HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Old College is a late 18th-century to early 19th-century building of the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
. It is located on South Bridge, and presently houses parts of the University's administration, the
University of Edinburgh School of Law Edinburgh Law School, founded in 1707, is a school within the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom dedicated to research and teaching in law. It is located in the historic Old College, the original site of the University. Two of ...
, and the Talbot Rice Gallery. Originally called the "New College", it was designed by
Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...
to replace a number of older buildings previously built on the site of the former Kirk o' Field, and after considerable delays was completed to a modified design by William Henry Playfair, except for the dome added later. It is a
Category A listed building Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses *Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally *Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) *Categories (Peirce) *C ...
.


History

Efforts by Edinburgh Town Council to build a college led to
James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until h ...
granting a
royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
in 1582 for what became known as the "Tounis College". On a visit in 1617 he expressed a wish that it be called "King James's College" and this became its formal name, but the older title remained in use for the town's college, which was also called ''Academia'' and sometimes university. The college occupied the grounds of the former Kirk o' Field
collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a Church (building), church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college (canon law), college of canon (priest), canons: a non-monastic or secular clergy, "secular" community of clergy, organis ...
, bounded on the south by the Flodden Wall, and on the north by Jamaica Street, about midway down the slope to the
Cowgate The Cowgate (Scots language, Scots: The Cougait) is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about southeast of Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site. The street is part of the lower level of Edinburgh's Old Town, Edinburgh, ...
. On its west boundary, Horse Wynd led to the Potterrow Port. The church itself had extended east from there. Its site formed the main quadrangle, the High College, two smaller quadrangles lay to its north. The old Library formed the east edge of the main buildings, from there the College Gardens extended further east to the Royal Infirmary on the Blackfriars site. By 1763 the university was internationally famous, but the buildings were inadequate and partly in a ruinous state. The Principal of the University William Robertson warned of dilapidation and overcrowding, a pamphlet of 1768 called unsuccessfully for subscriptions to build new teaching-rooms and houses. South Bridge was routed across the College Gardens, in a December 1784 letter Andrew Dalzell wrote "It is now resolved to build a bridge across the Cowgate, passing between the College and the Infirmary. It is thought that when the ''posteriors'' of the College are exposed, people will be shamed into building a new College." Soon after this, James Gregory wrote an influential letter to Dundas, which was more successful in raising subscriptions. The South Bridge Act 1785 was passed in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom on 21 April 1785 and in 1789 taxes were raised to fund a new University building in Edinburgh to a plan prepared by
Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...
. Adam's plan proposed a building with its main entrance from South Bridge leading to a "First Court", giving access to professor's lodgings, followed by a square Great Court, around which the main academic halls and lecture rooms would be arranged. The South Bridge was built, and opened for traffic in March 1788. The "Foundation-stone of the New College Of Edinburgh" was laid on 6 November 1789, and the old buildings along the north boundary were demolished. The "theatre for dissections", built around 1760 to the east of the library for Professor of Anatomy
Alexander Monro (secundus) Alexander Monro of Craiglockhart and Cockburn (22 May 1733 – 2 October 1817) was a Scottish anatomist, physician and medical educator. He is typically known as or Junior to distinguish him as the second of three generations of physicians o ...
, had been demolished for the bridge. On 31 March 1790 Monro laid the foundation stone for his new Anatomical Theatre at the north west corner of the building, it came into use in October 1792. By then several apartments on the north side were in use, but roofs were incomplete. Progress was slowed by the death of Robert Adam and the outbreak of the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
. The Roman Doric columns of the portico at the South Bridge entrance were erected, but funds ran out, and by 1793 all work had stopped. In 1815 further funds were raised, and work recommenced. Plans were submitted by nine architects showing their proposals to continue the design work, with the outcome that William Henry Playfair was appointed architect in 1817. Playfair's design clove close to Adam's but combined the two courts into a single large quadrangle. By 1827 the building was virtually complete with the exception of fitting out the
library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...
, and construction of a dome which Adam had proposed at the east end of the building. This was left out as a cost saving, and the work was completed about four years later. The dome was added in 1887, to a design by Sir
Robert Rowand Anderson Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, (5 April 1834 – 1 June 1921) was a Scottish Victorian architect. Anderson trained in the office of George Gilbert Scott in London before setting up his own practice in Edinburgh in 1860. During the 1860s his m ...
, and funded by a donation from
Gorgie Gorgie ( ) is a densely populated area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located in the west of the city and borders Murrayfield, Ardmillan and Dalry. Name The name is thought to be Brythonic in origin. Early forms suggest it derives from ''gor g ...
industrialist and politician, Robert Cox. The gilded statue of Youth which crowns the dome is by John Hutchison. The university building, identified for a time as "the New College", was later known as "the College".
.
Theology professor
Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest ninete ...
resigned in the
Disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of S ...
, and in November gave the inaugural address at the opening of the Free Church College, which became the New College. In the early 20th century the South Bridge university building became known as the Old College. In 1935, following reunion of the
Free Church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions fro ...
with the Church of Scotland, the university Faculty of Divinity merged into the Free College on The Mound. The large bronze war memorial at the west end of the quadrangle was designed by Sir
Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Goth ...
in 1922 and sculpted by Pilkington Jackson the following year. The quadrangle was never completed at the time the College was originally constructed. However, based on a proposal from architects Simpson & Brown the quadrangle now contains a central grass lawn encircled by a paved terrace of honey-coloured stone. The new quadrangle is both a venue for graduation celebrations and festival events, as well as providing a more inviting entrance for the Talbot Rice Gallery.


Gallery

Old College, Edinburgh University (7002983883).jpg, Old College's Neoclassical style Old College (8205739857).jpg, Old College at nightfall Raeburn Room, Old College, Edinburgh.jpg, Raeburn Room Staircase in Old College, Edinburgh.jpg, Staircase Playfair Library, Old College, Edinburgh (48815493607).jpg, Playfair Library West College Street Bridge, Edinburgh.jpg, West College St. Bridge, connected to the
National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened in ...
Edinburgh University - Old College - geograph.org.uk - 2190341.jpg, The dome during Winter Old College Sunset (25065364766).jpg, View of the dome during sunset Figure of Youth on the dome of Old College Edinburgh.JPG, Figure of Youth on the dome of Old College, by John Hutchison


References

*


External links


University of Edinburgh
* * * {{Authority control School buildings completed in 1790 Old Town, Edinburgh Buildings and structures of the University of Edinburgh Robert Adam buildings Listed educational buildings in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh Neoclassical architecture Robert Rowand Anderson buildings 1790 establishments in Scotland Domes