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The 'Moray House School of Education' ("Moray House") is a school within the College of Humanities and Social Science at the
University of Edinburgh. It is based in historic buildings on the
Holyrood Campus, located between the
Royal Mile and Holyrood Road.
The School offers courses at all levels of
higher education, including teacher training,
Community Education,
E-learning,
Physical Education and
Sports science. It is also a centre for educational research.
The School has existed in one form or another since the mid-
19th Century, joining the
University of Edinburgh in 1998.
It is currently subdivided into five departments:
★ 'Curriculum Research & Development': mostly concerned with
initial teacher education, both primary and secondary.
★ 'Educational Studies': involved in teaching, research and consultancy across a wide range of educational issues.
★ 'Education & Society': concerned with the
social science aspect of education, including lifespan development, social processes, social science theory, research methods, study skills, international education and management.
★ 'Higher & Community Education': concerned with
e-learning,
lifelong learning and
Community Education, Management of Training and Development, and
Higher Education.
★ 'Physical Education, Sport & Leisure Studies'
History
The institution currently known as Moray House was originally opened as a
normal school following the
Disruption of 1843.
[1]. Known as the 'The Free Church of Scotland’s Normal and Sessional School', it was originally located in Whitefield Chapel, and then in rooms below the Music Room in
Rose Street. In
1848, the school moved to its current location in Moray House, in the
Canongate.
In 1907, this institution merged with its
Church of Scotland equivalent (the
Free Church Training College), and the 'Edinburgh Provincial Training Centre' was formed; with the church training colleges subsumed within this organisation. The new teaching building opened at Moray House in
1913.
'Moray House College of Education' was officially formed in
1959. In
1987, Moray House merged with the
Dunfermline College of Physical Education based at
Cramond
[2], and continued to exist on two separate campuses (Holyrood and Cramond) until
2001.
[3]
In
1991, the institute was linked with
Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh; and was retitled 'Moray House Institute of Education'. On
1 August 1998, Moray House Institute of Education merged with the
University of Edinburgh becoming its 'Faculty of Education'.
Following internal resutructuring of the University of Edinburgh in 2003, Moray House is now known as the 'Moray House School of Education'.
The Buildings of Moray House
The buildings of Moray House are located on the
Holyrood campus adjacent to the
Canongate in
Edinburgh.
[4]
Development and History
During the
nineteenth century, part of the original open area to the west of St John's Street and north of the South Back was occupied by a number of
breweries. These made use of the high quality water from the springs and wells in this part of the
Canongate.
In response to the shortage of teachers in Scotland in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Moray House looked to the possibility of building additional teaching facilities close to the existing estate at Holyrood. In 1961 Moray House purchased the property of the
Aitchison Brewery. This included buildings at the ends of Playhouse and Old Playhouse Closes as well offices (no. 18 and 19 St John's Street), a tenement (no. 20) and Maltings. The price paid was £50,000.
[5]
In the 1970s, three specialist teaching buildings were built from designs by architects Gordon and Day.
[6] They were 'St Leonard's Land' (
Physical Education), 'Chessel's Land' (
Visual Arts) and 'St Mary's Land' (
Science and
Technical). The design of these buildings was representative of 1960s
modernist architecture and somewhat out of sympathy with the surrounding areas of the
Old Town. The bulk of the buildings wereon land formerly occupied by the
Edinburgh and Leith Brewery and before that by the
Old Edinburgh Playhouse.
Chessel's Land
'Chessel's Land' was one of three buildings constructed in the early 1970s, and opened in January 1974.
. It was designed as a specialist centre for the training of teachers in the
Visual Arts, including
painting,
ceramics,
textiles,
sculpture,
photography and
jewellery. Inside the building were sixteen large studios and a large Exhibition Hall, which was available for both student and external use.
In the original plan for the site the raised patio in front of Chessel's Land was planned to connect with a proposed Library and a Theatre fronting onto Holyrood Road. These buildings in turn were to be connected with the St Leonard's Land building on the opposite side Holyrood Road. In the event these plans were ruled out by the SED in 1978. The Theatre was never built and a new Library was eventually developed in Dalhousie Land.
Chessel's Land takes its name from
Archibald Chessel, a successful wright to trade and stalwart member of the
Tron Kirk who lived in the eighteenth century. He built the nearby Chessel's Court between 1745 and 1748. These were much admired mansion flats built to accommodate persons of standing.
In 1993 Chessel's Land became the base for the
Aesthetic Studies Department, when
Drama studios were added. In 1996
Music was transferred from Old Moray House.
Charteris Land
'Charteris Land' is home to Moray House's departments of Educational Studies and part of the department of Curriculum Research & Development.
In 1964, draft plans for a ten storey teaching block were drawn up by the architects, Gordon & Dey, to be built adjacent to the west side of St John Street. However, the
Royal Fine Art Commission raised an objection to the planned height of the building. Consequently the building of the finally agreed six storeys wasn't started until December 1966. Subsequent delays arising from industrial disputes meant the facility wasn't handed over until February 1969.
Following advice from the Edinburgh City Archivist this teaching block was named Charteris Land.
