In 1456, James II granted land to Edinburgh by charter wherein Calton Hill is referred to as "Cragingalt", the name by which it appears on the 1560 Petworth map of the Siege of Leith (rendered as "Cragge Ingalt").

[6] The records of South Leith Parish Church name "Caldtoun" as one of the quarters of the parish in 1591,[7] though the village and area are otherwise generally referred to as "Craigend", signifying the main land form (crags) at the western end of the feudal barony of Restalrig, as opposed to the distinguishing feature at its eastern end, a loch, hence the name Lochend.

[12] By his charter of 1456, James II granted the community of Edinburgh the valley and the low ground between Calton Hill and Greenside for performing tournaments, sports and other warlike deeds.

[1] This was part of his policy of military preparedness that saw the Act of 1457 banning golf and football and ordering archery practice every Sunday.

This natural amphitheatre was also used for open-air theatre and saw performances of the early Scots play "Ane Pleasant Satyre of the Thrie Estaitis" by Sir David Lyndsay.

The monastery would appear to have been located at the north-east end of Greenside Row and its site is shown there on the 1931 Ordnance Survey maps.

Sir James Elphinstone was made Lord Balmerino in 1604 and in 1673 the lands of Restalrig and Calton were erected into a single barony.

[15] Calton remained a burgh of barony (although it was not administered as such) until it was formally incorporated into Edinburgh by the Municipality Extension Act of 1856.

[4] This is in memory of five campaigners for political reform and universal suffrage who were convicted of sedition and sent in 1793 to Botany Bay, Australia.

Burns, Scotland's national poet, sent Clarinda many verses over several years in unsuccessful (it is believed) attempts to seduce this beautiful married lady.

The lower curtain walls of the prison are still visible on the south side of St. Andrew's House, above Calton Road.

[4] The renowned Scottish architect William Henry Playfair was responsible for the elegant thoroughfare that encircles the hill on three sides.

[21] Her young son, Henri, the Comte de Chambord, is said to have wept bitterly when his family left for Austria in 1832 as he had become very attached to Scotland.

[1][3] For many years this failure to complete led to its being nicknamed "Scotland's Disgrace" but this name has waned given the time elapsed since the Napoleonic Wars and it is now accepted for what it is.

In the 1840s a tunnel was added through the lower south side of the hill (under the High School) taking tracks eastward from the newly built Waverley Station.

[citation needed] It was also the venue in October 2004 for the Declaration of Calton Hill which outlined the demands for a future Scottish republic.

[28] Calton Hill has been used as a location for films such as Sunshine on Leith (where Davy and Yvonne sing Misty Blue), Death Defying Acts (Houdini) and Greyfriars Bobby (views across the city).

[31] A male-on-male gang rape occurred on the site in 2000,[32] and a man was arrested for encouraging tourists to watch him simulating sex with a traffic cone two years later.

[33] In 2008, a member of staff at Blacks Outdoor Retail advised against camping in the area after a couple who had pitched a tent on the hill claimed that a man had made "lewd" and inappropriate advances towards them.