Merichiston Castle

Merchiston Tower, also known as Merchiston Castle, was probably built by Alexander Napier, the 2nd Laird of Merchiston around 1454. It serves as the seat for Clan Napier. It was the home of John Napier, the 8th Laird of Merchiston and the inventor of logarithms, who was born there in 1550. The tower has been heavily fortified and was frequently under siege, and it was discovered that a cannonball was found embedded in the tower during restoration in the 1960s, thought to date from the struggle in 1572 between Mary, Queen of Scots, and supporters of her son, James VI. The castle changed hands several times throughout the centuries and was acquired by the Napier family again in 1818 when it was purchased by William Napier, 9th Lord Napier. It was sold to the Merchiston Castle School in 1914 and was used as a school until 1930. It was then passed to Edinburgh City Council in 1935 and was later used as the center piece of a new technical college in 1956. It now stands at the center of Edinburgh Napier University’s Merchiston campus.