The front of Charteris Land boasts a sculptured wall (and a fourth panel), which were commissioned from David Miller, a member of staff at Moray House. The wall was cast in
reinforced concrete into
expanded polystyrene moulds. The sculpture was created in a continuous twenty nine hour operation by Arnott McLeod, Building Contractors.
The four panels all symbolise an aspect of educational theory
:
★ Panel 1 'The Maze': Based on the use of the maze by
psychologists such as
Skinner and
Tolman in experiments on rats to ascertain the power of deduction and memory retention in the learning process.
★ Panel 2 'Growth and Development': How a form of life starts with a coincidence of two elements and whose eventual shape is determined by external influences.
★ Panel 3 'Assimilation of Knowledge': Where differing units are selected and sorted in a rational way to form an organic retrieval system.
★ Panel 4 'Community': With different forms fitting together symbolising the interdependence of man, woman and child.
Dalhousie Land
''Dalhousie Land' is the
library and
ICT centre on Holyrood campus. It was originally constructed in the early 1960s on the site of numbers 2 to 5 St John Street, and originally included a large lecture theatre, Art rooms and a swimming pool.
This new building was opened on
2 May 1963 by the
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Very Reverend Dr Neville Davidson, and was named Dalhousie Land.
In the early 1990s, Dalhousie Land was refurbished to become the new library for the Holyrood campus. Previously, periodicals, learning resources and books had occupied various rooms over three floors in Paterson's Land. A grant was obtained in
1994 to enable the relocation of all library facilities to Dalhousie Land. The refurbishment plans involved the retention of the original concrete container of the swimming pool, which was redesigned to house the
periodicals collection. The current ground floor is at the level of the original edge of the swimming pool, and now houses the main stock area and Service Desk. A new
mezzanine area was inserted on the south side and housed the Children's Book collection. The top floor was opened out to house library and computer work stations. This new Library was opened in August 1996.
[7]
In 1999/2000, a further refurbishment was undertaken to allow for the transfer of the stock from the Cramond campus library before its closure. This involved the creation of a new floor 3 out of the former lecture theatres on floor 2.
Old Kirk
This building (currently closed) was the kirk of the Old (or Great) Kirk, a congregation which had originally worshiped in part of
St. Giles' Cathedral from
1560, and in this Old Kirk between
1882 and
1941.
John Knox is claimed as the congregation's first minister (1560 -1572).
[8]
The building dates from 1881/2. The architects were Anderson and Browne. It stands on the site of the old drying green originally provided by the
Earl of Wemyss to the residents of St John's Street in the 18th century.
In 1944 Moray House acquired the Old Kirk and its adjacent Hall. Following a major adaptation it became the base for the Music and Educational Handwork departments in 1949. A stage was constructed on the first floor using the timber from discarded desks. The City issued the Governors of Moray House in 1979 with a notice to demolish the Old Kirk's adjacent Hall, which had become dangerous. Until the merger with the University of Edinburgh in 1998 the building had latterly housed Moray House's Building Services. It is now closed.
Old Moray House
Old Moray House is an aristocratic
mansion built in
1618[9]. Although it has been much altered by its occupants down the centuries, is one of the few remaining original aristocratic houses built in the
Canongate in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The building boasts massive
obelisks flanking the gate and two very fine rooms up a turnpike stair, with elaborate original plaster ceilings and 18th Century panelling.
The current Old Moray House, developed from a group of three buildings of different ages, originally grouped around a small courtyard. The earliest building was
Mary, Countess of Home’s 1618 mansion. The Regent’s House to the east followed, probably before 1647. Finally the New House was built to the south in 1755.
Old Nursery School
The Old Nursery School building is currently the school reception. The building was converted to become the School Reception and Moray House College Archive in
1999 by Lewis and Hickey. It has retained many of its original features.
[10].
Moray House Nursery School was a purpose built
Nursery School designed on
Montessori principles by Frank Wood in
1932. This child-centred approach required furniture, toilets, and even coat pegs to be designed specifically for small children.
Paterson's Land
Paterson's Land contains teaching and tutorial rooms, as well as lecture theatres and the cafeteria.
Simon Laurie House
Simon Laurie House one of the original buildings, bordering the
Canongate
St John's Land
The present St John's Land was erected sometime between 1766 and 1768 by
John, the second
Earl of Hopetoun.
[11] It was part of his scheme which included the development of
tenements along the eastern side of what is now St John Street. This was a prestigious development unusual in Edinburgh at that time consisting as it did of three or four storey tenements each with its own front door. Access to St John's Street from the
Canongate was through a wide pend (1768).
By the early 1950s Moray House, through the National Committee for the Training of Teachers, owned St John's Land and the tenements along the east side of St John Street. Through the redevelopment of these sites the College was able made its own contribution to the Canongate renewal programme. The St John's Land project involved the redevelopment of the buildings at 176 - 184 Canongate and No. 1 St John's Street. The architect for the project was W G Dey. Typical of restoration work at this time no attempt was made to preserve the Georgian interiors. Instead the entire building was gutted and only the existing facades and the south west turret stair were retained. The cost of the works was estimated at £41,000.
