Parliament House

Why go

Parliament House connects Scotland’s parliamentary past with the legal life of the Old Town. Parliament Hall was completed in 1639, and legal cases were heard here even before the Union. The classical frontage around Parliament Square belongs to a later remodelling, making the exterior useful for reading successive periods of civic architecture.

What to look for

• The classical facade wraps around Parliament House on Parliament Square.
• Parliament Hall was completed in 1639 for Scotland’s former Parliament.
• The building remains part of Scotland’s working Supreme Courts.

The full story

Parliament Hall, the oldest part of the complex, was built as a permanent home for Scotland’s Parliament under Charles I and completed in 1639. Its hammerbeam roof is made of Scandinavian oak. This interior belongs to the building’s original parliamentary role, which ended after the Act of Union in 1707. Legal work had already shared the complex with Parliament and became its main function afterwards. The surrounding libraries and facades show how the legal quarter continued to develop. The Advocates’ Library was founded in 1682; its non-legal collections were transferred to the new National Library of Scotland in 1925. The adjoining Signet Library occupies a building begun in 1810 to Robert Reid’s design. Its classical frontage wraps around Parliament House and replaced the earlier Scottish baronial facade. The building beside St Giles’ is therefore distinct from the modern Scottish Parliament at Holyrood: here, former parliamentary rooms became a continuing centre of the courts and legal professions.

Useful to know

• Combine the exterior with St Giles’ Cathedral and the Heart of Midlothian in Parliament Square.
• For entry, check court visitor arrangements and expect security screening; office hours do not establish heritage-tour access.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.