Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament Building (Scottish Gaelic: Pàrlamaid na h-Alba; Scots: Scots Pairlament Biggin) is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Edinburgh. Construction of the building commenced in June 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) held their first debate in the new building on 7 September 2004. The formal opening by Queen Elizabeth II took place on 9 October 2004. Enric Miralles, the Spanish architect who designed the building, died before its completion.From 1999 until the opening of the new building in 2004, committee rooms and the debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament were housed in the General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland located on The Mound in Edinburgh. Office and administrative accommodation in support of the Parliament were provided in buildings leased from the City of Edinburgh Council. The new Scottish Parliament Building brought together these different elements into one purpose-built parliamentary complex, housing 129 MSPs and more than 1,000 staff and civil servants.From the outset, the building and its construction have been controversial. The choices of location, architect, design, and construction company were all criticised by politicians, the media and the Scottish public. Scheduled to open in 2001, it did so in 2004, more than three years late with an estimated final cost of £414 million, many times higher than initial estimates of between £10m and £40m. A major public inquiry into the handling of the construction, chaired by the former Lord Advocate, Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, was established in 2003. The inquiry concluded in September 2004 and criticised the management of the whole project from the realisation of cost increases down to the way in which major design changes were implemented. Despite these criticisms and a mixed public reaction, the building was welcomed by architectural academics and critics. The building aimed to achieve a poetic union between the Scottish landscape, its people, its culture, and the city of Edinburgh. The Parliament Building won numerous awards including the 2005 Stirling Prize and has been described by landscape architect Charles Jencks as "a tour de force of arts and crafts and quality without parallel in the last 100 years of British architecture".

Queensberry House is a building of 17th-century origin which is now a Category A listed building. It stands on the south side of the Canongate, Edinburgh, Scotland, incorporated into the Scottish Parliament complex on its north-west corner. It contains the office of the Presiding Officer, two Deputy Presiding Officers, the Parliament's Chief Executive, and other staff.

White Horse Close, or "Whitehorse Close", is an enclosed courtyard off the Canongate at the foot of the Royal Mile at the eastern end of the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was formerly known as "Ord's Close", after Laurence Ord, the putative builder of the 17th-century inn at its northern end. Because of several conversions to its buildings in the past, the close has been described as "so blatantly fake that it can be acquitted of any intention to deceive". Professor Charles McKean has characterised it as "heritage rather than history".The origin of the name is obscure. The location has been traditionally associated with a royal mews from the time of Mary, Queen of Scots, the name being said to derive from the fact that her favourite white palfrey was stabled there, near the main entrance to the royal palace. It is more likely, however, that the name derives from the "White Horse Inn" which occupied the northern end of the courtyard from at least the 17th century. It has also been suggested that the name may have come from a later 18th century inn sign displaying the White Horse of Hanover. It is recorded that some of the leaders of the Covenanting party in Scotland, including James Graham, earl of Montrose, attempted to set out from the inn in the close for Berwick to parley with King Charles I after the Treaty of Berwick had been signed to end the First Bishops' War in June 1639. Their departure was blocked by a mob which feared the meeting might lead to a betrayal of the principles of the National Covenant. Montrose alone slipped through to join the King, to whom he gradually transferred allegiance. Over a decade later, in 1650, he passed the head of the close again, entering Edinburgh at the foot of the Canongate as a captive on his way to trial and execution for treason. The building bears the date 1632, but this is believed to have been carved when it was restored in the 1930s, the tablet being altered from displaying the more implausible date of 1532. In his Views of Edinburgh, published around 1820, the English engraver James Storer gave the date as 1683, which is more in keeping with the late 17th-century architectural style of the buildings. The dilapidated close was bought by Dr. John Barbour and his sister in 1889, and the inn, with its distinctive forestairs, and the surrounding courtyard buildings were converted into fifteen dwellings for the working class. They were last restored by Frank Mears & Partners between 1961 and 1964. The inn was the departure point for the stagecoaches that ran between Edinburgh, Newcastle and London in the 18th century. Five arches on the Calton Road side of the building (previously known as the North Back of the Canongate) indicate the former existence of an undercroft which contained the inn's stables, smithy and coach houses. These were accessed from the rear of the building at a considerably lower ground level compared with the courtyard of the close. A small descending flight of steps and narrow pend still connects the courtyard with the rear of the inn building. The inn should not be confused with another inn of the same name (later known as "Boyd's inn" after one of its owners) which existed in St. Mary's Wynd (now St. Mary's Street) near the head of the Canongate between 1635 and 1868. This was where James Boswell welcomed Samuel Johnson on his arrival in Edinburgh in 1773.The building with a turnpike stair immediately on the right when entering the close was the residence of two Bishops of Edinburgh from the time when the church of St. Giles was a cathedral, namely John Paterson (1632-1708) and Alexander Rose (1647-1720).Tradition maintains that Jacobite officers were billeted in the close during Charles Edward Stuart's occupation of nearby Holyrood Palace during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. A wall plaque inside the close records it as the birthplace in 1793 of William Dick, son of a farrier and founder of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. The close is widely regarded as the most picturesque group of buildings on the Royal Mile, but is often overlooked by visitors to the city who fail to enter the pend which connects it to the Canongate.

