Editing Edinburgh Castle (section)

===Military buildings===
[[File:Edinburgh Castle (9860908625).jpg|thumb|left|Governor's House (1742)]]

The areas to the north and west of the Argyle Tower are largely occupied by military buildings erected after the castle became a major garrison in the early 18th century.<ref>MacIvor (1993), p. 89.</ref> Adjacent to Mills Mount are the 18th-century cart sheds, now tea rooms.<ref name=Salter49/> The Governor's House to the south was built in 1742 as accommodation for the Governor, Storekeeper, and Master Gunner,<ref>MacIvor (1993), p. 95.</ref> and was used until the post of Governor became vacant in the later 19th century; it was then used by nurses of the castle hospital. Today, it functions as an officers' [[mess]], and as the office of the [[List of Governors of Edinburgh Castle|Governor]] since the restoration of the post in 1936.<ref>Hardie, p.53</ref>

[[File:The New Barracks, Edinburgh Castle.JPG|thumb|The New Barracks (1799)]]

South of the Governor's House is the New Barracks, completed in 1799 to house 600 soldiers, and replacing the outdated accommodation in the Great Hall. They now house the Regimental Headquarters of the [[Royal Regiment of Scotland]] and the Regimental Headquarters of the [[Royal Scots Dragoon Guards]] (Carabiniers and Greys) as well as the [[Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum]]. The latter was opened in 1995 by the regiment's Colonel, Queen [[Elizabeth II]].<ref>Hardie, p. 87.</ref> Also nearby, in the former Royal Scots [[drill hall]], constructed in 1900, is the [[The Museum of the Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment) and the Royal Regiment of Scotland|Regimental Museum of the Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment)]].<ref>Hardie, p. 92.</ref> The [[military prison]] was built in 1842 as a detention block for the castle garrison and was extended in the 1880s. It was last used in 1923, when the garrison moved to the city's Redford Barracks.<ref name=MacIvor107/>

==== National War Museum of Scotland ====
{{main|National War Museum}}

West of the Governor's House, a store for munitions was built in 1747–48 and later extended to form a courtyard, in which the main gunpowder magazine also stood.<ref>McWilliam, ''et al''.. p. 102.</ref> In 1897 the area was remodelled as a military hospital, formerly housed in the Great Hall. The building to the south of this courtyard is now the National War Museum of Scotland, which 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, when it was located in the [[#Queen Anne Building|Queen Anne Building]].<ref>MacIvor (1993), p. 123.</ref> It covers [[Military history of Scotland|Scotland's military history]] over the past 400 years, and includes a wide range of military artefacts, such as uniforms, medals and weapons. The exhibits also illustrate the history and causes behind the many wars in which Scottish soldiers have been involved. Beside the museum is Butts Battery, named after the [[archery]] butts (targets) formerly placed here.<ref>Tabraham (2008), p. 38.</ref> Below it are the Western Defences, where a [[postern]], named the West Sally Port, gives access to the western slope of the rock.<ref>Tabraham (2008), p. 41.</ref>