Archers' Hall

{{Short description|Archery clubhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}

{{Use British English|date=November 2017}}

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| image = Archers' Hall, Buccleuch Street Edinburgh.jpg

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| address = 66 Buccleuch St

| location_city = Edinburgh

| location_country = Scotland

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| start_date = 15 August 1776

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| completion_date = 1777

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| owner = Bowmen Limited

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The Archers' Hall is the club house of the Royal Company of Archers, the Sovereign's Bodyguard in Scotland. It is located at 66 Buccleuch Street in the Southside of Edinburgh, 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.{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB27562|desc=Archers' Hall including Boundary Walls and Railings, Buccleuch Street, Edinburgh|cat=A|access-date=18 March 2019}} When the foundation stone was laid in 1776, two lines of Latin were inscribed on a plate which was set in the stone. These lines, beginning {{lang|la|Nulla Caledoniam}}, were taken from:

{{cquote|

{{lang|la|

Ecce pharetratos mavortia pectora Scotos,

Hostibus ut fortes tela tremenda ferunt

Nulla Caledoniam gens unquam impune lacesset,The inscription "NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT" is now seen on the edges of British £1 coins, those minted in 1984, 1989 & 1994, which have a Scottish reverse.

Usque sagittiferis robur et ardor inestThe first four lines of {{lang|la|In Regiam Sagittariorum Cohortem}}, (To the Royal Company of Archers by Samuel Boyse. In {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aULVAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Ecce%20pharetratos%20mavortia%20pectora%20Scotos%22&pg=PA564|title=Pharetratos mavortia pectora Scotos|last=Boyse|first=Samuel|year=1810 }} (at Amazon Books)

}}

}}

{{cquote|

Behold the Scots, furnished with quivers from Mars' breasts,

To their enemies, however furious, they will send forth tremendous missiles.

No people whosoever who provoke Caledonia go unpunished,

Oak and ardour imbue the archers through and through.

}}

The Royal Company of Archers were granted the motto "Nemo me impune lacessit" by a Royal charter of Queen Anne, 1713.

File:Coat of arms of the Royal Company of Archers.JPG

The building was extended in 1900 by Robert Rowand Anderson and his partner, A. F. Balfour Paul. The principal hall inside measures {{convert|40|by|24|ft}}, and is {{convert|18|ft}} high. Two other rooms of {{convert|18|by|19|ft}} 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, 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.{{cite book|first=Hugo|last=Arnot|title=The history of Edinburgh, from the earliest accounts, to the year 1780|url=https://archive.org/details/historyedinburg00arnogoog|place=Edinburgh|year=1816|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyedinburg00arnogoog/page/n295 275]}} 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, a building "of regional or more than local importance". There is a proposal to demolish the lodge.{{cite web|first=Gareth|last=Edwards|work=Edinburgh Evening News|title=Archers' plans for Meadows site off target say objectors|location=Edinburgh|date=30 March 2009|url=http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/edinburghplanningissues/Archers39-plans-for-Meadows-site.5120574.jp|accessdate=9 July 2011| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110616024446/http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/edinburghplanningissues/Archers39-plans-for-Meadows-site.5120574.jp| archivedate= 16 June 2011 | url-status= live}}

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.Tollcross Community Council http://cc.tollcross.org/Home/planning-and-development/student-accommodation-development-archers-hall/archers-to-target-student-housing {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001175233/http://cc.tollcross.org/Home/planning-and-development/student-accommodation-development-archers-hall/archers-to-target-student-housing |date=1 October 2016 }} 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.Archers' Hall, Sir Robert McAlpine http://www.sir-robert-mcalpine.com/projects/?id=58688 The project makes imaginative use of the space available and is focused around a lawn area where the original bowling green was.LDN Architects http://www.ldn.co.uk/projects/archers_hall.php# Among those organisations involved were Sir Robert McAlpine, Harley Haddow engineers and LDN Architects.[https://archive.today/20130125055918/http://www.harleyhaddow.com/projects/student-residences/archers-hall.html Harley Haddow]

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