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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Edinburgh Castle
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There were fortifications on the great rock at Edinburgh from the 7C, but the present castle was begun in the 11C by Malcolm III. Its oldest surviving building, St Margaret's Chapel, is named after his wife and was built either by her or by her son. The castle is approached across the broad Esplanade, the site of the famous Military Tattoo during the Edinburgh Festival but noted also for its macabre Witches' Well, where more than 300 women were burned as witches between 1479 and 1722.
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Crown Square is the summit of the castle and is flanked by the main parts of the palace (15–17C), including the great banqueting hall (known as the Old Parliament Hall, because the Scottish parliament sat here until 1639) and the Crown Room, with a permanent display of the *crown jewels of Scotland. In the dungeons beneath is *Mons Meg. The west side of Crown Square is occupied by the Scottish United Services Museum, established in the 1920s and linked in origin with its neighbour on the north side – the Scottish National War Memorial (1927, by Robert Lorimer), with the marble Stone of Remembrance set on an outcrop of bare rock.
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