Editing Edinburgh Castle (section)

=== Crown Square ===

[[File:Edinburgh-Castle.jpg|thumb|right|The Royal Palace in Crown Square]]

Crown Square, also known as Palace Yard, was laid out in the 15th century, during the reign of [[James III of Scotland|King James III]], as the principal courtyard of the castle. The foundations were formed by the construction of a series of large stone [[vault (architecture)|vaults]] built onto the uneven Castle Rock in the 1430s. These vaults were used as a state prison until the 19th century, although more important prisoners were held in the main parts of the castle.<ref>Tabraham (2004), pp. 10, 13.</ref> The square is formed by the Royal Palace to the east, the Great Hall to the south, the Queen Anne Building to the west, and the National War Memorial to the north.<ref>MacIvor (1993), p. 137.</ref>

==== Royal Palace ====
The Royal Palace comprises the former royal apartments, which were the residence of the later [[House of Stuart|Stewart]] monarchs. It was begun in the mid 15th century, during the reign of [[James IV of Scotland|James IV]],<ref>MacIvor (1993), p. 62.</ref> and it originally communicated with David's Tower.<ref name=Salter49/> The building was extensively remodelled for the visit of [[James VI and I|James VI]] to the castle in 1617, when [[state apartment]]s for the King and Queen were built.<ref>MacIvor (1993), pp. 72–74.</ref> On the ground floor is the Laich (low) Hall, now called the King's Dining Room, and a small room, known as the Birth Chamber or Mary Room, where James VI was born to Mary, Queen of Scots, on 19 June 1566. The commemorative [[Scottish Renaissance painted ceilings|painted ceiling]] and other decorations were added in 1617. On the first floor is the vaulted Crown Room, built in 1615 to house the [[Honours of Scotland]]: the [[Crown of Scotland|crown]], the sceptre and the sword of state.<ref>MacIvor (1993), p. 51.</ref> The [[Stone of Scone]], upon which the monarchs of Scotland were traditionally crowned, has been kept in the Crown Room since its return to Scotland in 1996. To the south of the palace is the Register House, built in the 1540s to accommodate state archives.<ref>McWilliam ''et al'', p. 94.</ref>

==== Great Hall ====
[[File:Great Hall panoramic view-Edinburgh Castle.jpg|thumb|center|800px|Great Hall panoramic view-Edinburgh Castle]]
<!--[[File:The Great Hall, Edinburgh Castle - geograph.org.uk - 1299970.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Interior of the Great Hall]]-->

The Great Hall measures {{convert|29|by|12.5|m}}, and was the chief place of state assembly in the castle, although there is no evidence that the [[Parliament of Scotland]] ever met here, as is sometimes reported.<ref name=MIhall>MacIvor (1993), pp. 49–50.</ref> Historians have disagreed over its dating, although it is usually ascribed to the reign of [[James IV of Scotland|King James IV]], and is thought to have been completed in the early years of the 16th century.<ref>McWilliam ''et al.'', p.97, give 1511 as the completion date; MacIvor (1993), p.49, gives 1503, although both note that interpretations vary.</ref> The decorative carved stone [[corbel]]s supporting the roof have [[Renaissance]] detailing, which has been compared to works at [[Château de Blois|Blois]], France, of around 1515, indicating that the arts in Scotland were relatively advanced at this time.<ref name=MIhall/> It is one of only two medieval halls in Scotland with an original [[hammerbeam roof]].<ref>The other is at [[Darnaway Castle]] in Moray. Tabraham (1997), p. 73.</ref>

Following [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s seizure of the castle in 1650, the Great Hall was converted into a barracks for his troops; and in 1737 it was subdivided into three storeys to house 312 soldiers.<ref name=BoS85-86/> Following the construction of the New Barracks in the 1790s, it became a military hospital until 1897. It was then restored by Hippolyte Blanc in line with contemporary ideas of medieval architecture.<ref name="MI114"/> The Great Hall is still occasionally used for ceremonial occasions, and has been used as a venue on [[Hogmanay]] for [[BBC Scotland]]'s ''[[Hogmanay Live]]'' programme. To the south of the hall is a section of curtain wall from the 14th century with a parapet of later date.<ref name=Salter49/>

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==== Queen Anne Building ====

[[File:Edinburgh Castle buildings.JPG|thumb|The Queen Anne Building (centre-right)]]

In the 16th century, this area housed the kitchens serving the adjacent Great Hall, and was later the site of the Royal Gunhouse.<ref>Tabraham (2008), p. 56.</ref> The present building was named after [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]] and was built during the attempted [[Planned French Invasion of Britain (1708)|Jacobite invasion]] by the [[James Francis Edward Stuart|Old Pretender]] in 1708. It was designed by Captain Theodore Dury, military engineer for Scotland, who also designed Dury's Battery, named in his honour, on the south side of the castle in 1713.<ref>MacIvor (1993), p. 90.</ref> The Queen Anne Building provided accommodation for [[Staff Officer]]s, but after the departure of the Army it was remodelled in the 1920s as the Naval and Military Museum, to complement the newly opened [[Scottish National War Memorial]].<ref name=Salter49/> The museum later moved to the former hospital in the western part of the castle, and the building now houses a function suite and an education centre.<ref>Tabraham (2008), p. 36.</ref>

==== Scottish National War Memorial ====
{{main|Scottish National War Memorial}}

[[File:EdinburghSNWM.JPG|thumb|left|The Scottish National War Memorial]]

The Scottish National War Memorial occupies a converted barrack block on the north side of Crown Square. It stands on the site of the medieval St. Mary's Church which was rebuilt in 1366, and was converted into an armoury in 1540. It was demolished in 1755, and the masonry reused to build a new North Barrack Block on the site.<ref>MacIvor (1993), p. 98.</ref> Proposals for a Scottish National War Memorial were put forward in 1917, during the First World War, and the architect [[Robert Lorimer|Sir Robert Lorimer]] was appointed in 1919. Construction began in 1923, and the memorial was formally opened on 14 July 1927 by the [[Edward VIII|Prince of Wales]].<ref name=snwmhist>{{cite web |url=http://www.snwm.org/website/history/index.html#A1 |title=History of the Scottish National War Memorial |publisher=Scottish National War Memorial |author=Henderson, Diana M |access-date=19 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718210109/http://www.snwm.org/website/history/index.html#A1 |archive-date=18 July 2011 }}</ref> The exterior is decorated with [[gargoyle]]s and sculpture, while the interior contains monuments to individual regiments. The [[stained-glass]] windows are by [[Douglas Strachan]].<ref>McWilliam ''et al.'', pp. 99–100.</ref>

The memorial commemorates Scottish soldiers, and those serving with [[Scottish regiment]]s, who died in the two world wars and in more recent conflicts. Upon the altar within the Shrine, placed upon the highest point of the Castle Rock, is a sealed casket containing Rolls of Honour which list over 147,000 names of those soldiers killed in the First World War. After the Second World War, another 50,000 names were inscribed on Rolls of Honour held within the Hall, and further names continue to be added there.<ref name=snwmhist/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/server/show/conMemorial.2002 |title=Scottish National War Memorial |website=UK National Inventory of War Memorials |access-date=3 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705195806/http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/server/show/conMemorial.2002 |archive-date=5 July 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> The memorial is maintained by a charitable trust.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oscr.org.uk/search-charity-register/charity-extract/?charitynumber=sc009869 |title=Scottish National War Memorial, SC009869 |website=Scottish Charity Register |publisher=[[Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator]] |access-date=13 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330161932/http://www.oscr.org.uk/search-charity-register/charity-extract/?charitynumber=SC009869 |archive-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>