Sitting atop a hill with an amazing history that spans centuries and centuries.

It’s been called home by several monarchs, has changed hands so many times it’s hard to keep track, and has had so many people pop in that it’s definitely lost count. 

Constructing the Castle

Edinburgh Castle has a pretty varied history. It sits in the middle of Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, hence the name. Basically the castle started out life as a stronghold that saw a fair few Scottish monarchs come and go, but these days it’s living life as a pretty flash museum.

Sitting on a volcanic outcrop or crag that’s been aptly dubbed ‘Castle Rock’ the Castle is about 135 metres above sea level and has a pretty awesome view of Edinburgh.

The origin story of Edinburgh Castle actually takes us all the way back to prehistory. Millions of years ago, Castle Rock was formed by some serious volcanic activity. And as the years went by and glaciers moved past Castle Rock to form the Edinburgh and Scottish landscape, the volcanic matter that made up Castle Rock was just that little bit more resistant to erosion then the surrounding rock, leaving us with a perfect spot for a highly fortified fortress.

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out the strategic advantage to using this raised perch. Archaeological evidence allows us to believe that occupation of the spot could have been as early as the Bronze Age, so possibly around 900 BC people were wandering around setting things up.

And once those same people figured out how to use iron, those Iron Age people set right to work building a hill fort and thinking only of the locations military potential. And those Iron Age warriors defended their fort for all they were worth, which compared to today isn’t really that much, but we don’t begrudge them that and will push on.

It’s thought that those inhabiting this early fort were of the Votadini tribe, and they had made the fort atop Castle Rock their capital. These early people weren’t stupid that’s for sure. Using the material and technology at hand, the fort is believed to have been made of mainly timber, with the entrance protected by two massive ditches which I think is probably a precursor to the good old moat. While the buildings within the fort were probably also made of timber, they would most likely have had stone floors, or at least a stone hearth. And there’s even some archaeological evidence of a prehistoric drainage system out of stone. So they weren’t cutting corners that’s for sure.

Although when we consult Arthurian legend, we get a slightly different origin story. The legend of King Arthur tells us that the first fortification to be placed atop Castle Rock was called ‘The Castle of the Maidens’ and was supposedly a shrine dedicated to the Nine Maidens, which of course, King Arthur’s half-sister, Morgan le Fey belonged.

While we have archaeological evidence of human activity on and around Castle Rock from about 900 BC, our first written record of the spot comes to us from 600 AD in the form of a collection of poetic verses known as The Gododdin. Which coincidentally is the name of the Celtic tribe believed to have been living in the Hill fort at the time. They knew the fort by the name of ‘Din Eidyn’, which, roughly translated, is meant to be something along the lines of ‘the stronghold of Eidyn’. Now it’s thought that the Gododdin tribe were in control of parts of southern Scotland and Northern England while they inhabited the fort, but whoever this Eidyn guy is has been lost to history. Although we do know that the King of the Gododdin’s was a bloke with a name full of consonants, Mynyddog Mwynfawr, and Din Eidyn is believed to have belonged to him at some point as well. It was actually Mynyddog who had the vision to gather 300ish of his followers and invade the Angles, who were living in modern Yorkshire. But this didn’t really work out for Mynyddog in the end, with the invasion being a failure and pretty much all of his men being killed.

And so it was in 638 AD that the Angles decided they would take Din Eidyn for themselves and wasted no time in Anglicising the name to the current ‘Edinburgh’.

Before Edinburgh was the capital of Scotland, it started out like any other major city, as a small town. The town grew out from the fort with the first houses believed to have been built in the area that now goes by ‘Lawnmarket’. As more houses were needed, they would have moved further and further down the slope of the rock, building what they needed. And as we rush through the ages, we find that this particular street that everyone wanted to build on to be called, the Royal Mile.

This very special street got its name because it was the route that the royals would take when travelling up to the castle, and it seems to have stuck. So when you wander along the Royal Mile, you’re literally walking in the footsteps of Scottish royalty.

As we skip into the Middle Ages, we turn around and realise that nothing prior to the 11th century AD actually survives. Those medieval bastards. And all the evidence we have that people were even in the area before the Middle Ages is the archaeological evidence and prehistoric poem we’ve already talked about.

