Forrest Hill drill hall

Forrest Hill drill hall
Edinburgh, Scotland
Forrest Hill drill hall
Forrest Hill drill hall
Location in Edinburgh
Coordinates 55°56′45″N 3°11′31″W / 55.94590°N 3.19203°W / 55.94590; -3.19203Coordinates: 55°56′45″N 3°11′31″W / 55.94590°N 3.19203°W / 55.94590; -3.19203
Type Drill hall
Site history
Built 1872
Built for War Office
Architect Duncan Menzies
In use 1872 – 1993

The Forrest Hill drill hall is a former military installation in Edinburgh.

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. 1 2 3 "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. 1 2 "The Territorial Army". Royal Scots. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  5. ↑ "City of Edinburgh Universities Officers' Training Corps". Lowland Reserve Forces and Cadets Association. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.