The Queen's Hall

At the time of Newington and St Leonard's Parish Church's closure, the Scottish Baroque Ensemble, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and the Scottish Philharmonic Singers were in search of a permanent base. The Scottish Philharmonic Society commissioned architects Robert Hurd & Partners to draw up plans to convert the church into a concert hall. These were accepted by the City of Edinburgh Council over a rival proposal to convert the building into offices. On top of a provisional grant of £35,000 from the Scottish Arts Council, a funding appeal was launched in 1977 and had secured £100,000 in individual donations as well as £50,000 from the city council. Larry Rolland of Robert Hurd & Partners…

The Queen's Hall was designed in the neoclassical style by Robert Brown. The building was listed as a Category A building on 14 December 1970.

in 1950]] In 1949, the congregation accepted two 14 ft boards from Buccleuch Parish Church, which display the Lord's Prayer, Creed, and Ten Commandments in gold lettering. Since 1950, these have hung one each in the north and south stair-halls. The boards date to the late 18th century and may have come from St Cuthbert's or from the Court of Session. Prior to secularisation, the auditorium's focal point had been the original Greek Revival pulpit with domed canopy, which George Hay described as "excellent". At the time of the building's secularisation, this was removed and donated to St Giles' Church, Elgin, while a plaster tondo, created and donated by the architects, was affixed to the…

performing at the Queen's Hall in 2020]] In March 2017, the hall announced it had secured a £650,000 Scottish Government grant towards a £3,000,000 renovation, which it aimed to have completed by the building's 200th anniversary in 2023. By August 2018, completed works included the improvement of the bar areas and a restoration of the exterior. These works were supported by the Scottish Government and by Historic Environment Scotland. From 20 March 2020 to 22 August 2021, the hall was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic: the longest closure in the venue's history. In January 2021, the hall received money from Historic Environment Scotland's COVID-19 Recovery Fund to improve accessibility…