{"id":4354,"date":"2026-04-18T12:27:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T11:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/?p=4354"},"modified":"2026-07-29T09:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T08:39:11","slug":"merchiston-tower-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/2026\/04\/18\/merchiston-tower-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Merchiston Tower"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Merchiston Tower<\/h1>\n<p>In the centre of Merchiston Tower, you will find Merchiston Tower.<\/p>\n<p>Have you ever wondered what\u2019s inside? What\u2019s its history? Want to peek inside?<\/p>\n<p>Let us take you on a brief digital walk through the Tower in the blog post.<\/p>\n<h2>History of Merchiston Tower<\/h2>\n<p>Merchiston Tower has stood firm for over 500 years. Built in the middle of the 1400s, either by Andrew Napier or his son, Sir Alexander Napier, both of whom served as Provost of Edinburgh and both of whom moved in royal circles.<\/p>\n<p>John Napier (Alexander\u2019s grandson) was born in the Tower in 1550. Specifically, the University is named after John Napier. His inventions and contributions to Mathematics are longstanding, with his most known invention being logarithms. There is a lot of \u201cmyth, mystery, and intrigue\u201d (John Napier napier.ac.uk) about the man, and you can read about him in a previous blog post on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.napier.ac.uk\/about-us\/our-location\/our-campuses\/libraries-and-heritage-collections\/heritage-collections\/john-napier-of-merchiston\">Edinburgh Napier University\u2019s webpages<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Tower remained in the Napier family until the beginning of the 1800s. It was then owned by the Merchiston Castle School, followed by the Edinburgh Council. For a while, it was also a storage space for fire hoses during the Second World War. By the 1950s, the Tower was set for demolition. It was in ruins. However, in 1958, a new technical college was coming to Edinburgh. A college that needed a campus. Napier College was formed around the Tower, saved from demolition and beginning a work of restoration. These restorations would uncover ceilings and stairwells that had been hidden for a century.<\/p>\n<p>The hallway ceiling of the Tower now proudly displays the University\u2019s crest and showcases the Tower&#8217;s timeline, a nod to the Napier family, Merchiston Castle School, and the Edinburgh Council.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4256\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/?attachment_id=4256\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2024\/11\/uncat-2024-0033-0005.jpg?fit=11405%2C12300&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"11405,12300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Rebbecca Cram&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 4000D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;uncat-2024-0033-0005&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1711147883&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;18&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;3200&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.033333333333333&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;uncat-2024-0033-0005&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2024\/11\/uncat-2024-0033-0005.jpg?fit=676%2C729&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-4256 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2024\/11\/uncat-2024-0033-0005.jpg?resize=488%2C527&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Napier Crest\" width=\"488\" height=\"527\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 488px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 488\/527;\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Inside the Tower<\/h3>\n<p>Can\u2019t wait to have a look? Let\u2019s go on a digital walkthrough. And while we have lovely pictures, nothing compares to seeing it in person.<\/p>\n<p>The original great hall stands to the left as you enter. In this hall, you will find a stunning, decorative ceiling that was commemorated during the reign of Charles II, the decorations showcasing the Napier family\u2019s loyalty to the crown. The massive fireplace is thought to be original to the Tower. The north and south windows are original, while the east window dates from the 17<sup>th<\/sup> century. During the restoration in the 1950s, a staircase in the thick walls was found.<\/p>\n<p>The once hidden staircase leads to the Boardroom that now stretches across the third and fourth floors. The fourth floor would have been a loft area, home to servants, but it has now been opened up to make the room fell bigger and to properly showcase.<\/p>\n<p>The magnificent Prestongrange Ceiling it dates from 1581. A rare example of a Scottish Renaissance painted ceiling, it was moved from Prestongrange House to Merchiston Tower in 1964 for preservation purposes. The ceiling is filled with art, featuring many motifs from folk plays. Truly Unique!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4257\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/?attachment_id=4257\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2024\/11\/uncat-2024-0034-0001.jpg?fit=13574%2C8084&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"13574,8084\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Rebbecca Cram&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 4000D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;uncat-2024-0034-0001&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1711146690&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;18&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;1250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;uncat-2024-0034-0001&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2024\/11\/uncat-2024-0034-0001.jpg?fit=676%2C403&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4257 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2024\/11\/uncat-2024-0034-0001.jpg?resize=676%2C403&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Prestongrange ceiling\" width=\"676\" height=\"403\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 676px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 676\/403;\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Merchiston Tower and John Napier<\/h4>\n<p>In 1550, John Napier was born in the tower house. Over 400 years later, the Tower was saved from demolition and restoration work began for a new college to be named after John Napier. Now, it stands proud in the middle of our biggest campus, home to two of our schools: School of Arts and Creative Industries and School of Computing, Engineering &amp; Built Environment.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>References<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Merchiston Tower Edinburgh<\/p>\n<p>The Napier Estate Past and Present<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Merchiston Tower In the centre of Merchiston Tower, you will find Merchiston Tower. Have you ever wondered what\u2019s inside? What\u2019s its history? Want to peek inside? Let us take you on a brief digital walk through the Tower in the blog post. History of Merchiston Tower Merchiston Tower has stood firm for over 500 years. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":275,"featured_media":4258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[184,124],"tags":[1030,1029,1010,1075],"class_list":["post-4354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-library-information","tag-historytours-edinburghhistory-historyofedinburgh","tag-localhistory-localheritage-explorehistory","tag-merchiston-merchistontower-tour-history-history-historicaltours-edinburgh-edinburghnapier-heritagecollections","tag-tourguide-historical-historylovers-medieval-medievalhistory","post-preview"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Merchiston Tower - The Library Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Merchiston Tower has stand for over 500 years. 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