Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is an ancient stronghold on the Castle Rock in the centre of the city of Edinburgh. Used by assorted military forces since 900 AD, it was only transferred from Ministry of Defence administration recently. It lies at the top of the Royal Mile, the principal street of the Old Town which leads down to Holyrood Palace. As Scotland's leading paid tourist attraction, the castle is open to visitors, and is managed by Historic Scotland.

The castle is situated atop The Castle Rock, a volcanic crag. Three sides are protected by sheer cliffs and access to the castle was limited to a steep road on the fourth (eastern) side. Historically there was a loch on the north side of the castle, called the Nor Loch. The loch was drained in the Georgian era when the New Town was constructed, as by this point the castle had lost much of its defensive role and the loch was used as an open sewer. The loch is visible in the painting to the right.

The castle is entered via the Esplanade, which is a long sloping cobbled area between the castle proper and the top of the Royal Mile. The castle proper is entered through a gatehouse in front of this battery, that leads to a road that ascends while following around to the right of the battery. This road leads through an older portcullis gatehouse and up to the courtyard in the centre of the castle.

Military Tattoo

The Esplanade is where the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo is held, and in previous times was a parade and drill area for the castle garrison. On the painting to the right the Esplanade would be at the left of the picture, but has not yet been constructed. From the esplanade the main feature of the castle visible is the cylindrical or drum shaped battery, called the Half Moon Battery, which is visible on the left of the painting. It was built in 1574.

Crown Square

Crown Square is at the heart of the castle. It is surrounded by the former Royal Apartments, the Great Hall and the tower containing the Honours of Scotland and, since 1996, the Stone of Destiny.

Within the Royal Apartments, there is a small room known as Birth Chamber or Mary Room where King James VI of Scotland was born.

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.

Scottish National War Memorial

The Scottish National War Memorial was built after World War I to commemorate Scots who had fought and died in the war, and in subsequent conflicts. It was designed by Sir Robert Lorimer and was formally opened on 14th July 1927. External link

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.

Kirk of the Canongate

The Parish Church of the Castle is the Kirk of the Canongate, where the Governor of the Castle has his own pew.

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 when sailing ships in the Firth of Forth were able to check and reset their chronometers in the days before acurate timepieces were available.^*

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 is now fired form Mill's Mount Battery on the North face of the Castle. 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.

Military Functions

Although the castle is a tourist attraction, it is still used as one of the main headquarters of the British Army in Scotland; it serves as the Headquarters of the Scottish Division, and the British 2nd Infantry Division as well as being the Regimental Headquarters of the Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) and 5 Regiment, Royal Military Police.

Part of the Castle deemed Nova Scotia

In 1621, King James I granted Sir William Alexander, the land between New England and Newfoundland as New Scotland (Nova Scotia). The Baronets of Nova Scotia were created, as a settlement. Under the Scots Law, Baronets had to "take sasine" by receiving the symbolic "earth and stone" on actual land of Nova Scotia . A part of Edinburgh Castle was deemed granted to Sir William Alexander as part of Nova Scotia. Baronets could receive their patents in Edinburgh rather than London, and an area of Edinburgh Castle was declared Nova Scotian territory for this purpose. In return, they had to pay Sir William Alexander 1000 merks for his "past charges in discoverie of the said country". The law has never been repealed and now is under the Esplanade.

External links

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