Parliament House, Edinburgh

Parliament House in Edinburgh, Scotland, was home to the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland, and now houses the Supreme Courts of Scotland. It is located in the Old Town, just off the Royal Mile, beside St Giles Cathedral.

The oldest part of Parliament House is Parliament Hall, which the Town Council of Edinburgh, at its expense, had built as a permanent home for the Estates of Parliament, and as such is the oldest extant purpose-built parliamentary building in the British Isles. It was completed in 1639 to the design of James Murray. It has a dramatic hammer-beam roof constructed of oak from the Balgonie and Culross forests of Fife, thought to be the hardest and most durable in Scotland during that period. The roof of the former Tron Church in the High Street is similar. The roof of the new Scottish Parliament Building continues this tradition, and is supported by large laminated oak beams.

After the Act of Union 1707, the Estates of Parliament was adjourned, and the building ceased to be used for its original function. The Hall was used for the sitting of courts, but in recent times has been subject to restoration work and now remains open as a meeting place for lawyers.

Beneath Parliament Hall lies the Laigh Hall, of similar plan form but considerably less height.

The right-hand example of the two smaller fireplaces has carved scenes from The Merchant of Venice.

Statues on the north wall include: The 1st Viscount Melville by Sir Francis Chantrey (1818); The 2nd Viscount Melville by Sir Francis Chantrey (1824); Lord Cockburn by William Brodie (1863).

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