The Archers' Hall is the club house of the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a per ...

, the

Sovereign's Bodyguard Sovereign's Bodyguard is the name given to three ceremonial units in the United Kingdom who are tasked with guarding the Sovereign. These units are: * His Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Armsformed 1509 * King's Bo ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It is located at 66 Buccleuch Street in the Southside of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, and has been used by the company for over 230 years. Building commenced on 15 August 1776, and was completed in 1777 to designs by Alexander Laing. When the

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

was laid in 1776, two lines of Latin were inscribed on a plate which was set in the stone. These lines, beginning , were taken from: The Royal Company of Archers were granted the motto "Nemo me impune lacessit" by a

Royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...

of Queen Anne, 1713. Coat of arms of the Royal Company of Archers

The building was extended in 1900 by

Robert Rowand Anderson Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, (5 April 1834 – 1 June 1921) was a Scottish Victorian architect. Anderson trained in the office of George Gilbert Scott in London before setting up his own practice in Edinburgh in 1860. During the 1860s his ...

and his partner, A. F. Balfour Paul. The principal hall inside measures , and is high. Two other rooms of are contained in the building, as well as a kitchen, cellars, lobby, and other apartments. The ground behind the house was laid out into a

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

, maintained by the Edinburgh Bowling Club until its redevelopment in 2008. The hall serves as a venue for various dinners and meetings of the Royal Company of Archers and the club. An external lodge, adjacent to the hall, houses an indoor changing rooms, shooting gallery and a bow workshop. Archers' Hall is a category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, a building "of regional or more than local importance". There is a proposal to demolish the lodge. In 2008 09 the corner lodge, existing archery butts and bowling pavilion were demolished to improve club facilities. Inside, an 8-person lift was installed to connect the basement, principal and main hall levels, and a new access through the north façade was built. The work also included repairs to existing stonework, and replacement of missing sections using natural stone chosen to match. The work was carried out by LDN Architects. Since 9 February 2008 the club's commercial entity is Bowmen Limited, a registered private company. It caused considerable distress when Edinburgh Bowling Club, founded in 1848 and said to be Edinburgh's oldest, was obliged by the Royal Company of Archers to vacate the site. The Edinburgh Bowling Club subsequently disbanded and closed. The Archers’ Hall development involved an extension to house archery practice ranges and the creation of fifteen two and three-storey multiple occupancy residences to provide accommodation for around 75 University of Edinburgh postgraduate students which the university has taken on a long lease. The project makes imaginative use of the space available and is focused around a lawn area where the original bowling green was. Among those organisations involved were Sir Robert McAlpine, Harley Haddow engineers and LDN Architects.Harley Haddo

/ref> Public access to the Archers' Hall is available by appointment.

References

{{Culture and leisure facilities in Edinburgh Buildings and structures completed in 1777 Buildings and structures in Edinburgh Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh