Edinburgh's oldest buildings: 11 photos of the oldest buildings in Capital, from St Margaret's Chapel to St Giles’ Cathedral
Edinburgh is envied the world over for its old buildings, boasting a higher concentration of ancient structures than most European cities.
By Gary Flockhart
Published 26th Sep 2022, 13:55 BST
Updated 26th Sep 2022, 13:55 BST
For anyone with an interest in history, a stroll through Scotland’s postcard-perfect capital is an absolute must.
Edinburgh has an incredible number of ancient buildings – many of them built over 500 years ago.
Take a look through our gallery, featuring 11 of the oldest buildings in the city.
Take a look through our gallery, featuring 11 of the oldest buildings in the city.
5. St Giles, High Street
Founded in the 12th century, St Giles’ Cathedral can be considered one of Edinburgh’s oldest buildings. In its early days, St Giles’ was just a small stone kirk, which stood roughly on the site of the present-day nave. This church was burned down by an attacking English army in the 14th century and subsequently rebuilt in spectacular fashion, owing the building its current look with distinct crown steeple. Although most of the church dates from later centuries, there are elements contained deep within which are considerably ancient. St Giles’ original 12th century doorway survived until just 200 years ago. Despite not having been a seat of bishops since 1638, St Giles’, similar to Glasgow Cathedral, has retained its title as a cathedral. Photo: Picture: TSPL
In Edinburgh, there is a small area adjacent to Holyrood Palace referred to on street signs as Croft-an-Righ. On the face of it, this would seem to simply be a slightly anglicised version of Gaelic Croit an Rìgh '˜the King's croft'. This would seem appropriate given the royal location, indeed, it is referred to as such in a 19th-century Gaelic book. The name as it appears now however is misleading; in 1781 it is on record as Croft Angry. Several other places with such a name exist in Scotland, including two in Fife. These are Scots names containing croft with an element angry; this is of uncertain meaning as it seems only to have survived in place-names; it is related to German anger ‘(small) meadow’. Possibly it means a ‘fenced grazing in the croft or arable infield’ or perhaps more simply ‘grassland’. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
A hidden gem dating back to the 1590s, Riddle’s Court is a picturesque Category A-listed merchant’s tenement situated on the Royal Mile. Each room reveals a different chapter of its 500-year history - from a painted ceiling installed for a royal banquet to one created for students to dine under. For more information, visit www.riddlescourt.org.uk Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Thought to have been completed in 1130 by King David in honour of his mother, Queen Margaret, St Margaret’s Chapel has seen a fair few changes in Edinburgh. In fact, as the oldest building in the entire city, it’s seen all the changes. The chapel is situated within the walls of Edinburgh Castle, which may sound like a safe place to be until you consider that the castle has historically been the most besieged location in the whole of Britain. Once you factor in the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s and the fact that the chapel lay disused for centuries afterwards - save for a spell as a storage room for gunpowder - it’s actually quite incredible that it’s still standing. Today’s chapel has since been tastefully restored, first by Queen Victoria in the 1850s, who made it usable once more and reintroduced stained glass to its five windows, and again in 1922. Despite the rather compact little chapel only being able to hold around 20 people, modern weddings and baptisms are a regular occurrence at the 900-year-old place of worship. Photo: Stuart Cobley