The Hub, Edinburgh facts for kids
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Victoria Hall
Highland Tolbooth St John’s Church |
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The Hub seen from the Lawnmarket during the Edinburgh Festival.
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| Location | Edinburgh, Scotland, UK |
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| Coordinates | 55°56′56.32″N 3°11′40.73″W / 55.9489778°N 3.1946472°W |
| Operator | Edinburgh International Festival |
| Capacity | 400 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1845 |
| Reopened | 1999 |
| Architect | James Gillespie Graham and Augustus Welby Pugin |
The Hub is a special building in the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland. It sits at the very top of the Royal Mile. You can easily spot it because its tall, pointy Gothic spire reaches 71.7 meters high! This makes it the tallest point in central Edinburgh, looking down on buildings near Edinburgh Castle.
The building is a great example of Gothic Revival architecture. This style brings back the look of old Gothic buildings. It was designed by famous architects J Gillespie Graham and Augustus Pugin. The Hub was built between 1842 and 1845. It was first meant to be a meeting hall for the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. From 1929 until the mid-1980s, it was used as a church. Today, The Hub is the home of the Edinburgh International Festival. It works as a ticket office, information center, and a place for performances.
Contents
The Hub's Story: From Church to Festival Home
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In the mid-1800s, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland used to meet in St Giles' Cathedral. At that time, St Giles' was split into four different churches. Each church had its own group of people who worshipped there. From 1829 to 1831, St Giles' Cathedral was being fixed up by architect William Burn. Because of this, the General Assembly needed a new place to meet.
There were ideas to fix up the old Holyrood Abbey for the Assembly. Architects J Gillespie Graham and Augustus Pugin had designs for it. But this plan did not happen. Instead, a new church called Knox Memorial Church was being planned. Its foundations were already laid by Thomas Hamilton in 1829. The General Assembly decided to use this spot instead. They asked Graham to design a new building, which they called Victoria Hall.
It was built between 1839 and 1844. Queen Victoria herself laid a special foundation stone on September 3, 1842. This was during her first visit to Edinburgh. One of the church groups from St Giles', the Tolbooth Kirk, also moved to the new building in 1843.
The General Assembly met in the lower hall of the church until 1929. That year, the Church of Scotland joined with the United Free Church of Scotland. The new, combined church decided to use the former United Free Church's General Assembly Hall on The Mound for future meetings. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland still meets there today.
After 1929, the building was used by different church groups. It was never officially made a church, but people worshipped there. In 1956, it was named the Highland Tolbooth St John's Church. This church was special because it held services in both Gaelic and English.
In 1979, the Tolbooth church group joined with the nearby Greyfriars Kirk. The Tolbooth Kirk building then closed. The building was mostly empty until 1999. Then, it was made new again to create offices and a performance space for the Edinburgh International Festival. It was renamed "The Hub." Queen Elizabeth officially opened the newly changed building in 1999.
What The Hub Is Used For Today
Today, The Hub is the main home for the Edinburgh International Festival. It serves as the central place to buy tickets and get information. It is also a performance venue for the festival. The building can be used for many things, like shows, conferences, and even weddings.
Inside, you'll find the Hub Cafe. It also has the main box office for the International Festival. There is a large performance space that can hold 420 people. Plus, there are two smaller rooms, the Glass Room and the Dunard Library. These are perfect for smaller events.
Before the new Scottish Parliament Building was finished in 2004, The Hub was sometimes used for meetings of the Scottish Parliament. This happened when the Church of Scotland's General Assembly Hall was not available. The Parliament even came back to The Hub for two weeks in 2006. This was after a beam broke in their main meeting room.
The Hub's Amazing Architecture
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The Hub is located on a corner where three streets meet: Castlehill, Johnston Terrace, and the Lawnmarket. This is right at the top of the Royal Mile. Its most striking feature is the tall belfry (bell tower) and clock tower. It has a pointy, eight-sided spire at its east end, looking over the Lawnmarket. The clock was made by James Ritchie & Son.
The old Tolbooth Kirk is a beautiful example of Gothic Revival architecture. It is known for its fancy stone carvings. These carvings are in the "Decorated Gothic" style. You can see features like crockets (leafy decorations), pinnacles (small spires), gablets (small gables), and lancet windows (tall, narrow windows).
It was unusual for a church building to have two floors. But Victoria Hall was built this way for its two purposes. The ground floor had committee rooms for the General Assembly. The upper floor had a large room. This room could be used for Christian worship or for the General Assembly meetings. Pugin, who had just designed the Palace of Westminster in London, was good at creating buildings that looked like grand old European structures. He aimed to make an impressive building for Scotland's national church.
The inside of the main hall has a fancy, rib-vaulted ceiling. It is decorated with carved wood panels. This includes a special wooden screen, designed by Pugin and Gillespie Graham. At the east end, there is a fancy pulpit (a raised stand for a speaker). It has a wooden spire on top. This pulpit includes parts of the chair used by the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, also designed by Pugin.
See also
In Spanish: The Hub (Edimburgo) para niños
