Old Surgeons' Hall

In 1697, the surgeons of Edinburgh moved from their former meeting place in Dickson's Close to conduct their business in what we now refer to as Old Surgeons' Hall. This building, on the south side of Surgeons' Square, was built by architect James Smith (c.1645 - 1731). It remained the home of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh until 1832, when they moved to new and more prestigious premises in Nicolson Street, which they still occupy today.

For the next 50 years, Surgeons' Hall became a Fever Hospital attached to the old Royal Infirmary, which lay in Infirmary Street (demolished c.1884), with ancillary buildings in High School Yards which remain. The building has been much altered over the years; it was originally two storeys but was raised to three in the 19th century. More recently it was occupied by the University of Edinburgh Faculty of Dentistry. Following the closure of the Dental School (1995), the building became the home of the Faculty of Social Sciences Graduate School. The interior has been comprehensively modernised, with no original features remaining.


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