New College Quadrangle and Tolbooth Church Spire

Category

Library Item

Item no

8153

Title

New College quadrangle and Tolbooth Church spire

Description

Three men stand at the bottom of the steps in the New College quadrangle in Edinburgh, two of the men wear mortarboard hats and cloaks. In between the two towers with cupola roofs is the spire of the Highland Tolbooth Church with its many pinnacles.

Artist / maker

Ross, Thomas

Date

1869

Size

36.4 x 26.6 cm

Type

Watercolour

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

New College is situated on Mound Place, just off the Mound in Edinburgh. It was designed by William Playfair and completed in 1850. It originally housed the Free Church College, and is part of a group of buildings constructed for the Free Church of Scotland in the mid 19th century. The building has , since 1935, been home to the University of Edinburgh's Faculty of Divinity.

The Tolbooth Church, otherwise known as Victoria Hall or St John's Highland Tolbooth Kirk, was built in 1842-44 as both a parish church and a meeting place for the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The General Assembly ceased to use the building when they relocated to 'Assembly Hall' on the Mound in 1929. The Church's congregation left the building in 1979, amalgamating with the congregation of Greyfriars Kirk. The Church fell into disuse but was revived in 1999 as 'The Hub', an information centre, ticket office, and venue for the Edinburgh International Festival.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Quadrangles (Courtyards)

Architecture > Architectural features > Spires

Architecture > Architectural features > Stairways

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Edinburgh areas > Royal Mile

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Religion > Religious facilities > Protestant churches

(55°56′59″N, 3°11′43″W)

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