| Parliament House | |
|---|---|
Taigh na Pàrlamaid | |
 Parliament Square and Parliament House | |
 Interactive map of Parliament House | |
| General information | |
| Type | Houses of theSupreme Courts of Scotland (1707–) Parliament of Scotland (1639–1707) |
| Architectural style | Renaissance (1632–1640) Classical (1803–1810; 1827–1838) |
| Location | 2-11 Parliament Square,Edinburgh, Scotland, EH1 1RQ |
| Coordinates | 55°56′56″N03°11′26″W / 55.94889°N 3.19056°W /55.94889; -3.19056 |
| Current tenants | Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service |
| Construction started | 1632 |
| Opened | 1639; 386 years ago (1639) |
| Technical details | |
| Material | ashlar andcoursed rubble,timber andslate roofing |
| Floor count | Eight |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | James Murray (1631-40) Robert Reid (1803-10 and 1827-38) William Burn (1827-29) |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
Listed Building – Category A | |
| Official name | The Supreme Courts of Scotland excluding extensions onto Cowgate at southeast of site, 2-11 Parliament Square, Edinburgh |
| Designated | 14 December 1970 |
| Reference no. | LB27699 |
Parliament House (Scottish Gaelic:Taigh na Pàrlamaid), located in theOld Town inEdinburgh,Scotland, is a historicparliament andcourt building containing several buildings which now houses theSupreme Courts of Scotland, theScottish Land Court and theLands Tribunal for Scotland.[1] The oldest part of the complex, known as Parliament Hall, was home to theParliament of Scotland from 1639 to 1707, and was the world's first purpose-built parliament building. The complex is spread across seven floors, and contains 700 rooms, with the original building first designed and built by James Gordon of Rothiemay in 1649, costing £10,555 which was paid for by Edinburgh Town Council.[2][3]
Prior to the construction of Parliament House, theParliament of Scotland, theCourt of Session and thePrivy Council of Scotland all shared the same building which was located in theTolbooth in Edinburgh.[4] By 1632, it had become clear that the sharing of space between the three was inadequate, withCharles I demanding that Edinburgh Town Council provide a "suitable alternative".[4] As a result, the town council proposed plans to create a new purpose-built parliament building which would also house the Court of Session on the same site, but faced difficulties in securing funds for the construction.[4] The estimated cost was £11,630sterling, or £127,000Scots, the equivalent of £30 million by recent times. It was paid for by a number of subscriptions from Edinburgh residents, as well as a series of loans which "remained a burden on Edinburgh's finances for many years".[4]
The first meeting of the Parliament of Scotland to be held within the new Parliament House was held on 12 August 1639.[4] Following the ratification of theActs of Union which resulted in the Parliament of Scotland being subsumed into theParliament of Great Britain, the last meeting of the Parliament of Scotland occurred on 28 April 1707, leaving the Law Courts of Scotland as the sole occupier of Parliament House following the dissolution of the parliament.[4] An extension was erected at Parliament House and opened in September 1992.[5] Between 2007 and 2021, Parliament House was extensively refurbished at a cost of £5 million, including new offices, the inclusion of Judicial Training Suites, criminal courtrooms, DDA lifts and other fabric improvements.[6]
Located just off theRoyal Mile, besideSt Giles' Cathedral, Parliament House is also the headquarters of theFaculty of Advocates, theSociety of Writers to His Majesty's Signet, and theSociety of Solicitors in the Supreme Courts of Scotland. Other buildings in the complex include theAdvocates Library and theSignet Library.[7][8][9] The entire complex is a Category AListed building.[10]
In the 17th century, theParliament of Scotland did not have a dedicated permanent home. Between 1438 and 1561, it had usually met in theTolbooth inEdinburgh, a building which also housed theburgh council of Edinburgh and theCourt of Session.[11] From 1563 onwards Parliament regularly met in the chamber of the Court of Session, which was situated in the centralaisle ofSt Giles' Cathedral.[12] This chamber was becoming inadequate by the 1630s due to the increasing number of members of parliament. It was clear that Parliament required more suitable accommodation, there was a desire to restore St Giles’ solely to its original function as a place of worship, andCharles I requested that the burgh council provide a more commodious building. In March 1632, the council commissioned the building of a purpose-built parliamentary chamber, designed byJames Murray, theKing's Master of Works. The building cost £127,000Scots, most of which came from Edinburgh'scommon good fund, with the remainder funded by public subscription from the citizens of Edinburgh.[13]
