle loading cannon which needed four men to load and fire was fired from the Half Moon Battery. The gun could be easily heard by ships in Leith Harbour (2 miles away) The cannon was replaced with a 25 pound Howitzer in 1953, and more recently by the L118 Light Gun. It 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). Because sound travels slowly (approx. 343 m/s), maps have been produced to show the actual time when the sound of the gun was heard at various locations in Edinburgh.

Although the gun is no longer required for its original purpose, the ceremony has become a popular tourist attraction. One of the District Gunners, Staff Sergeant Thomas McKay MBE - popularly known as "Tam the Gun" - was the longest running District Gunner to fire the One O'Clock Gun, from 1979 until his death in 2005. He also opened a small museum about the Gun in the castle and was seen every Hogmanay signalling the new year by firing his gun.

The Gun is also fired to mark the arrival of the New Year as part of Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations.

VISIT EDINBURGH CASTLE WITH TOURS OF EDINBURGH

Scotland's capital has a magic that seldom fails to captivate visitors. Modern sophistication melds with staunch tradition from both ends of the social spectrum to create a unique whole, built in noble stone in the most spectacular of settings. It is no exaggeration to describe it as one of the most lovable, and livable, cities on the planet.

Exploring Edinburgh on foot is a delight, and is always punctuated by views: the majestic castle clinging to its volcanic crag, Arthur's Seat like a chunk of the Highlands dropped into town, or the glimmering Firth of Forth.

Click here for Edinburgh Tours, Travel and Activities with Viator.com

For more information on the Edinburgh Castle, visit the source at Wikipedia

- home - attractions - europe - scotland - edinburgh castle

Edinburgh, Scotland