On the North side of Crown Square, St.Mary's Church stood here as early as the reign of King David I, but was rebuilt by David II,
used as a granary by the English, converted into an ammunitions house in 1540, then demolished in 1755 to make way for the North Barracks,
re-using the same stone. Plans were drawn up in the 1850s to demolish the barracks and build a new church on the site, together with an armoury,
in the form of a keep to the north of St.Margaret's Chapel.


The plans were approved, though not for the armoury, and by 1858 the roof had been removed from the barracks, but the government fell
and the plans were abandoned. A new roof was built and further alterations made to improve the appearance in 1863, for continued use
as barracks until 1923 when the building was vacated by the army. The building was then adapted by Sir Robert Lorimer as Scotland's National Shrine.
The Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) opened the memorial to the dead of the 1914-18 war on 14 July, 1927. Also, it now commemorates the
dead of WWII and later conflicts.