Parliament House was built between 1632 and 1640 on the west side of the sloping ground between St Giles’ Cathedral and theCowgate which was occupied by the burial grounds of St Giles'. The burial grounds had ceased to be used for burials in 1566 (with the exception of the burial ofJohn Knox in 1572).[14][15] Threemanses on the site which were occupied by theministers of St Giles' were demolished to accommodate the new building.[16] Although Parliament House was not completed until 1640 it hosted the 1639 session of Parliament, which opened on 12 August 1639. The building was built on an L-shaped plan, with the main block having three storeys, with the Parliament Hall and the Laigh Hall or Laigh House on the upper two storeys, and below these there was anundercroft.[7] The two-storey south-east wing, known as the Treasury, contained chambers on each floor.[17]
The facade, overlooking Parliament Yard (laterParliament Square), was ofashlar, while the remainder of the building wasrubble-built with ashlar dressings. The principal entrance was surmounted by apediment containing theRoyal Arms of Scotland, between statues ofJustice andMercy, beneath which was theLatin inscription 'Stant His Felicia Regna' ("Kingdoms stand happy by these virtues"). The statues, which were the work of Alexander Mylne, were removed around 1824, when the entrance doorway was demolished. They were recovered in 1909 and now stand inside Parliament House.[18]
Parliament Hall, measuring 122 feet (40 m) by 49 feet (12 m), was used as the parliamentary chamber during sessions of parliament, and by the Court of Session when Parliament was not sitting.[19][20][21]
The main feature of Parliament Hall is the elaborate oak trussed flat roof supported on carved stonecorbels. It was constructed in 1637 by John Scott, the Edinburgh master wright. In the 17th and 18th centuries the walls were hung withtapestries and portraits ofScottish monarchs. Thestained glass Great Window, byWilhelm von Kaulbach andMax Emanuel Ainmiller, was erected in 1868 and commemorates the establishment of theCollege of Justice byJames V in 1532.[22]
James Howell visited Edinburgh in 1639 and wrote "there is a new Parliament House built here lately, and 'twas hoped his Majesty would have tane the maiden-head of it, and come hither to sit in person; and they did ill who advis'd him otherwise".[23]Charles I became the first monarch to attend Parliament in the hall when he was present at the August-November 1641 session.[24] The future monarchsJames VII andAnne attended the 1681 session.[25][26] Parliament Hall was also the venue for the parliamentary debates on theTreaty of Union between Scotland andEngland during the 1706-07 session.[27]
With theActs of Union 1707, the Parliament of Scotland was dissolved, and Parliament House ceased to be used for its main original purpose.[28] From then onwards the building was primarily used by the courts as the seat of theCourt of Session, theHigh Court of Justiciary, theAdmiralty Court, and theCourt of Exchequer. The national records of Scotland were moved from the Laigh Hall toGeneral Register House in 1789.[29] From 1707 until 1844 theLords Ordinary of the Court of Session sat in Parliament Hall, and as their courtroom the hall came to be known as theOuter House, while the judges of the Court of Session hearingappellate cases sat in one of the ground floor chambers in the south-east Treasury wing, which came to be known as theInner House.[30] Until the 19th century Parliament Hall was also, as the property of the town council, the main public hall of Edinburgh for the hosting of civic receptions. During music festivals held in 1815, 1819, and 1824, the hall hosted performances ofGeorge Frideric Handel'sMessiah andJoseph Haydn'sThe Creation.[31] A civic banquet was also held there during thevisit ofGeorge IV to Edinburgh in 1822.[32]
The early 19th century saw a series of changes. A new Court of Exchequer was built, and in 1808, when the Inner house was split into two divisions, the new courtroom for the Second Division was created to the west of Parliament Hall. Two courtrooms for Lords Ordinary were added south of Parliament Hall in 1818-20.[10] By 1830 the east range, the Court of Exchequer, was complete and by 1838 the south range was built providing courtrooms for the High Court of Justiciary, replacing the 17th century Inner House courtroom in the Treasury wing with two new Inner House courts. The Lords Ordinary finally moved out of Parliament Hall in 1844 when four new courtrooms were built on the site of the 1818-20 courts. The bank building of 1827-29 on the east of the site was incorporated into the courts in 1881-6. In 1907-09 the Outer House Courts due south of Parliament Hall were remodelled and extended.[10]
