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Forrest Hill drill hall

Coordinates: 55°56′45″N 3°11′31″W / 55.94590°N 3.19203°W / 55.94590; -3.19203
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Forrest Hill drill hall
Edinburgh, Scotland
Forrest Hill drill hall
Forrest Hill drill hall is located in Edinburgh
Forrest Hill drill hall
Forrest Hill drill hall
Location in Edinburgh
Coordinates55°56′45″N 3°11′31″W / 55.94590°N 3.19203°W / 55.94590; -3.19203
TypeDrill hall
Site history
Built1872
Built forWar Office
ArchitectDuncan Menzies
In use1872 – 1993
Listed Building – Category B
Designated8 May 1975
Reference no.LB27773

The Forrest Hill drill hall is a former military installation in Edinburgh, Scotland. The building is now owned by the University of Edinburgh.

History

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The building was designed by Duncan Menzies as the headquarters of the Queen's Edinburgh Rifles and completed in 1872.[1] Following extensive refurbishment work the building was re-opened by the Duke of Connaught in May 1905.[2]

The Queen's Edinburgh Rifle Volunteer Brigade became the 4th and 5th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) Battalions, the Royal Scots in 1908.[1] The battalions were mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to Gallipoli and then to the Western Front.[3] The 4th and 5th battalions amalgamated to form the 4th/5th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) Battalion, with its headquarters at the Forrest Hill drill hall in 1922.[4] In 1939 the battalion converted to manning searchlights and, in 1940, became an anti-aircraft regiment of the Royal Artillery.[4]

The drill hall was the home of the Edinburgh University Officers' Training Corps and its successors, the Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt Universities OTC and the City of Edinburgh Universities OTC, from 1957 until the Universities OTC moved to Duke of Edinburgh House in Colinton Road, Edinburgh in 1993.[5] The building was decommissioned and taken over by the University of Edinburgh in the mid-1990s. The building then became the location of the Department of Artificial Intelligence.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Edinburgh, 5 Forrest Hill, University Of Edinburgh, Department Of Artificial Intelligence". Canmore. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  2. ^ "5 Forrest Hill Road and 41 Forrest Road (Former Territorial Army Centre and University of Edinburgh, School of Artificial Intelligence), Edinburgh". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  3. ^ "The Royal Scots". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  4. ^ a b "The Territorial Army". Royal Scots. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  5. ^ "City of Edinburgh Universities Officers' Training Corps". Lowland Reserve Forces and Cadets Association. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
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