Greyfriars Kirkyard

Greyfriars Kirk (Scottish Gaelic: Eaglais nam Manach Liath) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland, located in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is surrounded by Greyfriars Kirkyard. Greyfriars traces its origin to the south-west parish of Edinburgh, founded in 1598. Initially, this congregation met in the western portion of St Giles'. The church is named for the Observantine Franciscans or "Grey Friars" who arrived in Edinburgh from the Netherlands in the mid-15th century and were granted land for a Friary at the south-western edge of the burgh. In the wake of the Scottish Reformation, the grounds of the abandoned Friary were repurposed as a cemetery, in which the current church was constructed between 1602 and 1620. In 1638, National Covenant was signed in the Kirk. The church was damaged during the Protectorate, when it was used as barracks by troops under Oliver Cromwell. In 1718, an explosion destroyed the church tower. During the reconstruction, the church was partitioned to hold two congregations: Old Greyfriars and New Greyfriars. In 1845, fire ravaged Old Greyfriars. After its reconstruction, the minister, Robert Lee, introduced the first organ and stained glass windows in a Scottish parish church since the Reformation. In 1929, Old and New Greyfriars united and the church was restored as one sanctuary. In the following years, the depopulation of the Old Town saw Greyfriars unite with a number of neighbouring congregations. The church of Greyfriars is a simple aisled nave of eight bays; the style is Survival Gothic fused with Baroque elements. The church initially consisted of six bays and a west tower. After the explosion of 1718 destroyed the tower, Alexander McGill added two new bays and a Palladian north porch to create one building divided into two churches of four bays each. After it was gutted by fire in 1845, David Cousin rebuilt Old Greyfriars with an open, un-aisled interior. Between 1932 and 1938, the interior and arcades were restored by Henry F. Kerr. Notable features of the church include historic stained glass windows by James Ballantine; the 17th century monument to Margaret, Lady Yester; and an original copy of the National Covenant of 1638. Since the 18th century, the congregations of Greyfriars have been notable for their missionary work within the parish. This continues to the present day through the church's work with the Grassmarket Community Project and the Greyfriars Charteris Centre. Greyfriars holds weekly Gaelic services, maintaining a tradition of Gaelic worship in Edinburgh that goes back to the beginning of the 18th century.

The Forrest Hill drill hall is a former military installation in Edinburgh, Scotland. The building is now owned by the University of Edinburgh.

The Greyfriars Bobby Fountain is a granite fountain in Edinburgh, surmounted by a bronze life-size statue of Greyfriars Bobby, a Skye Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for supposedly spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner John Gray until the dog itself died on 14 January 1872. The memorial was commissioned by Lady Burdett-Coutts, president of the Ladies Committee of the RSPCA, shortly before the dog died, and the bronze statue was made from life by William Brodie. At the time, Brodie was making statues of characters from Walter Scott's Waverley novels for the Scott Monument in Princes Street. The statue is mounted on a polished column of granite, 3 feet (91 cm) high and 20 inches (51 cm) in diameter, above a polished granite basin 3 feet (91 cm) in diameter, mounted on a plinth, with an octagonal drinking trough at ground level. Bronze plaques are mounted on the column. The fountain was originally furnished with two bronze drinking cups which were attached to the column by a chain. The supply of water to the fountain was discontinued in 1957, and the monument suffered from neglect until it was restored in 1985. The memorial was sited at the southern end of George IV Bridge, just past its junction Chambers Street and close to the junction with Candlemaker Row, near the Greyfriars Kirkyard and the National Museum of Scotland. It was unveiled on 15 November 1873. The monument became a category A listed building in 1977. It is reputed to be Edinburgh's smallest listed building. The statue's nose has been a popular feature for tourists, believing that it brings "luck" if rubbed.

The Old Town (Scots: Auld Toun) is the name popularly given to the oldest part of Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh. The area has preserved much of its medieval street plan and many Reformation-era buildings. Together with the 18th/19th-century New Town, and West End, it forms part of a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sandy Bell's is a music pub in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is known locally and internationally for its live traditional music sessions, it was frequented regularly by folklorist Hamish Henderson prior to his death in 2002, indeed there is a bust of Henderson displayed above the bar. Originally known as 'The Forrest Hill Bar', the pub took its name from the building’s 1920s owner, a Mrs Bell, though the origin of the name “Sandy” is uncertain.During the 1970s, an album entitled Sandy Bell’s Ceilidh was recorded on the premises, including performances by Aly Bain, Dick Gaughan and The McCalmans.

The First of May Bookshop in Edinburgh opened in 1977 and operated until 1990. It sold LGBT and feminist texts and was considered to be politically left-leaning. The bookshop preceded Lavender Menace, the first gay bookshop in Scotland.

George IV Bridge is an elevated street in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is home to a number of the city's important public buildings.

The Magdalen Chapel (or Magdalene Chapel) is a 16th century chapel on Cowgate in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is designated as a Category A listed building.

The Metropolitan Community Church of Edinburgh, also known as Holy Trinity Metropolitan Community Church, was the Edinburgh congregation of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), an international Christian denomination founded in 1968 to serve the LGBT community, from 1995 to 2009. The church has now ceased worshipping independently and has merged with Augustine United Church.

65 Cowgate is a multi-storey building situated on the historic Cowgate, Edinburgh, Scotland, which is used each August as a venue complex for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest open access festival. It is currently known during the Fringe as the Bar Bados Complex after the tiki bar on the ground floor, but was previously known by the name Cowgatehead. The building is programmed during the Fringe by Peter Buckley-Hill as part of his Free Fringe. However, the building was the subject of controversy during the 2015 Fringe when Buckley-Hill and Freestival, previous operators of the building, clashed over who had contractual rights to programme the venue. The situation was eventually resolved in Buckley-Hill's favour, although the controversy, referred to as "Cowgateheadgate", left many comedians without a venue for the Fringe, and out-of-pocket for costs already incurred.Performers to have appeared at the venue included Viv Groskop and Miranda Hennessy.

Bedlam Theatre is a fully operational, 90-seat theatre housed in a former Neogothic church at the foot of George IV Bridge in central Edinburgh. It is owned by the University of Edinburgh, and notable for being the oldest student-run theatre in Britain. During the summer, Bedlam Fringe is run as a separate enterprise, Bedlam being a long-standing Edinburgh Fringe venue. Outside the Fringe, Bedlam is run by and home to the Edinburgh University Theatre Company (EUTC). They are so associated with the building that its members are often termed "Bedlamites", though the EUTC can and has staged performances in other venues since moving into Bedlam Theatre. Bedlam and the EUTC have hosted Edinburgh's longest running improvised comedy troupe, The Improverts, since their inception.

Central Library in Edinburgh, Scotland, opened in 1890, was the first public library building in the city. Edinburgh Central library comprises six libraries: Lending, Reference, Music, Art and Design, Edinburgh and Scottish and the Children's Library.