Edinburgh Castle
is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock, which
has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal
castle on the rock since at least the reign of Malcolm III in the 11th century,
and the castle continued to be a royal residence until 1633. From the 15th
century, the castle's residential role declined, and by the 17th century it was
principally used as a military garrison. Its importance as a part of Scotland's
national heritage was recognised increasingly from the early 19th century
onwards, and various restoration programmes have been carried out over the past
century and a half.
Edinburgh Castle has played a prominent role in Scottish
history, and has served variously as a royal residence, an arsenal, a treasury,
a national archive, a mint, a prison, a military fortress, and the home of the
Honours of Scotland – the Scottish regalia. As one of the most important
strongholds in the Kingdom of Scotland, the castle was involved in many
historical conflicts from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century
to the Jacobite rising of 1745. Research undertaken in 2014 identified 26
sieges in its 1,100-year history, giving it a claim to having been "the most besieged place in Great
Britain and one of the most attacked in the world". Few of the present
buildings pre-date the Lang Siege of 1573, when the medieval defenses were
largely destroyed by artillery bombardment. The most notable exceptions are St
Margaret's Chapel from the early 12th century, which is regarded as the oldest
building in Edinburgh, the Royal Palace, and the early 16th-century Great Hall.
The castle is the site of the Scottish National War Memorial and the National
War Museum. The British Army is still responsible for some parts of the castle,
although its presence is now largely ceremonial and administrative. The castle
is the regimental headquarters of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Royal
Scots Dragoon Guards and houses their regimental museums, along with that of
the Royal Scots.
The castle, in the care of Historic Environment Scotland, is
Scotland's most (and the United Kingdom's second most) visited paid tourist
attraction, with over 2.2 million visitors in 2019 and over 70 percent of
leisure visitors to Edinburgh visiting the castle. As the backdrop to the Royal
Edinburgh Military Tattoo during the annual Edinburgh Festival, the castle has
become a recognizable symbol of Edinburgh in particular and of Scotland as a
whole.
History
Pre-history of the
Castle Rock
Geology
The castle stands upon the plug of an extinct volcano, which
is estimated to have risen about 350 million years ago during the Lower
Carboniferous period. The Castle Rock is the remains of a volcanic pipe, which
cut through the surrounding sedimentary rock before cooling to form very hard
dolerite, a type of basalt. Subsequent glacial erosion was resisted by the
dolerite, which protected the softer rock to the east, leaving a crag and tail
formation.
The summit of the Castle Rock is 130 metres (430 ft) above
sea level, with rocky cliffs to the south, west, and north, rising to a height
of 80 metres (260 ft) above the surrounding landscape. This means that the only
readily accessible route to the castle lies to the east, where the ridge slopes
more gently. The defensive advantage of such a site is self-evident, but the
geology of the rock also presents difficulties, since basalt is extremely
impermeable. Providing water to the Upper Ward of the castle was problematic,
and despite the sinking of a 34-metre (112 ft) deep well, the water supply
often ran out during drought or siege, including during the Lang Siege in 1573.
Earliest habitation
Archaeological investigation has yet to establish when the
Castle Rock was first used for human habitation. There is no record of any
Roman interest in the location during General Agricola's invasion of northern
Britain near the end of the 1st century AD. Ptolemy's map of the 2nd century AD
shows a settlement in the territory of the Votadini named "Alauna", meaning "rock
place", making this possibly the earliest known name for the Castle
Rock. This could, however, refer to another of the tribe's hill forts in the
area. The Orygynale Cronykil of Andrew of Wyntoun (c. 1350 – c. 1423), an early
source for Scottish history, names "Ebrawce"
(Ebraucus), a legendary King of the Britons, as having "byggyd [built] Edynburgh". According to the earlier chronicler,
Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1100 – c. 1155), Ebraucus had fifty children by his
twenty wives, and was the founder of "Kaerebrauc"
(York), "Alclud" (Dumbarton)
and the "Maidens' Castle".
