30053 Castle A copy of the Lauriston Castle Trust Constitution including amendments since first drawn up. The Title Deeds of Lauriston Castle. We understand this to mean the constituting documents of the Trust, being the Will and Deed of Trust. Copies of these documents are attached. Who funded the construction of an apartment on the west side of the ground floor (of Lauriston Castle) in preparation for the retirement of Charles Minto the then Chief City Librarian and at what cost?

We can find no records of this. I have been advised that the old Roman path ran through where the Japanese Garden is. If this is true were archaeologists on site? Were any Roman artefacts discovered? If there were, where are they now located? The straight section of Road South running northwards from Lauriston Castle follows the line of the Roman road leading south-eastward from the Fort’s annex. As such, parts of this road may occur within the grounds of the Castle. A programme of archaeological work was undertaken in 2000 when the Japanese Garden was being constructed and found no evidence of it nor any Roman artefacts. Who are the parties to the lease contract? City of Council or Trustees of Lauriston Castle Trust and Edinburgh Forget-Me-Not-Garden-Trust?

The parties to the lease are The City of Edinburgh Council (as Trustees under the Disposition and Deed of Trust) and Edinburgh Forget-Me-Not-Garden.

Please provide me with a copy of the lease/contract/Terms & Conditions - in relation to Edinburgh Forget-Me-Not-Garden-Trust.

The lease is registered and is publicly available at the Registers of Scotland. However, a copy of this is attached for convenience.

Why are there no employees employed by the Trust/Trustees?

Day-to-day responsibility for the Castle’s operation and maintenance lies with the Council. Income available from events and investment returns on the endowment and any admission fees are insufficient to allow the Trust to employ staff directly.

Why is no income (other than investment income) and expenses included in the Lauriston Castle Trust accounts?

From detailed analysis of relevant documents dating from 1929 until the 1960s, it is clear that the costs of maintaining the building and grounds increasingly exceeded the income available from events and investment returns on the endowment and any admission fees. This, in turn, seems to have been due to a significant underestimate of likely maintenance costs at the time of the endowment’s creation in 1929, with the effects of inflation exacerbating the extent of the shortfall in subsequent years, requiring realisation of some of the underlying investments. Given the above, in subsequent years, in the absence of other funding sources and so as not to deplete the level of the endowment further, the net cost of operating the castle has been met fully from the Council’s General Fund, bar a small contribution from the investment returns on the endowment, consistent with the terms of the Will and Trust Disposition. Sums incurred by the Council’s General Fund are included in the Annual Accounts which are scrutinised by elected members each year.