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, southeast of the centre of Edinburgh, and from the university's central area around George Square.
History
The two original buildings on site were St Leonard's Hall and Salisbury Green, which were built in the 19th century. Shortly after World War II, Sir Donald Pollock (Rector of the University from 1939 to 1945) gifted the site to the University of Edinburgh and Pollock Halls of Residence came into being.
In the 1960s, a programme was begun to build more modern halls. The first of these was Holland House, which was designed by Sir William Kininmonth (1904–1988); followed shortly by its sister house, Fraser House. In the early 1990s, Holland House and Fraser House began to be run together, and are simply known these days as Holland House.
In the 1960s six system-built tower blocks were added, named in honour of former University Principals: Baird, Ewing, Lee, Turner, Brewster (since demolished) and Grant. At the same time, a Refectory block was opened. This was later named the John McIntyre Conference Centre after the first Senior Warden of the complex, who also acted for a time as a Principal of the University.
The (at the time) largest hall, Cowan House, was opened in 1973 replacing a hall of the same name which was demolished to make way for the regeneration of George Square. It was demolished in 2001.
A further hall, Masson House, was added in the early 1990s. The original Masson Hall–the university's first 'proper' accommodation for female students–had been next to Cowan in George Square, but this was replaced by a Victorian house on South Lauder Road, which was extended for the purpose in 1966, and later sold.
In 2001 and 2002, Cowan House and Brewster House were demolished to make way for the new Chancellors Court development, which opened in 2003 and is now the largest on the site.
Current houses
These days, the complex houses over 2,000 students on full board. Pollock Halls of Residence are available to members of the public on a bed and breakfast basis during the vacation periods of the University of Edinburgh.
The Houses currently in Pollock Halls are:
Baird House
Baird House is a four-storey tower block which was built in the 1960s. It houses 167 students and one warden. Named after George Husband Baird, Principal of the University from 1793 to 1840.
Chancellor's Court
Chancellor's Court was built on the land previously occupied by Cowan House and Brewster House. It was designed by Oberlanders Architects and built by construction company Balfour Beatty. Its construction began in 2001 when Cowan House was demolished, with the first phase opening in 2003. The final phase of the development was completed in 2004. Chancellor's Court has 526 bedrooms and three Wardens flats.
Several protests were held during construction against Balfour Beatty, who were at the time (2001) involved in the controversial Ilisu dam project. One of the protests was led by Mark Thomas, who helped the Edinburgh University People and Planet group organise a 'sit in' where students blocked the entrance to the building site. After these and other protests, Balfour Beatty withdrew their support for the Ilisu dam project. Chancellor's Court is named after the former Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, the Duke of Edinburgh.
Ewing House
Ewing House is a five-storey tower block which was built in the 1960s. It has 157 rooms. It was named after Sir Alfred James Ewing, Principal of the University of Edinburgh from 1916 to 1929.
Grant House
Grant House is a six-storey tower block, which was opened in 1967, and has been used as a student hall of residence continually ever since. These days it houses 195 students in single study bedrooms. It also contains two flats for the live-in Wardens. It was named after Sir Alexander Grant (1826–1884), Principal of the University from 1868 to 1885.