The McEwan Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland: A Celebration of Learning and Design

Situated among the beautiful, historic buildings of the University of Edinburgh in Teviot Row, Bristo Square, is McEwan Hall. It’s named after the donor that funded the hall, William McEwan, who made his wealth in the brewery business. McEwan wanted to ensure that the University of Edinburgh had a grand location for its graduations, and that could also host orchestral concerts. His donation of £115,000 (£14 million today) for the Hall is the largest single private donation in the University’s history. 

The building was designed by Scottish architect (and Edinburgh native), Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, with construction finished in 1894. However, according to the University of Edinburgh, it took another three years for the interior designs to be completed. They were designed by William Palin. We’ll head inside in just a moment, but let’s examine the exterior a wee bit first.

McEwan Hall was built in the early Italian Renaissance style. Be sure to take your time walking around the outside as there are some lovely details. One such example is the bas-relief frieze that includes winged lions and coats of arms.

Interestingly, you can see that there are niches around the building, but nothing in them. They were originally planned to hold statues, but they were never installed. 

While it’s always important to look up when visiting historic sites, it’s also important to look down. In this case, when you visit McEwan Hall, keep an eye out for tiny bronze spheres embedded into the paving stones. The installation is called, ‘The Next Big Thing’ by artist, Susan Collis, and was commissioned by the University to mark the area’s redevelopment (more on that below). 

The effect is a meandering trail of thousands of bronze drips that stretch 68 metres from McEwan Hall’s original entrance across the Square. The University explains that “the drips suggest that the trail has been created by someone walking across the square while carrying a leaky vessel. Designed to be unobtrusive, the constant friction of people walking over the work will polish the bronze over time”. The artist, Susan Collis, further stated that, “I was delighted to be chosen to create a public artwork for Bristo Square. It is a deliberately unobtrusive work- in contrast to other grand bronze figurative sculptures in Edinburgh- suggesting that even the small and subtle can make a major statement.” 

The bronze drips lead you to the original entrance. There, you should stop and look up as there is a beautiful carving over the main entry door that depicts the ritual of graduation- with a book being placed on a graduate’s head.

Let's head inside.

Walking into McEwan Hall, you would be forgiven for thinking that have entered a building in Rome or Vienna. The richly designed interior is breath-taking and is done in the style of a Greek theatre. There are two tiers of semi-circular galleries, and a half-domed ceiling by Palin with painted figures representing the Arts and Sciences. 

According to the University of Edinburgh, the dome is divided by ribs into 15 panels, at the base of each is the portrait of a seated figure. 13 of these figures are named, each holding an instrument appropriate to the academic discipline she represents. The figures around the lower part of the dome are a pantheon of famous names connected with the University. Around the inner edge of the dome is a wide blue band with the inscription, in letters of gold, of a passage from the Scriptures that reads, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting, get understanding. Exalt her and she shall bring thee to honour.” 

Not to be missed is the grand organ that was installed in 1897 by Robert Hope-Jones. According to Historic Environment Scotland, he “was recognised as the inventor of theatre organs in the early 20th century. He designed an organ incorporated an electro-pneumatic action, diaphones and resonator system which created very high wind pressure in order to imitate orchestral instruments. The organ creates a sumptuous and theatrically grand sound and is a very rare survival, only one other Hope-Jones organ is known to exist in Britain”.

The Hall underwent an extensive refurbishment from 2015-2017. One of our visits to McEwan Hall was during the Open Doors Days last September, and it was amazing to see pictures of the 19 miles of scaffolding (weighing approximately 3,000 tonnes) that was erected throughout the entire auditorium to enable Scottish Wall Painting conservators to clean Palin’s murals. 

The renovations also involved refurbishment of the basement including new seminar spaces.

In addition to holding University of Edinburgh graduation ceremonies, McEwan Hall also hosts events. In fact, is even available to hire for conferences, festivals, and events. Head over to their University webpage for more information if interested.

We recently attended 'Enlightenment' by Eonarium, an immersive light show at McEwan Hall. It was incredible to see beautiful light displays projected all around the Hall’s auditorium while we listened to Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’. The 30-minute show is described as an “abstract homage to the cycle of life”. 

As of the time of this writing, the event is currently going on with shows until 22 March 2026. You can visit their website for more information.

Well, on that beautiful, artistic note, we are going to close out our post on McEwan Hall at the University of Edinburgh. The Hall is one of our favourite places to pass at the start of every workday as we make our way to the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade for our walking tours of Edinburgh. Therefore, we are happy to share it with all of you, and hope you see it as we do- a place that celebrates learning and beautiful design. 

Until next time- Explore & Discover!

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