What is recorded here

Edinburgh, Colinton Road, Merchiston Castle School, Fives Courts is a 20th-century fives court. The flat, hard surface waited for a striking ball and a human wrist sharp enough to return it. Children may have clashed there after lessons, marking the plaster with sweat and laughter while the city hummed beyond the school boundary.

Scotland's National Record of the Historic Environment records Edinburgh, Colinton Road, Merchiston Castle School, Fives Courts as Fives Court (20th Century). The official map says its point is accurate as follows: NGR given to the nearest 10m. The record does not by itself mean that the public may enter the place.

Merchiston Castle, now part of the Merchiston Castle School site in Edinburgh, was originally built in the early 17th century by the Crichton family, a prominent Scottish noble family. It is historically significant as the birthplace of James VI of Scotland (later James I of England) in 1566, and as a site associated with the early development of the Fives game, a traditional Scottish handball sport.

The historic-place record does not grant public access. Check current conditions and ownership before entering land or a building.