New College is a prominent historic site in Edinburgh’s Old Town, serving as the home to the University of Edinburgh’s School of Divinity. Situated on The Mound, it offers an iconic view overlooking Princes Street Gardens and the New Town.
 
Founded in 1846, New College was originally established as a college for the Free Church of Scotland. It was conceived by Thomas Chalmers as an institution free from government patronage, designed to protect Christian doctrine and provide academic preparation for the ministry. In 1935, the institution merged with the University of Edinburgh’s Faculty of Divinity, consolidating all operations at the New College site.
 
Designed by the notable 19th-century architect William Henry Playfair, the neo-Gothic building is a landmark of the city’s skyline. Its design includes distinctive twin towers that frame the steeple of the St John’s Highland Tolbooth Church, which sits directly behind it. The site itself is historically significant as the former location of the palace of Mary of Guise, the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots.
 
Interesting facts...
New College was born out of the “Disruption of 1843,” a significant religious event where nearly 200 ministers walked out of the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. This schism meant that New College was explicitly founded to be free from government interference