Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is an historic fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position on the Castle Rock. Archaeologists have established human occupation of the rock since at least the Iron Age (2nd century AD), although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. There has been a royal castle on the rock since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. From the 15th century the castle's residential role declined, and by the 17th century it was principally used as military barracks with a large garrison. Its importance as a part of Scotland's national heritage was recognised increasingly from the early 19th century onwards, and various restoration programmes have been carried out over the past century and a half. As one of the most important strongholds in the Kingdom of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle was involved in many historical conflicts from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century to the Jacobite Rising of 1745. Research undertaken in 2014 identified 26 sieges in its 1100-year-old history, giving it a claim to having been "the most besieged place in Great Britain and one of the most attacked in the world".

Edinburgh

Edinburgh (ⁱ/ˈɛdɪnbərə/;Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Èideann [ˈt̪uːn ˈɛːtʲɛn̪ˠ]) is the capital city of Scotland, located in Lothian on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth. It is the second most populous city in Scotland and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom. The most recent official population estimates are 464,990 for the city of Edinburgh itself and 492,680 for the local authority area. Edinburgh lies at the heart of the Edinburgh & South East Scotland City region with a population in 2014 of 1,339,380. Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is home to the Scottish Parliament and the seat of the monarchy in Scotland. The city is also the annual venue of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and home to national institutions such as the National Museum of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery. It is the largest financial centre in the UK after London.

Livingston (basketball)

Livingston was a professional basketball team based in Livingston, Scotland, founded in 1977 as Edinburgh by steel magnate David Murray and backed by sponsorship from his company Murray International Metals. Using the name Murray International or MIM Livingston, they went on to be one of the most successful clubs in Scottish basketball, playing first in Edinburgh and then later moving to Livingston.

During the height of its success, Livingston were crowned as Scottish National League Champions seven times between 1979 and 1987. The club were founder members of the British Basketball League, a professional league established in 1987 by leading clubs from England and Scotland. Playing out of the newly built 3,000-seat Forum Arena, Livingston were incredibly successful in their inaugural season and following an 81–72 victory over regular season Champions Portsmouth, were crowned winners of the first Carlsberg League Championship Final. The following year, Murray had acquired Rangers F.C. football team and sought about expanding his new acquisition and forming a 'sporting club' by purchasing Carlsberg League rivals Kingston for £100,000 and moving them to Glasgow. The Glasgow Rangers basketball team made their first appearance alongside Livingston in the 1988–89 season, becoming the league's second Scottish representatives. Under the guidance of Coach Kevin Cadle, Rangers dominated the campaign and claimed an impressive trophy haul, pipping Livingston to the regular season title and then beating them in the Final of the Championship Play-offs, winning 89–86. Livingston also finished as Runners-up in the NatWest League Trophy, losing 89–81 to Bracknell in the Final.

Edinburgh (UK Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1885. Originally a single member constituency, representation was increased to two members in 1832. It was abolished in 1885, being split into Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh South, Edinburgh East and Edinburgh West.

Boundaries

The boundaries of the constituency, as set out in the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832, were-

Members of Parliament

MPs 1708–1832

MPs 1832–1885

Under the Representation of the People Act 1832, Edinburgh's representation was increased to two members.

Election results

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1870s

Elections in the 1860s

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1840s

Elections in the 1830s

Elections in the 1820s

References

See also