Basic Site Details

Name: Palace of Holyroodhouse, gatehouse and former guardroom
City or county: Edinburgh
Country: Scotland
Parish:  
Status: B listed
Grid ref:
Notes:  

Events

The following date-based events are associated with this building:
 FromToEvent typeNotes
Item 1 of 21857  Reconstruction of its surviving stairtower
Item 2 of 21861 Build/constructionGatehouse

People

Design and Construction

The following individuals or organisations have carried out design/construction work. Where architects or practices worked together, matching letters appear beside their names in the Partnership Group column.
 NameRolePartnership GroupFromToNotes
Item 1 of 4H M Office of Works (later Ministry of Works, Department of the Environment and Property Services Agency) A1857 Reconstruction of its surviving stairtower - Matheson as architect for Scotland in the Office of Works
Item 2 of 4Robert Matheson A1857 Reconstruction of its surviving stairtower - Matheson as architect for Scotland in the Office of Works
Item 3 of 4H M Office of Works (later Ministry of Works, Department of the Environment and Property Services Agency) B1861 Gatehouse
Item 4 of 4Robert Matheson B1861 Gatehouse

Related Buildings, Structures and Designs

Parent Structure and Site

This structure is related to the following parent structure or site (click the item to view details):
 Building nameNotes
Item 1 of 1Palace of HolyroodhouseList description notes that John Fowler was involved at some stage but does not make clear what his input was.

Chapel now demolished.

Robert Reid work:

SE portion rebuilt; SE quarter refloored, replastered, new woodwork, Duke of Hamiltpon's apartment woodwork cut out, new plaster and woodwork refinished. Also rebuilding part of the south wall forming the garden front of the palace tpowards the east, new roof over north west angle. Duke of Hamilton's (commendator's0 house removed; one of the south towers in common rublle completely rebuilt in ashlar, parapaets of towers renewed. South side refaced in ashlar. Alterations to interior cost £1945. Abbey Court almost completely taken down and rebuilt.

John Douglas repair work (abstract from article by Dimitris Theodossopoulos):

The collapse of the significant church of Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh in December 1768 is discussed as the result of the ill-conceived repair of the roof in 1760, i.e., the substitution of the timber trusses with closelyspaced diaphragm masonry walls that aggravated the delicate equilibrium of the vaults and the poor state of a building being mutilated over 250 years. This study interprets these repairs by demonstrating the authorship and partnership of the architect John Douglas with the mason-developer James McPherson, who combined architectural ambition (the aesthetics of a flagstone roof) with the (cheaper) option of diaphragms, which would not involve a wright. The detailed examination of the procurement, the process of the intervention, the collapse, and the limited impact of its aftermath, are framed in a wider technical and historical context in Edinburgh and Scotland, during a period marked by several failures of medieval churches, and reveals a poor understanding of a critical element in Gothic construction. Analysis of all public archive material available sheds light on key events of the case, and critical study of the work of the two partners’ attempts to identify the intentions of their project, whose limitations were inevitable once the partnership was formed.

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this building:
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 1Gifford, John, McWilliam, Colin and Walker, David M1984Edinburgh (The Buildings of Scotland) Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltdp141-142

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this building:
 SourceArchive nameSource catalogue no.Notes
Item 1 of 2Historic Environment ScotlandListed Buildings Register28025 
Item 2 of 2National Records of Scotland (formerly SRO, later NAS)Ministry of Works files