It was in this medieval period that the Castle, that had replaced the early fort, was given the job title of royal base. Which meant that the military was stationed here and, more importantly, the crown jewels were stored away in a safe and well bolted location.

The first King of Scotland to have called Castle Rock home was Malcolm III Canmore, and it was his wife, Queen Margaret who died from grief in the castle after hearing of the death of her husband while he was out fighting. So the Queen dies in 1093, and she must have been pretty well loved because it wasn’t that long after that she was canonised. And it was her son David I who, while he was king, set about constructing St. Margaret’s Chapel in honour of his mother between 1130 and 1140. He made sure to place the chapel on the highest point of the rock so that it would oversee everything. And the chapel is actually the oldest surviving structure that still stands today on the castle grounds. Not bad, considering it’s put up with more than several sieges, wars with England and for independence, and broken alliances.

As the sieges came and went, the castle’s appearance started to change. During the Wars of Independence, the Scots and English took control several times. In 1314, the Scots took the castle back after the English had taken control in a pretty dangerous night raid that was led by Thomas Randolph, nephew of the very famous Robert the Bruce, but we’ll talk more about these guys a little later on.

In 1449, Mons Meg, pretty much the greatest medieval cannon ever made, was made for the Duke of Burgundy. It could fire a stone that weighed 150kg to a distance of over 3km, which is pretty impressive for the 15th century, and actually at the time was the most powerful gun every built. The Duke gifted the gun to Scotland, or more precisely to James II in 1457. Ironically, James died just a few years later when one of his other cannons exploded while at the siege of Roxburgh Castle. That’s bad luck. But the Mons Meg continued to be used at Edinburgh Castle particularly against the English. But as the years rolled on the sheer size of the thing made it really bulky and tough to use, so eventually it was relegated to ceremonial services only. And then in 1671, the worst thing happened, the barrel burst during a salute to the Duke of Albany, who would later be James VII and II. So the gun was effectively abandoned near Foog’s Gate and spent quite a while just sitting in its own rust and decaying. Thankfully the cannon has now being restored and is actually quite a draw card for the tourists.

When the English and Scottish crowns united in 1603, Edinburgh Castle kind of felt a little forgotten by the monarch, and so from the 1650s onwards it leaned more in the direction of military base rather than royal residence.

As a result, defences were reestablished especially as the Jacobite Risings started to kick off between 1689 and 1746.

Besieges

Edinburgh Castle carries the badge of most besieged castle in Britain. Quite an honour for managing to survive it all. Although despite its fort like appearance and that some of the slopes are sheer cliff faces, the place actually was kind of hopeless when it came to fighting off sieges.

Basically the castle has changed hands between the English and Scottish more times than people seem to be able to remember. We know that the English were in control between 1174 and 1186 after they captured William I of Scotland. And then we know that the English, or more precisely Edward I, took the castle from the Scots again 1296 after a siege that lasted just three-days. And then after Edward died in 1307, Sir Thomas Randolph, also known as the Earl of Moray, also also known as the nephew of Robert the Bruce, realised that he had to strike while the English were weakened. And that meant waiting 7 years. And so in 1314 under the cover of darkness and with only about 30 men, they scaled the north cliffs launching a surprise attack on the English and were able to take the castle for themselves. But Robert the Bruce didn’t like the possibility of the English getting it back into their slimy hands and so he has the castle knocked to the ground after he won at the Battle of Bannockburn, and the ruins of Edinburgh Castle were effectively abandoned in 1314.

For the next twenty years Edinburgh Castle was an unoccupied ruin, but as the Second War of Scottish Independence took off in 1332, the English were once again on the move. They knew the importance of Castle Rock and so took it back into their hands in 1335 and set about refortifying the castle. The English held control for about six years with help from English supplies arriving by ship. But in 1341, Sir William Douglas had had enough, and took control of one of the English supply ships. He and his troops pretended to be sailors, and like a poor-man’s Trojan Horse were allowed into the castle, which allowed them to remove the English and once again take the Castle for Scotland.

