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PARLIAMENT HOUSE
In
1632, Charles I commissioned the present Parliament House, and the Scottish
Parliament sat here from 1639-1707 when members were moved to Westminster
following the Act of Union.
It was once described as “the busiest and most populous nook of the
Old Town”.
Before its occupation in 1639, Government affairs had been conducted in
cramped conditions at the Old Tolbooth, then at St Giles’ which was
partitioned off as an annex.
The hammerbeam roof of Danish Oak, a late Gothic example by John Scott,
is the only significant internal feature remaining from this time.
There are many fine statues on display here, the best by scupltor Roubiliac,
in his depiction of a dramatically gesticulating Judge Duncan Forbes.
The Lords Ordinary last sat in the hall in 1844, though Parliament House
is still a venue where counsel and solicitors confer informally.