The 16th-century English writer John Stow (c. 1525 – 1605), credited Ebraucus
with building "the Castell of
Maidens called Edenbrough" in 989 BC. The name "Maidens' Castle" (Latin: Castra or Castellum Puellarum)
occurs frequently up until the 16th century. It appears in charters of David I
(r. 1124–1153) and his successors in the Kingdom of Scotland, although the
reason for it is not known. William Camden's survey of Britain, Britannia
(1607), records that "the Britans
called [it] Castle Myned Agned [winged rock], the Scots, the Maidens Castle and
the Virgins Castle, of certaine young maidens of the Picts roiall bloud who were
kept there in old time". According to the 17th-century antiquarian
Father Richard Hay, the "maidens"
were a group of nuns, who were ejected from the castle and replaced by
canons, considered "fitter to live
among soldiers". However, this story was considered "apocryphal" by the
19th-century antiquarian Daniel Wilson and has been ignored by historians
since. The name may have been derived from a "Cult of the Nine Maidens" type of legend. Arthurian
legends suggest that the site once held a shrine to Morgain la Fee, one of nine
sisters. Later, St Monenna, said to be one of nine companions, reputedly
invested a church at Edinburgh, as well as at Dumbarton and other places.
Similar names are shared by many other Iron Age hillforts and may have simply
described a castle that had never been taken by force or derived from an
earlier Brittonic name like mag dun.
The Castle seen from
the North
An archaeological excavation in the early 1990s uncovered
evidence of the site having been settled during the late Bronze Age or early
Iron Age, potentially making Castle Rock the longest continuously occupied site
in Scotland. However, the extent of the finds was not particularly significant
and insufficient to draw any certain conclusions about the precise nature or
scale of this earliest known phase of occupation.
The archaeological evidence is more reliable concerning the
Iron Age. Traditionally, it had been supposed that the tribes of central
Scotland had made little or no use of the Castle Rock. Excavations at nearby
Dunsapie Hill, Duddingston, Inveresk and Traprain Law had revealed relatively
large settlements and it was supposed that these sites had been chosen in
preference to the Castle Rock. However, the excavation in the 1990s pointed to
the probable existence of an enclosed hillfort on the rock, although only the
fringes of the site were excavated. House fragments revealed were similar to
Iron Age dwellings previously found in Northumbria.
The 1990s dig revealed clear signs of habitation from the
1st and 2nd centuries AD, consistent with Ptolemy's reference to
"Alauna". Signs of occupation included some Roman material, including
pottery, bronzes and brooches, implying a possible trading relationship between
the Votadini and the Romans beginning with Agricola's northern campaign in AD
82, and continuing through to the establishment of the Antonine Wall around AD
140. The nature of the settlement in this period is inconclusive, but Driscoll
and Yeoman suggest it may have been a broch, similar to the one at Edin's Hall
near Duns in the Scottish Borders.
Early Middle Ages
The castle does not re-appear in contemporary historical
records from the time of Ptolemy until around AD 600. Then, in the epic Welsh
poem Y Gododdin there is a reference to Din Eidyn, "the stronghold of Eidyn". This has been generally
assumed to refer to the Castle Rock. The poem tells of the Gododdin King
Mynyddog Mwynfawr, and his band of warriors, who, after a year of feasting in
their fortress, set out to do battle with the Angles at "Catreath" (possibly Catterick) in Yorkshire. Despite
performing glorious deeds of valor and bravery, the poem relates that the
Gododdin were massacred.
The Irish annals record that in 638, after the events
related in Y Gododdin, "Etin"
was besieged by the Angles under Oswald of Northumbria, and the Gododdin were
defeated. The territory around Edinburgh then became part of the Kingdom of
Northumbria, which was itself absorbed by England in the 10th century. Lothian
became part of Scotland, during the reign of Indulf (r.954–962).
The archaeological evidence for the period in question is
based entirely on the analysis of middens (domestic refuse heaps), with no
evidence of structures. Few conclusions can therefore be derived about the
status of the settlement during this period, although the midden deposits show
no clear break since Roman times.