Now we fast forward just a couple hundred years and find ourselves at the Lang Siege. So a bit of backstory. Mary, Queen of Scots is in charge and she’s married to her second husband, Lord Darnley. But Mary and Darnley aren’t really getting along. Anyway, Mary’s pregnant and in 1566 she gives birth to the future James VI and I at Edinburgh Castle. Now things for Mary went downhill very fast from there. To the point of where she had to flee Scotland for England in 1568. Left behind was the keeper of the castle, a Sir William Kirkcaldy. Kirkcaldy was a massive supporter of the Queen. But Mary in her escape had been forced to abdicate her throne in favour of her baby. So with a baby as the King of Scotland, those who thought the baby could do a better job than Mary besieged the castle. Kirkcaldy was a good one and he and his friends kept them at bay for a good two years. Hence the name, the Lang (or Long) Siege.

The Siege only came to an end when the OG Elizabeth sent up heavy artillery to bring an end to the siege. And what followed was 11 days of continuous bombardment that pretty much defeated the castles defences. Kirkcaldy was forced to surrender, and while most of those who stuck around to help him were allowed to go free, Kirkcaldy was beheaded on the Royal Mile.

Immediately there followed the rebuilding of the defences that had failed during the siege. And it’s this rebuild from the late 16th century that you would see if you were to visit the castle today.

But the sieges didn’t stop for the castle with Mary and Elizabeth, they just kept happening. It was captured a couple times during the Bishop’s Wars of 1639 and 1640 and then Oliver Cromwell took control thanks to his New Model Army in 1650 when the English Civil Wars were all the rage.

The last serious siege that the Castle had to endure was in 1688 when James VII and II was forced into exile when William of Orange was offered the English throne. The Castle governor at the time was another supporter of the Scottish monarch and he managed to hold the new English King at bay for about 3 months.

But the last real military action that the castle had to go through was thanks to the Jacobite risings in 1715 and 1745. It would have been between 1689 and 1745, after the monarchy had been restored in 1660, that the Jacobite rebels attempted to besiege the castle a couple times in their attempt to undo the dethronement of James II. But in 1715 the Jacobite’s didn’t really think through their plan and so it failed quite dramatically. They actually came super close to taking the castle the same way Sir Thomas Randolph did when he did it for Robert the Bruce, and by that I mean they were going to scale the north cliffs. But like something out of an Abbott and Costello film, the ladder they brought was just a tad short to reach the ramparts.

The Jacobite’s aims were to reinstate the Stuart monarchy to the British throne. And in 1745 they had a bit more success than in 1715. They were actually able to capture Holyrood Palace, which was a castle that lived at the other end of the Royal Mile, but Edinburgh Castle itself remained unscathed. In fact, it was in this same rebellion in 1745 that Bonnie Prince Charlie, Mary’s great-great-great-grandson, who believed himself the rightful heir to the throne, managed to take the city of Edinburgh, but still failed to touch the castle itself.

Since these failed Jacobite attempts Edinburgh Castle has been pretty much siege free and living its best life.

But its exciting stories didn’t end with the Jacobites. Between 1757 and 1814 it was considered one of the best jails around, housing hundreds who had been picked up as prisoners of war. These guys came from all corners, there were some from the American Revolution, the Seven Years’ War with France, and even the Napoleonic Wars.

On top of these exciting military adventures, Edinburgh Castle has been a pretty major part of royal life. We’ve heard a little about Queen Margaret and David I, but the last monarch to have lived at Edinburgh Castle was Charles I who did so in 1633 before he would eventually be executed.

The inhabitants

Many people have called Edinburgh Castle home and some of the most well-known of those characters were the royals themselves. Let’s see what we can find out about them.

Robert the Bruce’s son, David II, managed to build a pretty awesome tower for himself. In 1357 he ended up returning to Scotland after an 11 year stint as an English hostage. In an effort to establish his hold on the throne he decided to dedicate large amounts of money on building this, rather lofty, tower with quite the unoriginal name of David’s Tower. It stood at 30m tall and at that height would have overseen the rest of the castle.

