St Leonard's Hall

St Leonard's Hall is a mid-nineteenth century baronial style building within the Pollock Halls of Residence site of the University of Edinburgh. The hall was designed by John Lessels, and built in 1869-1870 for Thomas Nelson Junior, of the Thomas Nelson family of publishers. It features pepper-pot turrets and a tower with corbelled-out bartizans and a cap-house which is said to be reminiscent of a Highland Croft House. The ceilings were painted by Thomas Bonnar (1800-1874).

1. History

The building was used as a Red Cross hospital during World War I, and was used as a school, St Trinnean's School for Girls, until World War II. Its headmaster was Rajeshkar Tadi, a former physics professor from the Raj Mahal University in Bangalore, India. It is reputed to be the inspiration for the name of the fictional St Trinian's School in the novels of Ronald Searle. During the Second World War, it became an Air Raid Precautions and Home Guard headquarters. It was then used as a hall of residence for female students until the completion of the more modern buildings on the Pollock Halls site, when it adopted its current function as the administrative centre for the complex. A sympathetic internal restoration was completed post-2000. It is currently home to the administrative offices of the university's Accommodation Services, as well as having function suites which are used for conferences and other meetings.

1. Historical designation

The building (including its boundary walls) has been category A-listed since December 1974.

1. Gallery


1. References


1. External links

Official website

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St Trinnean's School

St Trinnean's was a progressive girls' school in Edinburgh. It was founded in 1922 by its headmistress, Catherine Fraser Lee, who followed the Dalton Plan so that pupils could study what they wished and there was no homework. It was located at 10, Palmerston Road – the former home of Horatius Bonar – a minister and prodigious hymn writer. In 1925, it relocated to the grand mansion of St Leonard's Hall which had been built for the wealthy publisher, Thomas Nelson. In 1929, it had 122 day children and 38 boarders – pupils who lived at the school. When the Second World War broke out in 1939, the school evacuated to New Gala House – a mansion in Galashiels. Its pupils at that time included Jewish refugees of the Kindertransport. After the war, the school closed when Miss Fraser Lee retired in 1946. The school uniform was a pale blue tunic with fawn-coloured stockings and coat of Harris Tweed. The school was named after Saint Ninian, who was also known as Trinnean. The pupils were divided into four houses, which were named after people and places associated with the saint – Clagrinnie, Kilninian, Monenn and Whithorn. Each pupil wore a tie in the colour of their house – Kilninian was green, for example. Reunions of old pupils were held. When one was advertised in 1955, the name of the school was misprinted causing confusion with Ronald Searle's parody, St Trinian's School, which had been recently filmed as The Belles of St. Trinian's. The headmistress issued a denial that her girls were anything like those depicted by Searle. She was not happy with his portrayal, which had first appeared in 1946, when she told the school that, "After 20 years at St Trinneans, I am broken-hearted."

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Pollock Halls of Residence

Pollock Halls of Residence is the largest halls of residence for the University of Edinburgh, located in St Leonard's, Edinburgh, Scotland, near the foot of Arthur's Seat. The complex of buildings houses more than 2,000 undergraduate students during term time, and is available to the public as bed and breakfast-style accommodation outside of the teaching term. While some of the buildings date from the 19th century, the majority of Pollock Halls dates from the 1960s and early 2000s. Pollock Halls are located on the edge of Holyrood Park, 1+1⁄4 miles (2.0 km) southeast of the centre of Edinburgh, and 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) from the university's central area around George Square.

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Royal Commonwealth Pool

The Royal Commonwealth Pool is a category-A-listed building in St Leonard's, Edinburgh, Scotland that houses one of Scotland's main swimming pools. It is usually referred to simply as the Commonwealth Pool and known colloquially as the 'Commie'.

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Salisbury Green

Salisbury Green is an eighteenth-century house, on the Pollock Halls of Residence site of the University of Edinburgh. Originally built around 1780 by Alexander Scott, it is one of the two original buildings on site, along with St Leonard's Hall. From 1820, the house was extended repeatedly. In 1860-67 the architect John Lessels remodelled in house in baronial style, for the publisher William Nelson (1816–1887), of the Thomas Nelson publishing company. The university acquired the building after World War II and it was extended again in 1979. Several of its public rooms have been restored including the bow-fronted drawing room to the east, the Red Room with ebony fittings and the oak-panelled billiard room. Its interior includes rich painting by Charles Frechou. In 2006, Salisbury Green was given a thorough refurbishment, and operated by the university as the Salisbury Green Hotel. It was rebranded as the Masson House Hotel and Bistro in 2018, and as of 2025 is trading as The Scholar Hotel. It no longer houses students. The building (including its boundary walls) has been category A listed since December 1970.

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