High Middle Ages
The first documentary reference to a castle at Edinburgh is
John of Fordun's account of the death of King Malcolm III (1031–1093). Fordun
describes his widow, the future Saint Margaret, as residing at the "Castle
of Maidens" when she is brought news of his death in November 1093. Fordun's
account goes on to relate how Margaret died of grief within days, and how
Malcolm's brother Donald Bane laid siege to the castle. However, Fordun's
chronicle was not written until the later 14th century, and the
near-contemporary account of the life of St Margaret by Bishop Turgot makes no
mention of a castle. During the reigns of Malcolm III and his sons, Edinburgh
Castle became one of the most significant royal centres in Scotland. Malcolm's
son King Edgar died here in 1107.
Malcolm's youngest son, King David I (r.1124–1153),
developed Edinburgh as a seat of royal power principally through his
administrative reforms (termed by some modern scholars the Davidian
Revolution). Between 1139 and 1150, David held an assembly of nobles and churchmen,
a precursor to the parliament of Scotland, at the castle. Any buildings or defenses
would probably have been of timber, although two stone buildings are documented
as having existed in the 12th century. Of these, St. Margaret's Chapel remains
at the summit of the rock. The second was a church, dedicated to St. Mary,
which stood on the site of the Scottish National War Memorial. Given that the
southern part of the Upper Ward (where Crown Square is now sited) was not
suited to be built upon until the construction of the vaults in the 15th
century, it seems probable that any earlier buildings would have been located
towards the northern part of the rock; that is around the area where St.
Margaret's Chapel stands. This has been suggested that the chapel is the last
remnant of a square, stone keep, which would have formed the bulk of the 12th-century
fortification. The structure may have been similar to the keep of Carlisle
Castle, which David I began after 1135.
David's successor King Malcolm IV (r.1153–1165) reportedly
stayed at Edinburgh more than at any other location. But in 1174, King William "the Lion" (r.1165–1214) was
captured by the English at the Battle of Alnwick. He was forced to sign the
Treaty of Falaise to secure his release, in return for surrendering Edinburgh
Castle, along with the castles of Berwick, Roxburgh and Stirling, to the
English King, Henry II. The castle was occupied by the English for twelve
years, until 1186, when it was returned to William as the dowry of his English
bride, Ermengarde de Beaumont, who had been chosen for him by King Henry. By
the end of the 12th century, Edinburgh Castle was established as the main
repository of Scotland's official state papers.
Wars of Scottish
Independence
A century later, in 1286, on the death of King Alexander
III, the throne of Scotland became vacant. Edward I of England was appointed to
adjudicate the competing claims for the Scottish crown, but used the
opportunity to attempt to establish himself as the feudal overlord of Scotland.
During the negotiations, Edward stayed briefly at Edinburgh Castle and may have
received homage there from the Scottish nobles.
In March 1296, Edward I invaded Scotland, unleashing the
First War of Scottish Independence. Edinburgh Castle soon came under English
control, surrendering after a three-day-long bombardment. Following the siege,
Edward had many Scottish legal records and royal treasures moved from the castle
to England. A large garrison numbering 325 men was installed in 1300. Edward
also brought to Scotland his master builders of the Welsh castles, including
Thomas de Houghton and Master Walter of Hereford, both of whom travelled from
Wales to Edinburgh. After the death of Edward I in 1307, however, England's
control over Scotland weakened. On 14 March 1314, a surprise night attack by
Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray recaptured the castle. John Barbour's
narrative poem The Brus relates how a party of thirty hand-picked men was
guided by one William Francis, a member of the garrison who knew of a route
along the north face of the Castle Rock and a place where the wall might be
scaled. Making the difficult ascent, Randolph's men scaled the wall, surprised
the garrison and took control.
Robert the Bruce immediately ordered the slighting of the
castle to prevent its re-occupation by the English. Four months later, his army
secured victory at the Battle of Bannockburn.
