Mylnes Court Halls of Residence - The History of The Halls

Back To The Main Page

The Staff at Mylnes

Forthcoming Events

Edinburgh and Beyond

FAQs

Centrally located in the Lawnmarket area of the city, on the Royal Mile by Edinburgh Castle, Mylne's Court is a collection of historic buildings which includes the oldest official student Hall of Residence in Scotland. Comprising three separate residences for postgraduates, Edward Salvesen Hall, Philip Henman Hall and Patrick Geddes Hall, the entire site is collectively named after the distinguished architect, Robert Mylne, who was Master Mason to the Crown in Scotland from 1668 to 1710 and who designed the most of the present buildings towards the end of the 17th Century.

Mylne's Court was completely refurbished in the mid-1990's, and is today a warm, comfortable and very popular self-catering residence, reserved primarily for postgraduate students. The recent upgrading process has seen the original corridor-style layout of the buildings largely disappear, with the great majority of the accommodation now consisting of flats for groups of 5 students. There is also a small number of flats for couples.

Apart from the flats for couples, all bedrooms at Mylne's Court are single- occupancy. Bathroom facilities (showers and baths) are shared by the occupants of each flat, as are the full cooking facilities which are also provided.

Like other University residences, there is a full cleaning service at Mylne's Court, and a resident Wardening staff provides a framework of backup and support to the residents.

History

Mylne's Court was originally built as a speculative venture in private housing, providing comfortable family accommodation in flats of from 4 to 7 rooms. The revolutionary feature of building round four sides, with a central court, earmarked a major change to the traditional and congested approach to town planning. However, the fourth side was demolished back in 1883, as the City's Old Town properties were left to to fall into a state of serious disrepair.

By the 1960s, a structural survey showed that the building might have to be demolished, however the University had control of the property and, thanks to many generous benefactors, was able to preserve and convert Mylne's Court into student residential property. The north and east sides were formally opened as Edward Salvesen Hall (1969), with the remainder of the building opening as Philip Henman Hall (1970).

The history of Patrick Geddes Hall is even more colourful as it is this building which first acted as a student Hall of Residence in 1887 under the supervision of the 'avant garde' educationalist Patrick Geddes. It was Geddes who installed seven students in the property by way of a radical experiment in student community living, outwith the academic environment. The result was a resounding success and the building continued as student accommodation in various forms throughout the years. When Mylne's Court re-opened in1969 Patrick Geddes Hall (then known as New College Residence) became part of the building, and it was fully refurbished in 1978.

The entire Mylne's Court complex was closed for complete refurbishment in 1995 and now provides very comfortable living quarters for a total of 176 students, on a self-catering basis.

Mylne's Court, Lawnmarket, EDINBURGH, EH1 2PF
House Office telephone: 0131-650 8930