Pollock Halls of Residence

Category

Library Item

Item no

7022

Title

Pollock Halls of Residence, Edinburgh

Description

Edinburgh University's Pollock Halls of Residence stand in front of the rocky outline of Arthur's Seat. In the foreground is an area of uncultivated grassland and to the side of the buildings there are cars parked in a car park.

Artist / maker

Jackman, S. G.

Date

1967

Size

16.2 x 24.4 cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Pollock Halls, the University of Edinburgh's principal halls of residence, is situated immediately to the south-west of Holyrood Park. The site, along with two 19th century buildings, was gifted to the university by Sir Donald Pollock after the Second World War. A series of new buildings, extensions and redevelopments over the subsequent decades have greatly expanded the site's capacity.

Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags form an unmistakable part of Edinburgh's skyline. Rising 247 metres above sea level Arthur's Seat is one of five visible volcanic vents left over from volcanic activity in the area 354 million years ago. The peak's name is possibly a corruption of the gaellic Ard-na-saith, meaning height of arrows, indicating a past usage as a practice place for archery. It is also known as the Lion's Head. Salisbury Crags are an igneous sill, composed of cooled magma during the period of volcanic activity and later shaped by glacial erosion. The steep cliffs of the crags provided natural defence for early human inhabitants. Traces of a stone rampart dating from the early part of the first millennium BC have been found there. More recently James Hutton's studies of the Crags led to the release in 1788 of his 'Theory of the Earth', the work which established him in the eyes of many as the father of modern geology.

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Related subjects

Education > Educational facilities > Halls of residence

Homes > Residential buildings > Flats

Landscape > Land > Grassland

Landscape > Land > Rock formations

Places > Edinburgh areas > Newington

Places > Edinburgh Landmarks > Arthur's Seat

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

(55°56′24″N, 3°10′23″W)

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