Tollbooth Kirk Church

Tolbooth Kirk is also known as St John’s Highland Church. It is located on the Lawnmarket, just down from the castle. It is a gothic style building that was built between 1842 and 1844 by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and James Gillespie Graham. Originally, besides being a church, it was supposed to house the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and therefore it was also known as Assembly Hall. The most impressive part of the church is its octagonal tower that is, with the height of 74 metres, the tallest in Edinburgh. The spire is framed by the towers of the (later) Free Church of Scotland building across the street. It has not been used as a church since the 1980s when the congregation moved to Greyfriar's Kirk. It lay empty for couple of years. However, it was refurbished again and since 1999 it has been used as The Hub of Edinburgh’s Festival (it is the main ticket office and meeting place). There is a restaurant/cafe with indoor and outdoor seating as well as a gift shop.