General Assembly Hall

Following the Disruption in the Church of Scotland in 1843, the emergent Free Church of Scotland urgently required a new theological college (New College) in Edinburgh, an Assembly Hall and a home for the Free High Church (the members of St Giles' Cathedral who left at the Disruption). A complex of buildings was thus designed by William Henry Playfair and built between 1845 and 1850. The Assembly Hall itself was designed by David Bryce and built in 1858–1859. The back of the Hall facing Castlehill was extended east by J. M. Dick Peddie in 1885, with further work in 1901–1903. In 1900, the United Presbyterian Church and a majority of the Free Church of Scotland united as the United Free…

The Black and White Corridor occupies space on the north side and is so-named because of its distinctive chequered floor tiling. From the Black and White Corridor, steps lead down to the New College quadrangle (and Mound Place) and another staircase leads up to the Moderator's rooms and the Clerks' room (immediately above). Stairs also lead into the Rainy Hall of New College.