After Bruce's death in 1329, Edward III of England
determined to renew the attempted subjugation of Scotland and supported the
claim of Edward Balliol, son of the former King John Balliol, over that of
Bruce's young son David II. Edward invaded in 1333, marking the start of the
Second War of Scottish Independence, and the English forces reoccupied and
refortified Edinburgh Castle in 1335, holding it until 1341. This time, the
Scottish assault was led by William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale. Douglas's
party disguised themselves as merchants from Leith bringing supplies to the
garrison. Driving a cart into the entrance, they halted it there to prevent the
gates from closing. A larger force hidden nearby rushed to join them and the
castle was retaken. The 100 English men of the garrison were all killed.
David's Tower and the
15th century
The 1357 Treaty of Berwick brought the Wars of Independence
to a close. David II resumed his rule and set about rebuilding Edinburgh Castle
which became his principal seat of government. David's Tower was begun around
1367, and was incomplete when David died at the castle in 1371. It was
completed by his successor, Robert II, in the 1370s. The tower stood on the
site of the present Half Moon Battery connected by a section of curtain wall to
the smaller Constable's Tower, a round tower built between 1375 and 1379 where
the Portcullis Gate now stands.
In the early 15th century, another English invasion, this
time under Henry IV, reached Edinburgh Castle and began a siege, but eventually
withdrew due to lack of supplies. From 1437, Sir William Crichton was Keeper of
Edinburgh Castle, and soon after became Chancellor of Scotland. In an attempt
to gain the regency of Scotland, Crichton sought to break the power of the
Douglases, the principal noble family in the kingdom. The 16-year-old William
Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas, and his younger brother David were summoned to
Edinburgh Castle in November 1440. After the so-called "Black Dinner" had taken place in David's Tower, both
boys were summarily executed on trumped-up charges in the presence of the
10-year-old King James II (r.1437–1460). Douglas' supporters subsequently
besieged the castle, inflicting damage. Construction continued throughout this
period, with the area now known as Crown Square being laid out over vaults in
the 1430s. Royal apartments were built, forming the nucleus of the later palace
block, and a Great Hall was in existence by 1458. In 1464, access to the castle
was improved when the current approach road up the north-east side of the rock
was created to allow easier movement of the royal artillery train in and out of
the area now known as the Upper Ward.
In 1479, Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany, was imprisoned
in David's Tower for plotting against his brother, King James III
(r.1460–1488). He escaped by getting his guards drunk, and then lowering himself
from a window on a rope. The duke fled to France, then England, where he allied
himself with King Edward IV. In 1482, Albany marched into Scotland with Richard,
Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III), and an English army. James III was
trapped in the castle from 22 July to 29 September 1482 until he successfully
negotiated a settlement.
During the 15th century, the castle was increasingly used as
an arsenal and armaments factory. The first known purchase of a gun was in
1384, and the "great bombard" Mons
Meg was delivered to Edinburgh in 1457. The first recorded mention of an armory
for the manufacture of guns occurs in 1474, and by 1498 the master gunner
Robert Borthwick was casting bronze guns at Edinburgh. By 1511 Edinburgh was
the principal foundry in Scotland, supplanting Stirling Castle, with Scottish
and European smiths working under Borthwick, who by 1512 was appointed "master melter of the king's guns".
Their output included guns for the Scottish flagship, the "Great Michael", and the "Seven Sisters", a set of cannons captured by the English
at Flodden in 1513. Sir Thomas Howard, England's Lord Admiral, admired their
graceful shape and brilliant finish, declaring them the most beautiful [cannon]
for their size and length that he had ever seen. From 1510 Dutch craftsmen were
also producing hand culverins, an early firearm. After Flodden, Borthwick
continued his work, producing an unknown number of guns, but none have
survived. He was succeeded by French smiths, who began manufacturing hagbuts
(another type of firearm) in the 1550s, and by 1541 the castle had a stock of
413.
Meanwhile, the royal family began to stay more frequently at
the Abbey of Holyrood, about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the castle. Around the end of
the fifteenth century, King James IV (r.1488–1513) built the Palace of
Holyroodhouse, by the abbey, as his principal Edinburgh residence and the
castle's role as a royal home subsequently declined. James IV did, however,
construct the Great Hall, which was completed in the early 16th century, and
the castle featured in his tournaments of the Wild Knight and the Black Lady.
