Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
World
David McLean

The 'historic' Edinburgh building that is nowhere near as old as people think

Even in a city as renowned for its ancient buildings as Edinburgh, everything is not always what it seems.

While there is an abundance of historic architecture in the capital, there are one or two structures that have been trying to pull the wool over their eyes - one such building is Adam House at 5 and 6 Chambers Street.

The lecture theatre, which has been used as as venue for the Edinburgh Fringe on numerous occasions, doesn't look out of place amongst the many other fine buildings on the street.

READ MORE: The 80s Edinburgh Jenners staff training video that was compulsory viewing for new starts

At first glance, you'd think the handsome edifice dated from the 18th century - but all is not what it seems, for Adam House was only completed in 1954.

Yep, believe it or not folks, the building, which is owned by the University of Edinburgh, dates from the post-war era - and we don't meet after the Battle of Waterloo.

Sign up to our Edinburgh Live nostalgia newsletters for more local history and heritage content straight to your inbox

Even the very name Adam House is a nod to the past. It commemorates Adam Square, which was one of three 18th century residential squares razed during the Victorian era to make way for Chambers Street.

Adam Square was demolished as part of the 1867 City Improvement Act which set about improving living conditions in and around Edinburgh's historic Old Town. Scores of buildings, many dating back to the medieval era were swept away during this time.

So, we hear you ask, what stood on the site prior to Adam House, given that the latter wasn't built until the 1950s?

For more than 60 years, a small theatre, Operetta House, occupied the space. The venue was operated by H.E. Moss, whose company would become synonymous with theatres up and down the UK.

Later becoming a cinema, Operetta House closed at the outbreak of the Second World War and would never reopen. It was demolished in 1951 and the site purchased by the university.

Adam House was designed by the esteemed architect and leading modernist William H. Kininmonth, who opted, rather fittingly, to emulate the style of Robert Adam's Old College situated on the opposite side of Chambers Street.

To the untrained eye, Adam House looks every bit as historic as the Old College, except that was built 170 years earlier.

Architecturally speaking, the B-listed beauty is as deceitful as they come, but we love it to bits.

READ NEXT:

The lost Edinburgh scheme pub so rough they had to sell beer in plastic cups

Edinburgh footage shows reality of life on one of city's most deprived council estates

Incredible Edinburgh 'time warp’ home is like walking back into the 1960s

Edinburgh workers discover incredible lost shop after knocking down wall

The lost Edinburgh roadhouses where motorists dined the night away

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.