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Queensberry House is a building of 17th-century origin which is now a Category A listed building. It stands on the south side of the Canongate, Edinburgh, Scotland, incorporated into the Scottish Parliament complex on its north-west corner. It contains the office of the Presiding Officer, two Deputy Presiding Officers, the Parliament's Chief Executive, and other staff.
The mansion house was built in 1667 for Dame Margaret Douglas of Balmakellie. [1] [2] Archaeological excavations in advance of the building of the Scottish Parliament complex found evidence of metalworking in the kitchen, likely related to the assaying and refining of precious metals. Given that Lord Hatton was a Master of the Scottish Mint, the archaeologists have hypothesized that it may have been converted to a workshop to debase money from the Royal Mint. [3] Previous domestic buildings on the site included two dwellings which the master of the king's wine cellar Jerome Bowie bought in 1581 from the family of a prominent stone mason, Gilbert Cleuch. [4]
Maitland's house was bought by William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry in 1686. [5] He died in the house in 1695 and it then passed to his son, James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry, who was one of the Scottish peers signing the Treaty of Union in 1707. [6] The public reaction to his involvement in the treaty was harsh, as it was seen as treasonous and self-serving (he received titles and monies for his involvement), and his house was attacked by the Edinburgh mob. [7]
On his death in 1711 the house passed to his second son Charles Douglas who had been born in the house in 1698. [8] His wife, Catherine, Duchess of Queensberry, was the patroness of the poet John Gay who visited several times. [9]
With the opening of the New Town, many of the wealthy moved out of the area. The house ceased to be the principal residence of the dukes and was turned into rented accommodation. It was eventually sold to William Aitchison in 1801, who stripped the interior of all its fittings, like wooden panelling and fine fireplaces. [10]
From 1803 to 1996 the building was used as a hospital. This included a period during the cholera epidemic in the 1830s when it was specifically used as a cholera hospital. [11]
In the 1850s it was a House of Refuge and Night Asylum, i.e. a lodging house for homeless persons [12] and continued in this use until the Second World War. In 1945 it became a home for the elderly homeless on a more long-term basis for the individuals involved. It was acquired by the Scottish Government in 1997. [5]
Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus novel Set in Darkness , first published in 2000 is partly set in Queensberry House during the reconstruction for the new parliament building. [13]
The building is said to be haunted by the kitchen boy roasted and eaten by James Douglas, the mad Earl of Drumlanrig, in 1707. [14]
Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Reformation the Palace of Holyroodhouse was expanded further. The abbey church was used as a parish church until the 17th century, and has been ruined since the 18th century. The remaining walls of the abbey lie adjacent to the palace, at the eastern end of Edinburgh's Royal Mile. The site of the abbey is protected as a scheduled monument.
The Royal Mile is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century (1901), describing the city "with its Castle and Palace and the royal mile between", and was further popularised as the title of a guidebook by R. T. Skinner published in 1920, "The Royal Mile (Edinburgh) Castle to Holyrood(house)".
The Scottish Parliament Building is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Edinburgh. Construction of the building commenced in June 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) held their first debate in the new building on 7 September 2004. The formal opening by Queen Elizabeth II took place on 9 October 2004. Enric Miralles, the Catalan architect who designed the building, died before its completion.
St Mary's Abbey, Melrose is a partly ruined monastery of the Cistercian order in Melrose, Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks at the request of King David I of Scotland and was the chief house of that order in the country until the Reformation. It was headed by the abbot or commendator of Melrose. Today the abbey is maintained by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.
The Cowgate is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about 550 yards (500 m) southeast of Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site. The street is part of the lower level of Edinburgh's Old Town, which lies below the elevated streets of South Bridge and George IV Bridge. It meets the Grassmarket at its west end and Holyrood Road to the east.
William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry PC, also 3rd Earl of Queensberry and 1st Marquess of Queensberry, was a Scottish politician.
James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry and 1st Duke of Dover was a Scottish nobleman and a leading politician of the late 17th and the early 18th centuries. As Lord High Commissioner he was instrumental in negotiating and passing the Acts of Union 1707 with England, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Charles Douglas, 3rd Duke of Queensberry, 2nd Duke of Dover, was a Scottish nobleman, extensive landowner, Privy Counsellor and Vice Admiral of Scotland.
The Canongate is a street and associated district in central Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The street forms the main eastern length of the Royal Mile while the district is the main eastern section of Edinburgh's Old Town.
The Old Town is the name popularly given to the oldest part of Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh. The area has preserved much of its medieval street plan and many Reformation-era buildings. Together with the 18th/19th-century New Town, and West End, it forms part of a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Pilrig is an area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The name probably derives from the long field (rig) on which a peel tower (pil/peel) stood. There is evidence of a peel tower situated on an area of higher ground above the Water of Leith.
James Douglas, 3rd Marquess of Queensberry, known until 1711 as James Douglas, Earl of Drumlanrig, was a Scottish nobleman, the second son, and eldest to survive infancy, of James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry.
James Smith was a Scottish architect, who pioneered the Palladian style in Scotland. He was described by Colen Campbell, in his Vitruvius Britannicus (1715–1725), as "the most experienced architect of that kingdom".
George Drummond was a Scottish politician and accountant who served as the Lord Provost of Edinburgh multiple times between 1725 and 1764.
Headland Archaeology Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the RSK Group. Headland provides archaeological services and heritage advice to the construction industry.
Sir Alexander Ogilvy, 1st Baronet was a Scottish politician and judge, lord of session under the title Lord Forglen.
Parliament Square, Edinburgh, Scotland, is located off the High Street, part of the Royal Mile. The square is not a formal square, but consists of two sections surrounding St Giles Kirk on three sides: an L-shaped area to the east and south and another area on the west side of the church called West Parliament Square. The Edinburgh Mercat Cross is located on the east side of the square while an equestrian statue of Charles II of Scotland stands in front of the entrance to the Supreme Courts of Scotland adjoining Parliament House, on the west side. The Queensberry Memorial to the 5th Duke of Buccleuch, stands in West Parliament Square.
Whitefoord House (or occasionally Whiteford House is an 18th-century former mansion on the Canongate section of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. It stands on the north side of the Royal Mile obscured by more modern buildings, under a backdrop of Calton Hill.
Jerome Bowie was a servant of James VI of Scotland as a sommelier and Master of the Wine Cellar, in charge of the purchase and serving of wine.
Gilbert Cleuch was a Scottish stone mason based in Edinburgh.
55°57′07″N3°10′33″W / 55.9520°N 3.1759°W
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