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George Heriot's School

A Renaissance palace of a school on Lauriston Place, begun in 1628 with the fortune of James VI's goldsmith and finished in 1693.

Welcome

Look south from Greyfriars Kirkyard and a palace fills the view: turrets, ogee-capped towers, a great clock tower and rows of carved windows around a courtyard.

It is a school. George Heriot, goldsmith and financier to James VI, died in 1624 and left his fortune to found a hospital, a charitable school, for the children of the city.

Work began in 1628 under the King's master mason, William Wallace, who drew on continental pattern books and the royal palaces of Denmark, and it went on for most of the century under the Mylnes and others. Before it could take its first pupils, Cromwell's army used it as a military hospital; the school finally opened in 1659, and the dome and lantern were finished in 1693.

Heriot's is a busy school to this day and is not open to visitors, but its north front can be admired from the kirkyard.

Round the cornerUnion of GeniusA small soup cafe on Forrest Road since 2012, under new owners since 2024, with the day's soups, bread and sandwiches.1 min by roadSee itRound hanging sign reading "soup cafe" outside a shopfront in black and white
Before you go

Heriot's is a working school and is not open to visitors.

The building is best seen from Greyfriars Kirkyard, which looks across at its north front, and from Lauriston Place, through the gates.

Where
Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, behind Greyfriars Kirkyard.
To see
The north front and its clock tower from Greyfriars Kirkyard; the gates from Lauriston Place.
Where it is

On Lauriston Place, south of the Grassmarket, looking across Greyfriars Kirkyard to the castle.

Close byGreyfriars and the Grassmarket.
  1. Greyfriars BobbyGreyfriars BobbyThe bronze of the Skye terrier said to have kept watch over his master's grave.Under a mile1 min by road
  2. Greyfriars KirkGreyfriars KirkThe first church built in Edinburgh after the Reformation, opened on Christmas Day 1620.Under a mile1 min by road
  3. Flodden WallFlodden WallThe last standing tower of the town wall built after Flodden, above the Grassmarket.Under a mile1 min by road
  4. Vennel StepsVennel StepsA steep stepped lane with one of the best-known views of the castle.Under a mile1 min by road
  5. Taxidermy sheep displayed in a glass museum caseDolly the SheepThe first mammal cloned from an adult cell, in the National Museum of Scotland.Under a mile1 min by road
Directions
Round hanging sign reading "soup cafe" outside a shopfront in black and whiteCafeUnion of Genius0.2 miles
A cloaked guide addresses tourists on a bridge above Edinburgh's Old TownShoppingThe Potter Trail0.2 miles
Transreal fiction shopfront at 46, with blue door beside itAttractionsTransreal Fiction0.2 miles
Green banquette seating and wooden tables inside a bar with large sash windowsRestaurantsCheckpoint0.2 miles
Carved walrus-ivory Lewis chessmen, king seated among bishops and wardersAttractionsThe Lewis Chess Pieces0.3 miles
Museum panel titled "Arthur's Seat Coffins" with text and William Burke execution illustrationAttractionsThe Arthur's Seat Coffins0.3 miles
Red-fronted shop reading "The Elephant House, Birthplace of Harry Potter" with hanging flower basketsCafeThe Elephant House0.3 miles
Illustration of Paradise Palms pub on Lothian Street, corner of Bristo SquareRestaurantsParadise Palms0.3 miles
Candlelit tables and wooden chairs beneath an oval plasterwork ceiling in a restaurantRestaurantsThe Outsider0.3 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near Heriot's, and when each is next free.

A round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Heriot's
Check datesA man walks past Bucken Booths entrance flanked by black lamp postsOld Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Heriot's
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Heriot's
Check datesA turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • A mile from Heriot's
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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