Pollock Halls of Residence

The two original buildings on site were St Leonard's Hall and Salisbury Green, which were built in the 19th century.

In the 1960s six system-built tower blocks were added, named in honour of former University Principals: Baird, Ewing, Lee, Turner, Brewster (since demolished) and Grant.

This was later named the John McIntyre Conference Centre after the first Senior Warden of the complex, who also acted for a time as a Principal of the University.

The original Masson Hall–the university's first 'proper' accommodation for female students–had been next to Cowan in George Square, but this was replaced by a Victorian house on South Lauder Road, which was extended for the purpose in 1966, and later sold.

[1] Pollock Halls of Residence are available to members of the public on a bed and breakfast basis during the vacation periods of the University of Edinburgh.

Several protests were held during construction against Balfour Beatty, who were at the time (2001) involved in the controversial Ilisu dam project.

One of the protests was led by Mark Thomas, who helped the Edinburgh University People and Planet group organise a 'sit in' where students blocked the entrance to the building site.

Grant House is a six-storey tower block, which was opened in 1967, and has been used as a student hall of residence continually ever since.

[5] Former British prime minister Gordon Brown spent his first year studying at the university at Lee House.

[6] Masson House is a modern four-storey hall of residence, which can hold 133 people in mostly single en-suite double-bedded rooms.

As of 2021, Masson House is not available as student accommodation, but used as a year-round three-star hotel for business travelers and conference attendees.

[7] The university had previously been criticised for its usage of Masson House, given a shortage in student accommodation.

The other buildings on-site at Pollock Halls are available for use as conference, meeting, dining and function rooms throughout the entire year.

Edinburgh First is the commercial arm of the Accommodation Services within the University and is the main point of contact for the hire of these buildings.

The building underwent an extensive and comprehensive refurbishment in 2009, and was subsequently renamed the John McIntyre Conference Centre, affectionately referred to as the JMCC.

Originally designed by John Lessels for the Thomas Nelson family of publishers, today St Leonard's Hall houses the administrative offices of the university's Accommodation Services, as well as function suites which are used for conferences and other functions.