The History of Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle stands on a 340 million year old basalt 'plug', an extinct volcano 400ft above the city. It has been a symbol of power, a fortress and a national icon throughout Scotland's long and colourful history. It is the most visited of Scotland's historic buildings and is part of Edinburgh's World Heritage Site.

Steeped in history
Edinburgh castle was the site of the first gathering of the Scottish Parliament in 1140 and there has been a fortress on this rock since at least 1093. Famously, Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her son James at the castle, who grew up to unite the crowns of Scotland and England as King James VI and James I.

It has seen sieges and battles between English and Scottish forces and housed many a criminal awaiting execution on Castle Hill. There were different grades of confinement depending on the class of prisoner, from dark dungeons for peasants to pleasant apartments for royalty. During the war with America in the late 18th century, up to 1000 Americans were imprisoned here and they left behind graffiti to prove it - one of the earliest depictions of the Stars and Stripes is to be found on the walls here.

Crown jewels
The story of the jewels at the castle is worthy of a Harry Potter novel. The jewels, known as 'the honours', include the crown, sword and sceptre, which were first used together at the coronation of Mary Queen of Scots. But since the Union in 1707, they had lain forgotten until February 1818 when a small group of people, including Walter Scott, broke down the door of the Crown Room and forced open the great oak chest. There they discovered the glittering 16th-century regalia, the oldest in the UK. The Crown of Scotland was used again on 1st July 1999 for the opening of Scottish Parliament.

Guns at one o'clock
First fired on 7th June 1861, the castle's 'One O'Clock Gun' is still fired at 1300 hours every day except Sundays, Christmas and Good Friday. It was originally fired as a signal to ships in the Port of Leith and the Firth of Forth. An older, medieval siege gun, called Mons Meg after the place in Belgium where it was made, was last fired in 1681. It weighs over six tonnes and needed 100 men to move it.

Stone of Destiny
Also known as the stone of Sconce (see The History of Westminster Abbey) this was the ancient seat on which Scottish Kings were crowned until Longshanks (Edward I) took it from Scone Abbey in 1296 to Westminster Abbey where it was sat beneath the Coronation Chair. It came back to Edinburgh Castle in 1996 and will leave only when there is a coronation in Westminster Abbey.

Feature supplied by Heritage magazine. About Heritage Magazine.

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