His daughter Margaret Stewart was lodged in the castle with her servant Ellen
More.
16th century and the
Lang Siege
James IV was killed in battle at Flodden Field, on 9
September 1513. Expecting the English to press their advantage, the Scots
hastily constructed a town wall around Edinburgh and augmented the castle's defenses.
Robert Borthwick and a Frenchman, Antoine d'Arces, were involved in designing
new artillery defenses and fortifications in 1514, though it appears from lack
of evidence that little of the planned work was carried out. Three years later,
King James V (r.1513–1542), still only five years old, was brought to the
castle for safety. Upon his death 25 years later, the crown passed to his
week-old daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots. English invasions followed, as King
Henry VIII attempted to force a dynastic marriage on Scotland. When the English
burnt Edinburgh in May 1544 the gunner Andrew Mansioun firing from the castle
destroyed an English cannon placed to bombard the forework. In 1547 disaffected
members of the garrison who resented Regent Arran came to Norham Castle and
offered to let the English in.
Refortification in 1548 included an earthen angle-bastion,
known as the Spur, of the type known as trace italienne, one of the earliest
examples in Britain. Brunstane Castle the home of the traitor Alexander
Crichton was demolished to provide building materials. The Spur may have been
designed by Migliorino Ubaldini, an Italian engineer from the court of Henry II
of France, and was said to have the arms of France carved on it. James V's
widow, Mary of Guise, acted as regent from 1554 until her death at the castle
in 1560.
The following year, the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots,
returned from France to begin her reign, which was marred by crises and
quarrels among the powerful Protestant Scottish nobility. In 1565, the Queen
made an unpopular marriage with Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and the following
year, in a small room of the Palace at Edinburgh Castle, she gave birth to
their son James, who would later be King of both Scotland and England. Mary's
reign was, however, brought to an abrupt end. Three months after the murder of
Darnley at Kirk o' Field in 1567, she married James Hepburn, 4th Earl of
Bothwell, one of the chief murder suspects. A large proportion of the nobility
rebelled, resulting ultimately in the imprisonment and forced abdication of
Mary at Lochleven Castle. She escaped and fled to England, but some of the
nobility remained faithful to her cause. Edinburgh Castle was initially handed
by its captain, James Balfour, to the Regent Moray, who had forced Mary's abdication
and now held power in the name of the infant King James VI. Shortly after the
Battle of Langside, in May 1568, Moray appointed Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange
Keeper of the Castle.
Grange was a trusted lieutenant of the Regent, but after
Moray's murder in January 1570 his allegiance to the King's cause began to
waver. Intermittent civil war continued between the supporters of the two
monarchs, and in April 1571 Dumbarton Castle fell to "the King's men". Under the influence of William
Maitland of Lethington, Mary's secretary, Grange changed sides, occupying the
town and castle of Edinburgh for Queen Mary, and against the new regent, the
Earl of Lennox. The stand-off which followed was not resolved until two years
later, and became known as the "Lang
Siege", from the Scots word for "long".
Hostilities began in May, with a month-long siege of the town, and a second
short siege in October. Blockades and skirmishing continued meanwhile, and
Grange continued to refortify the castle. The King's party appealed to
Elizabeth I of England for assistance, as they lacked the artillery and money
required to reduce the castle, and feared that Grange would receive aid from
France and the Duke of Alba in the Spanish Netherlands. Elizabeth sent
ambassadors to negotiate, and in July 1572 a truce was agreed and the blockade
lifted. The town was effectively surrendered to the King's party, with Grange
confined to the castle.
The truce expired on 1 January 1573, and Grange began
bombarding the town. His supplies of powder and shot, however, were running
low, and despite having 40 cannons available, there were only seven gunners in
the garrison. The King's forces, now with the Earl of Morton in charge as
regent, were making headway with plans for a siege. Trenches were dug to
surround the castle, and St Margaret's Well was poisoned. By February, all
Queen Mary's other supporters had surrendered to the Regent, but Grange
resolved to resist despite water shortages within the castle. The garrison
continued to bombard the town, killing a number of citizens. They also made
sorties to set fires, burning 100 houses in the town and then firing on anyone
attempting to put out the flames.
