Edinburgh City Chambers

Edinburgh City Chambers stands on the Royal Mile behind a stone quadrangle. The main block was once the Royal Exchange, built in the 1750s by John Adam and John Fergus. Small streets called closes once crossed the site before being built over and later reopened as The Real Mary King’s Close. The Exchange opened in 1760 with shops and a coffee room, though merchants preferred the Mercat Cross nearby. The Town Council took over the north wing in 1811 and bought the whole building by 1893. The Chambers became the headquarters of Edinburgh’s town council, then corporation, district council and finally the city council. It hosted Edinburgh Town Council from 1893 until 1895, when Edinburgh Corporation replaced it. The building served as the filming location for Braveheart in 1995 and the TV series Belgravia in 2019. Inside, the Council Chambers and much of the interior date from 1875 to 1890, designed by City Architect Robert Morham. Later additions include a north-west wing in 1898 and an arched arcade in 1901. Visitors enter through a groin-vaulted arcade facing the High Street. A bronze statue of Alexander taming Bucephalus stands in the quadrangle, cast in 1883 after being modelled in 1832. The Stone of Remembrance, unveiled in 1927, honours First World War dead. A statue of General Stanisław Maczek, unveiled in 2018, commemorates the Polish tank commander who lived in Edinburgh for 46 years. The east and west wings along the Royal Mile were added in the 1930s by City Architect Ebenezer James MacRae.