On
24 May 1956 the building was formally opened by
Walter Elliot, the
Lord High Commissioner for Scotland.
Earl Atlee, the Prime Minister of the post-war Labour government of 1945 to 1951, was also present. The then College Director of Studies, Dr W B Inglis, gave the votes of thanks.
The restored building contained studios for the teaching of Speech and Drama, staff studies and seminar rooms and a large proscenium theatre. For many years thereafter St John's Land housed in addition to Drama, the Scottish Centre for Education Overseas (SCEO) and, later, the Department for Social Science and Social Work. The Scottish Association for the Deaf used the basement as a resource and specialist equipment area. The Moray House Theatre was licensed for "public performances of plays and entertainment" and could seat an audience of up to 256.
Following the merger with the University the interior of the building was refurbished in 1998-99. The architects were Lewis and Hickey DJP. Facilties were created for the Department of Education & Society, including the Centre for Educational Sociology. These works involved the loss of the Moray House Theatre. The last student performance in the theatre, before it was cleared away, was Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'. This has the valedictory line "And now our Revels all are ended."
St Leonard's Land
The current St Leonard's Land was opened in October
2001, and is the newest building on the Holyrood campus. It houses the
Physical Education and
Sports science departments, and has a
swimming pool,
laboratory and
gymnasia. The PE department had originally been sited on a different campus at
Cramond because it did not become part of Moray House until
1987, when Moray House merged with the
Dunfermline College of Physical Education. However the relocation of the Physical Education department from its Cramond in July
2001 necessitated the expansion and refurbishment of the existing buildings.
The opportunity was taken not only to enlarge St Leonard's with a wrap around academic addition to the north and east sides but to add a six lane 25 metre research and teaching swimming pool. The architects for this project were FaulknerBrowns.
The original St Leonard's Land, now the core of the present building, was opened in
1971, and housed the original Moray House Physical Education department, which was a much smaller scale operation than before the merger with Dunfermerline college.
The architects planned the original 1970s building to be unified by a concourse that spanned Holyrood Road, linking St Leonard's Land to a Library and Theatre. These in turn were supposed to connect via an elevated
quadrangle with Chessel's Land and St Mary's Land. In the mid-seventies these grandiose plans were shelved leaving St Leonard's somewhat isolated on the far side of a busy road.
[12]
St Leonard's Land takes its name from the neighbourhood of
St Leonard's which borders
Holyrood Park.
St Mary's Land
Thomson's Land
Thomson's Land - contains teaching and tutorial rooms. Originally part of the on-site school.
Centres and Projects
Within the five departments listed above, there are also a number of other centres and projects
[1]:
★ Edinburgh Centre for Mathematical Education (ECME)
★ Educating for a Sustainable Future (ESF)
★
Scottish Interactive Technology Centre (SITC)
★ Communication Aids for Language & Learning (CALL)
★ Centre for Education for Racial Equality in Scotland (CERES)
★ Centre for Research in Education Inclusion and Diversity (CREID)
★ Scottish Schools Ethos Network & Anti-Bullying Network
★ Scottish Sensory Centre (SSC):.
★ Achievements of Deaf Pupils in Scotland (ADPS)
★ Scottish Traveller Education Programme (STEP).
★ Centre for Educational Leadership (CEL):
★ Centre for Educational Sociology (CES).
★ Educational Assessment Unit
★ International Education & Training
★ Scottish Autism Research Group (SARG)
★
Centre for Teaching, Learning & Assessment (TLA)
★ Enhancing Teacher-Learning Environments Project (ETL)
★ Scottish Centre for Research into On-Line Learning & Assessment (SCROLLA)
★ Child & Adolescent Health Research Unit (CAHRU)
★ Centre for Aquatic Research & Education (CARE)
Famous Alumni
★
Robbie Coltrane - actor
★
Chris Hoy - cyclist
★
Donnie Munro - Scottish musician
★
J. K. Rowling - author of the
Harry Potter series, trained as a primary teacher at Moray House
References
1. A History of Professional Training at Moray House Perfect, Hugh
2. A History of Professional Training at Moray House: Part 7: From Expansion to Retrenchment: the 1970s Hugh Perfect
3. Developing Training For Physical Education And Sport In Scotland University of Edinburgh
4. Moray House Estates Moray House School of Education
5. Moray House Estates & History - Charteris Land Perfect, Hugh
6. Moray House Estates & History - Chessel's Land Perfect, Hugh and Starsmeare, David
7. Moray House Estates & History - Dalhousie Land Perfect, Hugh
8. Moray House Estates & History - The Old Kirk Perfect, Hugh and Starsmeare, David
9. Old Moray House University of Edinburgh
10. Moray House Nursery School University of Edinburgh
11. Moray House Estates & History - St John's Land Perfect, Hugh and Starsmeare, David
12. St Leonard's Land University of Edinburgh
See also
★
University of Edinburgh
★
Teacher training
External links
★
The Moray House School of Education
★
History of Moray House
★
The Buildings of Moray House
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