Today, Parliament House is the seat of theCourt of Session, the highestcivilcourt of Scotland. Most of the work of theHigh Court of Justiciary, thesupremecriminal court of Scotland, takes place in theJusticiary Building in theLawnmarket.[33] Parliament Hall now remains open as a meeting place for lawyers.[28]
Currently, Parliament House is owned by Scottish Courts Service and Faculty of Advocates.[34] In 2015, a debate began around "giving" the building back to the City of Edinburgh and its people following confirmation that the building was "gifted" to the Scottish Courts Service afterCity of Edinburgh Council raised questions with theScottish Government who owned the building.[34] Cllr Burns from City of Edinburgh Council said that he wished to "formulate the process" of the building being returned to the City of Edinburgh, following the announcement by thefirst minister of Scotland,Nicola Sturgeon, that the building would not be handed back, in which she said that the "title to Parliament Hall was taken by Scottish ministers in good faith and that was done with the full knowledge and consent of the council", further clarifying that the "Scottish Courts Service and Faculty of Advocates now have good title to that property".[34]
The building was previously part of the Common Good Fund of Edinburgh until 2006 when a "legal blunder" by the City of Edinburgh Council meant that the Scottish Government took “voluntary registration” of the title deeds of Parliament House.[34]
By 1899, the facade of the building had changed considerably and was styled in a neoclassical frontage style.[35] A number of new courtrooms was created in the building during the 1990s in the southeastern section of Parliament House.[35] In 2004, the original lintel from Parliament House which was removed during renovation works in the 1800s was installed above the debating chamber of the newScottish Parliament building located atHolyrood.[36] In 2004, a £60 million programme of refurbishment work began within Parliament House and its multiple complex of buildings.[37] In order for the works to commence, the Scottish Government decided to record a title of the building by way of a voluntary registration in theLand Registers of Scotland, however, the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland raised concerns as to whether Scottish Ministers actually owned the building in order to do so, and advised them to liaise with the City of Edinburgh Council who were originally thought to be the owners.[37] Despite questions over the legal ownership of the building, work commenced and was finally completed in 2013.[37]
Robert Reid designed the exterior of the building (1803-10 and 1827-38).[10] He gave the whole complex an overall unifiedClassicalfaçade on the north side. This Parliament Square façade was strongly influenced by theAdam style, in particular their unexecuted designs for the quadrants of theOld College of theUniversity of Edinburgh. The façade is a Classical, 3-storey, 31-bay, symmetrical U-plan, with a central advanced 5-bay pedimentedhexastyleportico, acornice and balustradedparapet with decorative panels inset, some surmounted by stonesphinxes.[10]
TheAdvocates Library was founded in 1682, and is located in theWilliam Henry Playfair-designed building (1830) to the west of the south end of Parliament Hall. It remains a heavily used legal resource. As well as collecting legal works, it was also adeposit library, and in 1925 the non-legal books in their collection were given to the newNational Library of Scotland, which is located next to the library, onGeorge IV Bridge.[38]
To the west of the north end of Parliament Hall is the Signet Library. It is a private library, funded by members of theSociety of Writers to Her Majesty's Signet, who are generally practisingsolicitors. Construction began in 1810 to a design by Robert Reid, and it presents aclassical front to Parliament Square.[8]
Beneath Parliament Hall is the Laigh Hall, the original use of which remains unclear, although it may have been used for subsidiary parliamentary meetings or perhaps as a storage space. In 1662 the legal registers of Scotland were removed from the 'register house' inEdinburgh Castle to the Laigh Hall, as were parliamentary and other records in 1689. The national records would continue to be stored in the Laigh Hall until 1789. Edinburgh's infamousMaidenguillotine was also stored in the Laigh Hall at one point.[39]
The two-storey south-east wing, known as the Treasury, contained an entrance lobby on the ground floor, with the Court of Session occupying the two ground floor chambers. The upper floor contained the Treasury Room (used by theTreasurer and the later Treasury Board), the Council Chamber (used by thePrivy Council), and the Exchequer Room (used by theCourt of Exchequer).[40] During parliamentary sessions all of these rooms would have been used by committees.[7]
| Preceded by | Home of theParliament of Scotland 1639–1707 | Succeeded by |
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