The Assembly Hall is located between the Lawnmarket and The Mound in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the meeting place of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
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Following the Disruption in the Church of Scotland in 1843, the emergent Free Church of Scotland urgently required a new theological college (New College) in Edinburgh, an Assembly Hall and a home for the Free High Church (the member of St Giles' Cathedral who left at the Disruption). A complex of buildings was thus designed by William Henry Playfair and built from 1846 onwards. The Assembly Hall itself was designed by David Bryce and built in 1858-9. The back of the Hall facing Castlehill was extended east by J. M. Dick Peddie in 1885, with further work in 1902-3. In 1934 the Free High Church vacated its building, which was adapted to become the New College Library.
In 1900, the United Presbyterian Church and a majority of the Free Church of Scotland united as the United Free Church of Scotland; the Assembly Hall was henceforth used by the newly united church. The United Free Church of Scotland and the Church of Scotland united in 1929. The Assembly Hall thus became the Assembly Hall of the reunited Church of Scotland. Overlooking the Moderator's chair, the centre of the south gallery was adapted to become the "Throne Gallery" for the Lord High Commissioner. Until 1929, the General Assemblies of the (old) Church of Scotland were held in St John's Highland Tolbooth Church (now 'The Hub'), the spire of which continues to overshadow the Assembly Hall and New College.
On the north side, there is a corridor known as "the Black and White Corridor" because of its distinctive chequered floor tiling. From the Black and White Corridor, there are steps down to the New College quadrangle (and Mound Place) and a staircase up to the Moderator's rooms and the Clerks' room (immediately above). Stairs also lead into the Rainy Hall of New College.
Until 1999, the Assembly Hall was hardly used other than for meeting of the General Assembly and performances during the Edinburgh International Festival.
The Scottish Constitutional Convention met in the Assembly Hall on 30th March 1989, at which the "Claim of Right for Scotland", a call for the creation of a Scottish Parliament, was signed by 58 out of 72 Scottish Members of Parliament. It was organised by the Campaign for a Scottish Assembly.
Between 1999 and 2004 the Assembly Hall was used as the temporary debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament. The old (and uncomfortable) dark green leather bench seating was removed. Temporary (and removable) desks and seating were installed and the Hall was carpeted. The Church of Scotland used the Edinburgh International Conference Centre for the General Assembly in 1999 and the Usher Hall in 2001. In other years the Parliament had to vacate the Assembly Hall for the Church.
The Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament had an office within the Assembly Hall buildings; all other parliamentary offices were located in the former Midlothian County Buildings or the former Lothian Regional Council offices (since demolished), both located on George IV Bridge.
Following the completion of the new Scottish Parliament Building at Holyrood in October 2004, the Assembly Hall was refurbished with new theatre-type upholstered seating. The Church of Scotland's Board of Practice and Procedure set up an Assembly Hall Development Group to consider how the building could be more widely used in future. The Assembly Hall is now regularly used for conferences and performances, as well as for the General Assembly every May.
The Assembly Hall should not be confused with the Assembly Rooms in George Street, Edinburgh.