In April, a force of around 1,000 English troops, led by Sir
William Drury, arrived in Edinburgh. They were followed by 27 cannons from
Berwick-upon-Tweed, including one that had been cast within Edinburgh Castle
and captured by the English at Flodden. The English troops built an artillery
emplacement on Castle Hill, immediately facing the east walls of the castle,
and five others to the north, west and south. By 17 May these batteries were
ready, and the bombardment began. Over the next 12 days, the gunners dispatched
around 3,000 shots at the castle. On 22 May, the south wall of David's Tower
collapsed, and the next day the Constable's Tower also fell. The debris blocked
the castle entrance, as well as the Fore Well, although this had already run
dry. On 26 May, the English attacked and captured the Spur, the outer
fortification of the castle, which had been isolated by the collapse. The
following day Grange emerged from the castle by a ladder after calling for a
ceasefire to allow negotiations for a surrender to take place. When it was made
clear that he would not be allowed to go free even if he ended the siege,
Grange resolved to continue the resistance, but the garrison threatened to
mutiny. He therefore arranged for Drury and his men to enter the castle on 28
May, preferring to surrender to the English rather than the Regent Morton.
Edinburgh Castle was handed over to George Douglas of Parkhead, the Regent's
brother, and the garrison was allowed to go free.[83] In contrast, Kirkcaldy of
Grange, his brother James and two jewelers, James Mossman and James Cokke, who
had been minting coins in Mary's name inside the castle, were hanged at the Cross
in Edinburgh on 3 August.
Nova Scotia and Civil
War
Much of the castle was subsequently rebuilt by Regent
Morton, including the Spur, the new Half Moon Battery and the Portcullis Gate.
Some of these works were supervised by William MacDowall, the master of work
who fifteen years earlier had repaired David's Tower. The Half Moon Battery,
while impressive in size, is considered by historians to have been an
ineffective and outdated artillery fortification. This may have been due to a
shortage of resources, although the battery's position obscuring the ancient
David's Tower and enhancing the prominence of the palace block has been seen as
a significant decision.
The battered palace block remained unused, particularly
after James VI departed to become King of England in 1603. James had repairs
carried out in 1584, and in 1615–1616 more extensive repairs were carried out
in preparation for his return visit to Scotland. The mason William Wallace and
master of works James Murray introduced an early Scottish example of the
double-pile block. The principal external features were the three, three-storey
oriel windows on the east façade, facing the town and emphasising that this was
a palace rather than just a place of defence. During his visit in 1617, James
held court in the refurbished palace block, but still preferred to sleep at
Holyrood.
In 1621, King James granted Sir William Alexander the land
in North America between New England and Newfoundland, as Nova Scotia ("New Scotland"). To promote
the settlement and plantation of the new territory, the Baronetage of Nova
Scotia was created in 1624. Under Scots law, baronets had to "take sasine" by symbolically
receiving the earth and stone of the land of which they were baronet. To make
this possible, since Nova Scotia was so distant, the King declared that sasine
could be taken either in the new province or alternatively "at the castle of Edinburgh as the most eminent and principal
place of Scotland."
James' successor, King Charles I, visited Edinburgh Castle
only once, hosting a feast in the Great Hall and staying the night before his
Scottish coronation in 1633. This was the last occasion that a reigning monarch
resided in the castle. In 1639, in response to Charles' attempts to impose
Episcopacy on the Scottish Church, civil war broke out between the King's
forces and the Presbyterian Covenanters. The Covenanters, led by Alexander
Leslie, captured Edinburgh Castle after a short siege, although it was restored
to Charles after the Peace of Berwick in June the same year. The peace was
short-lived, however, and the following year the Covenanters took the castle
again, this time after a three-month siege, during which the garrison ran out
of supplies. The Spur was badly damaged and was demolished in the 1640s. The
Royalist commander James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose, was imprisoned here
after his capture in 1650.