The Queen's Gallery is an art gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. It forms part of the Palace of Holyroodhouse complex. It was opened in 2002 by Queen Elizabeth II, and exhibits works from the Royal Collection. It is open to the public daily. This Victorian building was originally built as Holyrood Free Church (a congregation of the Free Church of Scotland, then from 1900 United Free Church of Scotland), but was last used for worship in 1915, see Redundant church. Prior to its conversion to become the Queen's Gallery the building was used as a storeroom. There have been calls by some Scottish politicians to demolish or move the gallery building to create an uninterrupted square between Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament Building.

Dynamic Earth (originally known as Our Dynamic Earth) is a not-for-profit visitor attraction and science centre in Edinburgh and is Scotland's largest interactive visitor attraction. It is located in the Holyrood area, beside the Scottish Parliament building and at the foot of Salisbury Crags. It is a registered charity under Scottish law and is owned as The Dynamic Earth Charitable Trust. The centre was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999.The project is located close to where renowned Scottish geologist James Hutton lived and worked in the city in the 18th century. The Dynamic Earth Trust says its aim is: "to consistently be the most fun place to play, learn and work.” A permanent visitor attraction which presents the story of the planet - how it was created; how it continues to evolve, the prospects for mankind and the effect of hazards both natural and manmade."

Whitefoord House (or occasionally Whiteford House is an 18th-century former mansion on the Canongate section of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. It stands on the north side of the Royal Mile obscured by more modern buildings, under a backdrop of Calton Hill.

The Golfers Land is a site on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland dating to around 1681. The site gets its name from the town house of John Paterson, said have been the teammate of the Duke of Albany in what is often regarded as the first international golf contest. The townhouse has since been demolished and replaced with a new building, but a plaque on the wall continues to mark the site of Golfers Land.

New Calton Burial Ground is a burial ground in Edinburgh. It was built as an overspill and functional replacement to Old Calton Burial Ground and lies half a mile to its east on Regent Road in Edinburgh, Scotland, on the south-east slopes of Calton Hill. On its southern edge it attaches to the north-east edge of the Canongate in the Old Town. It lies on a fairly steep south-facing slope with views to Holyrood Palace, the Scottish Parliament Building and Arthur’s Seat. Of particular note is the Stevenson family plot, the resting place of several notable members of the family of Robert Louis Stevenson.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyroodhouse has served as the principal royal residence in Scotland since the 16th century, and is a setting for state occasions and official entertaining. Queen Elizabeth II spends one week in residence at Holyroodhouse at the beginning of each summer, where she carries out a range of official engagements and ceremonies. The 16th-century historic apartments of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the State Apartments, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public throughout the year, except when members of the Royal Family are in residence. The Queen's Gallery was built at the western entrance to the Palace of Holyroodhouse and opened in 2002 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection. The gardens of the palace are set within Holyrood Park.

The Scottish Poetry Library is a public library specialising in Scottish poetry. Since 1999, the library has been based at 5 Crichton's Close, just off the Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town.

Holyrood (; Scots: Halyruid, Scottish Gaelic: Taigh an Ròid) is an area in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, lying east of the city centre, at the foot of the Royal Mile. The area originally took its name from Holyrood Abbey, which was the Church of the Holy Rude (Scots for 'Holy Cross'). Holyrood includes the following sites: The modern Scottish Parliament Building. For this reason "Holyrood" is often used in contemporary media as a metonym for the Scottish Government. The Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. The ruins of Holyrood Abbey Holyrood Park, an expansive royal park to the south and east of the palace. The Queen's Gallery, part of the Holyroodhouse complex formerly a church and now an art gallery. Dynamic Earth, visitor attraction and science centre which is Scotland's largest interactive museum. A number of residential, light commercial, and government properties.

Panmure House is a 17th-century townhouse located in Edinburgh's Canongate. It is the only surviving residence of renowned Scottish philosopher Adam Smith, who lived there between 1778 and 1790. Situated close to the Scottish Parliament, in the heart of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the House is an important monument of Scottish intellectual history. During his time living at Panmure House, Smith continued to study and write, producing four new editions of his magnum opus The Wealth of Nations between 1778 and 1789. He was still at work on the final edition of his 1759 master work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, when he died at Panmure House in 1790. The House is now a centre for economic and social research and debate in Smith’s name, managed by Heriot-Watt University.