The Tower was actually built in amongst the reconstructions that took place after the devastation inflicted by the Wars of Independence. And its style is heavily influenced by the English and French infrastructure that David saw while a hostage. It acted as the heart of the castle, allowing David some pretty elevated accommodation. Also included were stores on the lower floors and battlements on the top. You’ve really got to be prepared for anything in the 14th century. At just three stories it was pretty bloody massive for the time. But alas, it didn’t survive the Lang Siege, it was brought down by the heavy bombardment sent by Elizabeth I. When the Tower fell it actually cut off the water supply for the city and just a few days after that Kirkcaldy was forced to surrender to the English.

While only a ruin remains of the Tower today, it has been preserved with the Half-Moon Battery being built around the ruins.

Next up we have James IV and Margaret Tudor. James IV actually did his part in shaping the castle. He finished the work on the main courtyard and royal palace that his father had started. You might know these spaces as surrounding what is now called the Crown Square. He also completed the Great Hall in 1512, where its primary use was for ceremonial banquets, entertainment and court affairs and intrigue.

Inside the Great Hall you can see the stone corbels which have images and symbols representing the marriage of James and Margaret Tudor. Next time you’re in the area, see if you can spot the Scottish thistles and English roses in amongst James’s royal cypher. The marriage between James and Margaret was meant to bring peace between Scotland and England. But James IV ended up dying by English hands at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, which had been sent by his brother-in-law, the one, the only, Henry VIII.

Now if we jump forward just a little bit, we find Mary of Guise as Queen Regent for her daughter, Mary Queen of Scots between 1554 until her death in 1560. Mary of Guise turned out to be quite an intelligent and capable leader during a time that was wrought with political and religious drama.

While the castle was under one of the many sieges from the English, Mary of Guise fell ill and died at Edinburgh Castle. The situation between Scotland and England was so bad, that her body lay in St Margaret’s Chapel for almost a year before it was able to be moved to her homeland of France.

Mary of Guise gave birth to her daughter of the same name at Linlithgow, but it was at Edinburgh Castle that Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her son, James, later James VI or I depending on your persuasion. Basically after James’ birth it was all downhill for Mary.

About a year after giving birth, James’ father, Lord Darnley, was assassinated, many suspected by Mary. And her quick marriage to James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, just a couple months after Darnley’s death really didn’t help Mary’s image. Basically the wedding is what kicked off the Lang Siege. A rebellion rose up against Mary and her third husband, forcing Mary to flee to England where she thought her cousin, Elizabeth I, would protect her.

As we already know, while Mary was in England her supporters were holding Edinburgh Castle for her, at the helm was Kirkcaldy who would be eventually captured and executed.

Shortly before fleeing, Mary was captured and held at Lochleven Castle where she was forced to abdicate her claim to the throne in favour of her year-old son. She managed to escape and was able to flee to England but ended up as, for political reasons, Elizabeth I’s prisoner. Mary would never return to Scotland and would remain Elizabeth’s prisoner until her own execution in 1587.

James VI is where things get interesting. As we already know, his mother gave birth to him at Edinburgh Castle. And he was king by the time he turned one. In terms of achievements he’s already doing better than almost all of us. But it wasn’t all fun and games for James, he was pretty much used as a political pawn by greedy and ambitious Scottish noblemen. So much so that by the time he became an adult in the 1580s, he was struggling to gain and hold control of his kingdom. But things would kind of work out for James, seeing as he was descended from Henry VII, and Elizabeth didn’t have an heir when she died, the clear option was James. So in 1603 he was crowned James I of England.

So now that Scotland and England were effectively joined under the one monarch, James left to govern his kingdom from London, he promised to visit Scotland every year. But as we all know, things get in the way and you get busy. He ended up only returning to Scotland once more and that was in 1617.

Since then the castle has undergone major refurbishment and the room where he was born has been preserved and is open for tourists.

As 1650 rolls around, the Scots are behind Charles II, but Oliver Cromwell has taken Edinburgh Castle and holds it throughout Christmas, which the Scrooge refused to celebrate. During his stay he defaced royal decorative schemes and turned the Great Hall into military accommodation. For some reason I don’t think this guy was a fan of the monarchy.

Turning to a much more beloved character of history, next up we have Sir Walter Scott. He donned many hats, including novelist, poet and antiquarian, which is the one we’re after. He had a love of Scottish history and wished to see it preserved. But one of his best deeds happened at Edinburgh Castle. In order to protect them from the vile Cromwell, the Honours of Scotland, or the Scotland Crown Jewels, were put in a wooden chest and hidden in order to keep them safe.

