George IV

The library’s rooms were built on top of foundations, which can still be seen, of buildings that were demolished in Libberton's Wynd to make way for George IV Bridge.

The three other plinths that surround Nelson’s Column feature George IV and two 19th Century military figures instrumental in Britain’s control of India, Charles James Napier and Henry Havelock.

It contains coins from the reigns of seven British monarchs, including George III, George IV, William IV, and Queen Victoria.

The early rolls were written in Norman French and Latin, with the first version fully in English not until 1820 and the Coronation of George IV.

The table will be moved back to the original cafe in George IV Bridge when it reopens next year.