The Ballroom, Assembly Rooms on George St

Category

Library Item

Item no

28057

Title

The Ballroom, Assembly Rooms on George Street

Artist / maker

MacLean, Kevin

Date

2012

Type

Digital image

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

The Assembly Rooms in George Street, Edinburgh has always been a place for the fashionable society in Edinburgh to go to dance at balls, attend concerts and to be seen. The building was designed by John Henderson, who won a competition to design the new building. His prize (other than having it built) was 25 guineas. Sadly Mr Henderson died mid-way through its construction (which was taken over by his father David, a Stonemason) and did not see it open its doors in January 1787 for its inaugural event, the Huntsman's Ball.

Over the years the Assembly Rooms have been added to and its use became more varied. Events such as banquets, musical events, public gatherings, political rallies featuring political figures such as Gladstone and author readings from the likes of Dickens and Thackeray. It was in The Assembly Rooms that Sir Walter Scott announced that he was the author of the Waverley novels.

In 2011 an 18 month project began to extensively refurbish the Assembly Rooms. This project was designed by LDN architects and the building/construction work was done by Balfour Beatty. The 9.3 Million pound project was financed by a number of organizations: City of Edinburgh Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Environment Scotland, Scottish Government and Creative Scotland. The aim was to be sensitive to the history of the building and the renovation aimed to keep the Georgian style and character of the building intact whilst developing the building for modern day use.

Today the building is used in a number of events. Ceildihs, weddings, public information events, tours and dining are all frequent event within the modern day Assembly Rooms. The Supper Hall returns to its former use as it now houses Jamie's Italian, the Italian restaurant opened by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. One of its principle uses is as a venue for a wide variety of acts during Edinburgh's International Festival Fringe.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Ceilings

Architecture > Architectural features > Plasterwork

Furnishings > Ornamentation > Candle sticks

Furnishings > Ornamentation > Mirrors

Places > Edinburgh areas > New Town

Places > Edinburgh Landmarks > Assembly Rooms

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

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