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Register House

house, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

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July 13, 2026

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Register House, located in Edinburgh, Scotland, is a significant 18th-century building designed by architects James and Robert Adam. Construction began in 1774 and concluded in 1792. It was intended to house national records and is considered one of the finest buildings in the city's New Town. The building's design features a monumental domed hall within a square, a concept Robert Adam had envisioned earlier. Today, it serves as the National Archives of Scotland.12

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Edinburgh
The New Town
Register House (1774–92), at the east end of Princes Street facing the North Bridge, is the finest of the city’s buildings by the 18th-century architects James and Robert Adam. Now the National Archives of Scotland, it and West Register House, situated at the opposite end…
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Register House (1774–92), at the east end of Princes Street facing the North Bridge, is the finest of the city’s buildings by the 18th-century architects James and Robert Adam. Now the National Archives of Scotland, it and West Register House, situated at the opposite end…
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Robert Adam
Later works
…his life, Adam built the Register House (1772–92), Edinburgh, in which he realized the conception of a monumental domed hall within a square, envisaged at Syon some years earlier. In 1789 he designed the University of Edinburgh, whose entrance front is perhaps his most successful exterior. At Fitzroy Square (1790–94),…
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…his life, Adam built the Register House (1772–92), Edinburgh, in which he realized the conception of a monumental domed hall within a square, envisaged at Syon some years earlier. In 1789 he designed the University of Edinburgh, whose entrance front is perhaps his most successful exterior. At Fitzroy Square (1790–94),…
Read More