St Andrew's House

St. Andrew's House (SAH), on the southern flank of Calton Hill, Edinburgh, is the headquarters building of the Scottish Government. The building stands on the site of the former Calton Jail. Today, the turreted Governor's House is all that remains of the former prison, next to the Old Calton Burial Ground and Political Martyrs' Monument.The large Category A listed Art Deco-influenced building looks out over Waverley station, the Canongate and Holyrood Park.ConstructionThe building was designed by Thomas S. Tait of Burnet, Tait and Lorne, architects, who won the architectural competition to gain the commission. Construction began in November 1935 and was completed in 1939; the building initially housed the Scottish Office, including the offices of the Secretary of State for Scotland. The heraldic sculpture on the front is by John Marshall.The requirement for the building arose as a result of a post World War I policy of limited transfer of devolved administrative (but not legislative) power to Scotland from London. An official opening ceremony timed to take place on 12 October 1939 was "cancelled due to War" (Britain's first air raid of the war took place only four days later over the Forth Bridge). Instead, it was officially opened by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on 26 February 1940.