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Parliament House, Edinburgh

 
Parliament House, Edinburgh

 
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Parliament House, Edinburgh
 
 
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Parliament House in Edinburgh
Edinburgh

Edinburgh ; is the Capital city of Scotland, a position it has held since 1437. It is the seventh largest city in the United Kingdom and the second largest Scottish City status in the United Kingdom after Glasgow....
, Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
, was home to the pre-1707 Parliament of Scotland
Parliament of Scotland

The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Independence Kingdom of Scotland.The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early thirteenth century, and the first meeting for which reliable evidence survives was at Kirkliston in 1235, during the reign of A...
, and now houses the Supreme Courts of Scotland. It is located in the Old Town
Old Town, Edinburgh

The Old Town of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has preserved its medieval plan and many Scottish Reformation-era buildings....
, just off the Royal Mile
Royal Mile

The Royal Mile is the popular name for the succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of Old Town, Edinburgh.As the name suggests, the Royal Mile is approximately one Mile long, and runs between two foci of History of Scotland in Scotland, from Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Castle Rock, Edinburgh down to Holyrood Abbey....
, beside St Giles Cathedral.

oldest part of Parliament House is Parliament Hall, which King Charles I had built as a permanent home for the parliament.






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Parliament House, Edinburgh
Parliament House in Edinburgh
Edinburgh

Edinburgh ; is the Capital city of Scotland, a position it has held since 1437. It is the seventh largest city in the United Kingdom and the second largest Scottish City status in the United Kingdom after Glasgow....
, Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
, was home to the pre-1707 Parliament of Scotland
Parliament of Scotland

The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Independence Kingdom of Scotland.The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early thirteenth century, and the first meeting for which reliable evidence survives was at Kirkliston in 1235, during the reign of A...
, and now houses the Supreme Courts of Scotland. It is located in the Old Town
Old Town, Edinburgh

The Old Town of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has preserved its medieval plan and many Scottish Reformation-era buildings....
, just off the Royal Mile
Royal Mile

The Royal Mile is the popular name for the succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of Old Town, Edinburgh.As the name suggests, the Royal Mile is approximately one Mile long, and runs between two foci of History of Scotland in Scotland, from Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Castle Rock, Edinburgh down to Holyrood Abbey....
, beside St Giles Cathedral.

Parliament Hall

The oldest part of Parliament House is Parliament Hall, which King Charles I had built as a permanent home for the parliament. It was completed in 1639. It has a dramatic hammerbeam roof
Hammerbeam roof

Hammerbeam roof, in architecture, the name given to a Gothic architecture open timber roof, of which the finest example is that over Westminster Hall ....
 made of Scandinavia
Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a historical and geographical subregion in northern Europe that includes the Scandinavian Peninsula. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; some authorities also include Finland and some might even include Iceland....
n oak
Oak

The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus , which are listed in the List of Quercus species, and some related genera, notably Lithocarpus....
, which may have been designed to evoke Parliament Hall at Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The Castle sits atop the Castle Hill, a volcanic Crag and tail, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation....
, a previous home to the Scottish court
Noble court

A royal or noble court, as an instrument of government broader than a court, comprises an extended household centred on a patron whose rule may govern law or be governed by it....
. The roof of the new Scottish Parliament building
Scottish Parliament Building

The Scottish Parliament Building is the home of the Scotland Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh, within the World Heritage Site in central Edinburgh....
 continues this tradition, and is supported by large laminated
Glued laminated timber

Glued laminated timber, also called Gluelam or Glulam, is a type of structural timber product composed of several layers of dimensioned lumber glue together....
 oak beams.

After the Act of Union 1707 the Parliament of Scotland
Parliament of Scotland

The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Independence Kingdom of Scotland.The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early thirteenth century, and the first meeting for which reliable evidence survives was at Kirkliston in 1235, during the reign of A...
 was adjourned, and the building ceased to be used for its original function.

Courts

Plan of Parliament House, Edinburgh, 1877
Even while the old Parliament was still in existence, parts of the buildings were used for legal cases, and afterwards this became the main function of the building. The two highest Scottish courts, the High Court of Justiciary
High Court of Justiciary

The High Court of Justiciary is the Supreme Courts of Scotland criminal justice of Scotland.The High Court is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal....
 for criminal
Criminal law

The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential for unique and often severe impositions as punishment for failure to comply....
 cases and the Court of Session
Court of Session

The Court of Session is the Supreme courts of Scotland civil court of Scotland. It is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal and sits exclusively in Parliament House, Edinburgh in Edinburgh....
 for civil
Private law

Private law is that part of a legal system that involves relationships between individuals. This includes the law of contracts or torts and the law of obligations....
 cases, sit in the building, though the High Court of Justiciary may sit elsewhere.

Libraries

The Advocates' Library
Advocates' Library

The Advocates' Library is a law library belonging to the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh, founded in 1682. Until 1925 it was the deposit library for Scotland, after which the role was taken on by the National Library of Scotland....
 was founded in 1682, and is currently located in a William Henry Playfair
William Henry Playfair

William Henry Playfair was one of the greatest Scottish architects of the 19th Century. His father James Playfair was also an architect and his uncles were John Playfair, the famous scientist, and William Playfair, an economist and pioneer of information graphics....
 designed building at the south of the buildings. It remains a heavily used legal resource. As well collecting legal works it was also a deposit library, and in 1925 the non-legal books in their collection were gifted to the new National Library of Scotland
National Library of Scotland

The National Library of Scotland is the legal deposit library of Scotland. It is based in a collection of buildings in Edinburgh city centre. The headquarters is on George IV Bridge, between the Edinburgh#Old Town and the University of Edinburgh quarter....
, which is located adjacent to the library, on George IV Bridge.

Alongside Parliament House is The Signet Library. It is a private library, funded by members of The Society of Writers to Her Majesty's Signet
Writers to the Signet

The Society of Writers to Her Majesty?s Signet is the oldest legal society in the world. It is a private society of Scotland solicitors. The Society dates back to 1594 and is part of the College of Justice....
, who are generally practising solicitor
Solicitor

In the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers, and a law practitioner will usually only hold one title....
s. The current building is located on the north side of the buildings. Construction began in 1810 to a design by Robert Reid
Robert Reid (architect)

Robert Reid was the Monarchy in the United Kingdom's architect and surveyor for Scotland from 1827 to 1839. He is responsible for a number of public works particularly the fa?ade of Parliament House, Edinburgh in Edinburgh, which houses the Court of Session....
, and it presents a classical
Classical architecture

Classical architecture is the set of building styles and techniques of Classical Greece, as used in ancient Greece, the Hellenistic period, and the Roman empire....
 front to Parliament Square. This facade wraps around Parliament House as well, and replaced the existing Scottish baronial facade.

See also

  • Scots law
    Scots law

    Scots law is a unique Legal systems of the world with an ancient basis in Roman law. Grounded in Codification Civil law dating back to the Corpus Juris Civilis, it also features elements of common law with Legal institutions of Scotland in the High Middle Ages sources....
  • Courts of Scotland
    Courts of Scotland

    The civil law , criminal law and heraldry court of law of Scotland are responsible for the administration of justice. They are constituted and governed by Scots law....