Banqueting Hall, Edinburgh Castle (Great Hall)

Category

Library Item

Item no

2022

Title

Banqueting Hall, Edinburgh Castle (Great Hall)

Description

The interior of the Banqueting, or Great Hall in Edinburgh Castle with hammerbeam ceiling. Throughout are suits of armour, mortars, pistols, swords, spears, helmets, shields and flags. Many weapons hang from the walls. Chandeliers hang from the roof. The entrance has fretwork on the wooden doors.

Artist / maker

Inglis, Alexander Adam

Date

1915

Size

8.5 x 14 cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

The Great Hall in Edinburgh Castle was built by James IV in the early 16th century. It was used for meetings of the Scottish Parliament prior to the completion of nearby Parliament House in 1640. The Great Hall, like its successor, boasts an impressive hammerbeam roof.

Edinburgh Castle is perhaps the city's most famous landmark. It stands on top of the remaining core of an extinct volcano. Excavations suggest the site was inhabited by Bronze Age man as early as 900 BC, and was fortified by Iron Age man roughly 2000 years ago. The oldest part of the present day Castle is St Margaret's Chapel, built in the early 12th century. The Castle holds the Honours of Scotland and more recently has welcomed back the Stone of Scone otherwise known as the Stone of Destiny.

Find out more about visiting Edinburgh Castle at Historic Environment Scotland.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Halls

Architecture > Architectural features > Roofs

Clothing and dress > Garments > Armour

Homes > Residential buildings > Castles and palaces

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

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