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Riddle's Court, Lawnmarket is in Lawnmarket, Edinburgh.
In 1598 Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and later Lord Chancellor of Scotland, Alexander Seton hosted a grand banquet at Riddle's Court, Lawnmarket [Map] attended by King James VI and his wife Anne of Denmark.
Riddle's Court, Lawnmarket [Map] gained its name after 1726 when George Riddell purchased and reconstructed the part of the site facing the Lawnmarket.
Parts of the Riddle's Court, Lawnmarket [Map] were demolished in the 1890s by Patrick Geddes. Geddes was a true polymath – a biologist and sociologist as well as a philanthropist, educator and town planner. His work at Riddle's Court was motivated by his principle of ‘conservative surgery', which aimed to preserve the most historically significant parts of Old Town buildings by demolishing the more dilapidated parts, making what remained more hygienic and suitable for modern living. Patrick Geddes converted the main part of Riddle's Court into one of Edinburgh's first student halls of residence. His motto ‘Vivendo Discimus', ‘By Living We Learn', remains carved over the entrance to the inner courtyard.