It wasn’t until over a century later, in 1818, that Scott managed to get royal approval to open up the room and the chest of where it was rumoured the jewels had laid untouched. And so Scott pushed open the sealed oak and iron doors to reveal a wooden chest, and with the chest’s lid lifted Scott found the Honours held safe and sound within. The whole ordeal was big news, the public loved the fact that the Honours were once again found, and after a visit from George IV in 1822, Scott made sure that the whole thing was put in the public eye and it is actually this event that started the Castle as a tourist attraction that still continues to this day, with the Honours on display.

The last character we’ll speak about is Hippolyte Blanc, as a respected architect, he was brought in to work on the Castle. What was wanted was the restoration of old royal schemes. William Nelson, the benefactor of the whole thing was the one who brought on Blanc with the goal of remodelling the Great Hall and to build the Argyle Tower, Nelson basically acted as the middle man, the communicator between Blanc and the army, who had control of the Castle at the time. But, unfortunately for Blanc, Nelson died in 1887 and Blanc was forced to deal directly with the army. There seemed to be some artistic differences almost immediately with the army accusing Blanc of being limited in giving them updates on his progress, and Blanc felt that the army just didn’t appreciate him as an architectural artist. Basically the army wanted to change the Great Hall into an armoury, but Blanc thought it deserved to be restored back to its prime as a medieval hall and when the two couldn’t agree Blanc basically held the place hostage refusing to hand the keys back to the army.

Parts of the Castle

The layout of the castle before it got ruined remains unknown to us, but we do know that the amount of space it took up on Castle Rock was significantly less than what Edinburgh Castle takes up today. Basically today, Edinburgh Castle kind of flows down off the rock, but back in the day it would have only occupied the top of the rock. We know that almost all the defences would have been made of timber, apart from some of the interior structures that still survive thanks to the fact that they were made of stone, like that of St Margaret’s Chapel. And as the strength of stone was realised over that of timber, the walls of the castle were replaced with the harder stone and the softer timber was forgotten.

Even though much of the medieval aspects of the castle has been lost to us, we can thank James IV for the interior buildings that we can still see today.

The Great Hall is one of James IV’s buildings. It was put together in 1511 and even though its walls are made of stone, its roof is wooden and is said to be

one of the most superb in Britain.

The Great Hall has donned many hats throughout the centuries. It’s been used for state banquets, to host the Scottish Parliament, as a military barracks and even at times as a makeshift hospital. The really sad thing about it all is that James IV only had about two years to enjoy his new Great Hall, before he was killed at the Battle of Flodden. But after James IV the Great Hall wasn’t really used all that often, and because its position is on the top of Castle Rock no one really wanted to use it, especially since Holyroodhouse, at the other end of the Royal Mile, was just that little bit more comfortable as a Royal Palace.

It was Cromwell who decided in 1650 that the place would be the perfect barracks and it was our mate Hippolyte Blanc who restored the space to its medieval image, although it does now display weapons and armour so that it doesn’t forget its military past.

The building known as the Royal Palace was built next to the Great Hall and it was here that the royals were able to live in relative comfort with all their riches surrounding them. It was inside this very palace that Mary of Guise died in 1560 and it was also in this very palace that Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI not too long after in 1566. The bedchamber where James was born has even been preserved so you can see where a king to unite two countries was born for yourself.

Now we get to some of the good stuff: The Stone of Destiny. The Stone of Destiny, which has also gone by the name of the Stone of Scone, is a symbol of the Scottish monarchy. It was used for centuries when crowning their Kings. Basically the would be king would sit on this stone and when he stood back up again he would be the King of Scotland. Fancy. But to the Scots it really is seen as a sacred object, especially with its origins so shrouded in mystery. And the English had a hankering for a kingly stone of their own, but when they couldn’t find one Edward I decided to take the Scottish stone for himself in 1296 and even had it built into his new throne at Westminster Abbey so that everyone knew he was the rightful King of all the Stones. And since Edward it has been used in the coronation ceremonies of all the monarchs of England, and just a little bit later Great Britain.