In May 1650, the Covenanters signed the Treaty of Breda,
allying themselves with the exiled Charles II against the English
Parliamentarians, who had executed his father the previous year. In response to
the Scots proclaiming Charles King, Oliver Cromwell launched an invasion of
Scotland, defeating the Covenanter army at Dunbar in September. Edinburgh
Castle was taken after a three-month siege, which caused further damage. The
Governor of the Castle, Colonel Walter Dundas, surrendered to Cromwell despite
having enough supplies to hold out, allegedly from a desire to change sides.
Garrison fortress: Jacobites and prisoners of war
After his Restoration in 1660, Charles II opted to maintain
a full-time standing army based on Cromwell's New Model Army. From this time
until 1923, a garrison was continuously maintained at the castle. The medieval
royal castle was transformed into a garrison fortress, but continued to see
military and political action. The Marquis of Argyll was imprisoned here in
1661, when King Charles II settled old scores with his enemies following his
return to the throne. Twenty years later, Argyll's son, the 9th Earl of Argyll,
was also imprisoned in the castle for religious Nonconformism in the reign of
King James VII. He escaped by disguising himself as his sister's footman, but
was recaptured and returned to the castle after his failed rebellion to oust
James from the throne in 1685.
James VII was deposed and exiled by the Glorious Revolution
of 1688, which installed William of Orange as King of England. Not long after,
in early 1689, the Estates of Scotland, after convening to accept William
formally as their new king, demanded that Duke of Gordon, Governor of the
Castle, surrender the fortress. Gordon, who had been appointed by James VII as
a fellow Catholic, refused. In March 1689, the castle was blockaded by 7,000
troops against a garrison of 160 men, further weakened by religious disputes.
On 18 March, Viscount Dundee, intent on raising a rebellion in the Highlands,
climbed up the western side of the Castle Rock to urge Gordon to hold the castle
against the new King. Gordon agreed, but during the ensuing siege he refused to
fire upon the town, while the besiegers inflicted little damage on the castle.
Despite Dundee's initial successes in the north, Gordon eventually surrendered
on 14 June, due to dwindling supplies and having lost 70 men during the three-month
siege.
Painting of the
castle under a stormy sky
The castle was almost taken in the first Jacobite rising in
support of James Stuart, the "Old
Pretender", in 1715. On 8 September, just two days after the rising
began, a party of around 100 Jacobite Highlanders, led by Lord Drummond,
attempted to scale the walls with the assistance of members of the garrison.
However, the rope ladder lowered by the castle sentries was too short, and the
alarm was raised after a change of the watch. The Jacobites fled, while the
deserters within the castle were hanged or flogged. In 1728, General Wade
reported that the castle's defenses were decayed and inadequate, and a major
strengthening of the fortifications was carried out throughout the 1720s and
1730s. This was the period when most of the artillery defenses and bastions on
the north and west sides of the castle were built. These were designed by
military engineer Captain John Romer, and built by the architect William Adam.
They include the Argyle Battery, Mills Mount Battery, the Low Defenses and the
Western Defenses.
The last military action at the castle took place during the
second Jacobite rising of 1745. The Jacobite army, under Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie"), captured
Edinburgh without a fight in September 1745, but the castle remained in the
hands of its ageing Deputy Governor, General George Preston, who refused to
surrender. After their victory over the government army at Prestonpans on 21
September, the Jacobites attempted to blockade the castle. Preston's response
was to bombard Jacobite positions within the town. After several buildings had
been demolished and four people killed, Charles called off the blockade. The
Jacobites themselves had no heavy guns with which to respond, and by November
they had marched into England, leaving Edinburgh to the castle garrison.
Over the next century, the castle vaults were used to hold
prisoners of war during several conflicts, including the Seven Years' War
(1756–1763), the American War of Independence (1775–1783) and the Napoleonic Wars
(1803–1815). During this time, several new buildings were erected within the
castle, including powder magazines, stores, the Governor's House (1742), and the
New Barracks (1796–1799).
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