Forrest Hill drill hall

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

Forrest Hill drill hall
Edinburgh, Scotland
Forrest Hill drill hall
Forrest Hill drill hall
Location in Edinburgh
Coordinates55.94590°N 3.19203°W / 55.94590; -3.19203
TypeDrill hall
Site history
Built1872
Built forWar Office
ArchitectDuncan Menzies
In use1872 – 1993

History

The building was designed by Duncan Menzies as the headquarters of the Queen's Edinburgh Rifles and completed in 1872.[1] Following extensive refurbishment work the building was re-opened by the Duke of Connaught in May 1905.[2]

The Queen's Edinburgh Rifle Volunteer Brigade became the 4th and 5th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) Battalions, the Royal Scots in 1908.[1] The battalions were mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to Gallipoli and then to the Western Front.[3] The 4th and 5th battalions amalgamated to form the 4th/5th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) Battalion, with its headquarters at the Forrest Hill drill hall in 1922.[4] In 1939 the battalion converted to manning searchlights and, in 1940, became an anti-aircraft regiment of the Royal Artillery.[4]

The drill hall was the home of the Edinburgh University Officers' Training Corps and its successors, the Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt Universities OTC and the City of Edinburgh Universities OTC, from 1957 until the Universities OTC moved to Duke of Edinburgh House in Colinton Road, Edinburgh in 1993.[5] The building was decommissioned and taken over by the University of Edinburgh in the mid-1990s: it now accommodates academic facilities for the University.[1]

References
  1. "Edinburgh, 5 Forrest Hill, University Of Edinburgh, Department Of Artificial Intelligence". Canmore. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  2. "5 Forrest Hill Road and 41 Forrest Road (Former Territorial Army Centre and University of Edinburgh, School of Artificial Intelligence), Edinburgh". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  3. "The Royal Scots". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  4. "The Territorial Army". Royal Scots. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  5. "City of Edinburgh Universities Officers' Training Corps". Lowland Reserve Forces and Cadets Association. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
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