Who Built Edinburgh Castle? The Son of Saint Margaret of Scotland, King David 1st, built an imposing structure (which eventually stood at 443 feet - 135 metres above sea level) which came to be known as Edinburgh Castle, with some of the original construction continuing to stand even today.

No, Edinburgh Castle was primarily built and expanded by the Scots, although the English occupied and modified parts of it during various periods of conflict. The site itself, Castle Rock, has been fortified since the Iron Age, but the earliest royal structures were built by Scottish kings like Malcolm III and David I in the 11th and 12th centuries. St. Margaret's Chapel, the oldest building in the castle and in Edinburgh, was built by King David I around 1130. Throughout the Wars of Scottish Independence, the castle was a "shuttlecock," captured and recaptured by both sides. King Edward I of England (Longshanks) famously seized it in 1296 and used it as a military base, but the Scots under Robert the Bruce retook it in a daring raid in 1314 and purposefully destroyed most of the fortifications to prevent the English from using it again. Most of the iconic structures seen today, such as the Great Hall (built by James IV) and the Royal Palace, are distinctly Scottish constructions. The English "influence" is most visible in later defensive additions made during the 17th and 18th centuries after the Union of the Crowns.