But then we fast forward to 1950, it’s Christmas Day and we’re in London, so it’s probably cold and snowy as well. Along come four pesky uni kids from Scotland and they think it’ll be a right laugh if they take the stone and bring it back to Scotland. They’ll probably by hailed as heroes upon their return. So anyway, they managed to get the Stone of Destiny out from under the throne in Westminster Abbey without being seen and then the stone just disappears, only to turn up about three months later at Arbroath Abbey on the Scottish east coast just north of Dundee. And because of all the fuss the English decided that yes, Scotland can have their magical stone back, but only if they can borrow it for any future coronations. So quite the compromise going on there. These days you can catch a glimpse of the stone at Edinburgh Castle alongside the Honours of Scotland.

But what are the Honours of Scotland? They’re basically Scotland’s Crown Jewels and are actually believed to be the oldest Crown Jewels in Britain. You’ve got all the usual stuff in there, gold, silver, precious gems, crowns, sceptres, swords of state, everything you could need to prove your royal affliction. The Honours have had quite the ride through time, as we already know they were removed and hidden in a secret spot in the castle to protect them from the evil Oliver Cromwell and thanks to old mate Sir Walter Scott, they were rediscovered in 1818 after over a century in hiding. Pretty much immediately they went on display, and almost just as immediately the imagination of the public was captured with the Honours becoming the most popular tourist attraction at the Castle.

When you’re visiting the Stone of Destiny and the Honours of Scotland you might hear a cannon go off at one o’clock on the dot. This is actually a daily occurrence. Supposedly the firing of the gun dates back to 1861 and since then the gun has fired every single day at 1pm, except for Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day and it was this consistency that the ships in the Firth of Forth would use to set their maritime clocks. So if you’re in the area around 1pm, don’t be startled by the sound of a military cannon going off, it’s just so the blokes in the ships below can check the time.

While Edinburgh Castle has had quite varied occupations throughout history, these days it’s mainly used as a museum, or more precisely to house museums.

If you pop into the National War Museum you’ll see all sorts of stuff, from soldiers’ letters sent home to loved ones to Highland broadswords. The collection is pretty large so give yourself plenty of time to wander amongst it. The Museum opened in 1933 in what used to be a storehouse that was constructed in the 1700s and was later used a military hospital, but these days the National Museums Scotland handles the day to day.

The Castle also houses a couple of independent regimental museums. The Royal Scots Museum sits towards the top of the hill with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum sitting opposite it. Here you can find standards used at the Battle of Waterloo.

The Scottish National War Memorial was commemorated to those who died in both World Wars and other conflicts after 1945. There’s stained glass sculptures and animal figures symbolising courage, justice, peace, survival and spirit. The Memorial opened in 1927 and reorganised the former North Barracks for it uses.

The Castle Esplanade can be found just outside the castle. With a drawbridge connecting the castle with the Esplanade it’s definitely a terrific sight to see. Around the edges of the Esplanade are grandstand seating which gets put up every year for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo as well as for other concerts held throughout the summer months.

The Castle Today

Today Edinburgh Castle is counted as the top tourist site in Scotland, with an expected one million people showing up every year just to have a look around. As a national icon and part of both the Old and New Towns of Edinburg, it was only fitting that the place be listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1995.

In order to get to the castle, you either scale the North face cliffs like some have tried in the past with varying results. Or you can go the sensible route and head on through the Castle’s main gates to the east. These were put in 1888, supposedly replacing much older gates that were out of date, but after the Lang Siege a second set of gates was put in, probably for extra protection, and it was atop these second set of gates that the Argyle Tower was added in 1887, again probably for extra protection. Once you head through the Portcullis Gate, with the Argyle Tower overhead, you’ll be confronted with 70 stone steps, these are known as the Lang Stairs and will take you right through to the heart of the castle.

Edinburgh Castle has really been considered a top tourist attraction all the way back to when the Honours of Scotland were first put on display in 1818, and while the military are still able to use the Castle, most of the place is open to the public, and those old buildings that were once filled with military personnel are now being used for the various museums that call Edinburgh Castle home.

The Castle is such a part of Scotland, especially the city of Edinburgh, that it’s easily visible from most parts of the city, it’s definitely a distinct feature on the skyline.

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