General view of rear elevation of Moray House, 174 Canongate, Edinburgh, from S.

Description General view of rear elevation of Moray House, 174 Canongate, Edinburgh, from S.

Date 20/8/2013

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number DP 160519

Category On-line Digital Images

Scope and Content Moray House is one of several similar 17th-century mansions which were built on Canongate by aristocrats and merchants. Dating from c.1625, it was built for Mary, Dowager Countess of Home, possibly designed by William Wallace, and in 1643 it passed to the Dowager Countess's daughter, the Countess of Moray. The Countess's arms and monogram are contained in the pediment above the central first-floor window in the original wing (left). The nine-bayed wing adjoining on the Canongate elevation was added shortly after it passed to the Countess of Moray, in c.1649. The British Linen Bank occupied the building between 1753 and 1790, and the three-storeyed, five-bayed south wing (right) was added 1753-4. The building passed to the North British Railway Company in 1845, before becoming the Free Church Normal School from 1849, when the windows to teh Canongate elevation were altered. Moray House College of Education's origins began with the establishment of the Free Church of Scotland's Normal and Sessional School in 1848 at Moray House itself. The need for more teachers following the formalisation of education with the 1872 Education Act saw a dedicated training Department set up in 1878-9. The government took on the responsibility of educational training provision from the church in 1905. It was not until 1959 that Moray House College of Education was formally established, and it has subsequently been an associated part of Heriot Watt University before becoming the University of Edinburgh's Faculty of Education from 1998 on.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1348355

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap