... Church.
sum had been paid but once in ten years, yet, if it
had been properly managed, the accumulated ...
Vol. 1 p. 188 (Rel. 2.17)
... Church 1 THE TRON CHURCH. 187
is, into which the sun scarcely penetrates. But it
once contained a tavern of ...
Vol. 1 p. 187 (Rel. 2.06)
... ’ OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Leith.
remainder of the structure cannot be earlier than
the close of the sixteenth ...
Vol. 6 p. 252 (Rel. 1.71)
... though in a foreign army. After suffering
a month's imprisonment, they were glad to profess
PLAN OF ...
Vol. 2 p. 197 (Rel. 1.38)
... B
CHAPTER XV.
. THE CHURCH OF ST. GILES. PAGE
SL Giles’s Church-The Patron Saint-Its Wgh and early ...
Vol. 2 p. 387 (Rel. 1.31)
![The Royal Excharge.] THE ROYAL EXCHANGE. 183 -
CHAPTER XX.
THE ROYAL EXCHANGE-THE TRON CHURCH-THE GREAT FIRE OF NOVEMBER, 1824.
The Royal Exchange-Laying the Foundation Stonc-Ddption of the Exchange-The Mysterious Statue-The Council Cbarnber-hventiom
of Royal Burghs : Constitution thereof, and Powers-Writen’ Court-The “ Star and Garter” Tavern-Sir Walter Scott’s Account
of the Scene at Cleriheugh‘s-Lawyers’ High Jinks-The Tron Church-Histor] of the Old Church-Tht Gnat Fire of rSa~-lnciden~s
of the Conflagration-The Ruins Undermined-Blown up by Captain Head of the Engineers,
Ira 1753 we discover the first symptoms of vitality
in Edinburgh after the Union, when the pitiful
sum of A1,500 was subscribed by the convention
of royal burghs, for the purpose of “ beautifying
the city,” and the projected Royal Exchange was
fairly taken in hand.
If wealth had not increased much, the population
had, and by the middle of the eighteenth
century the citizens had begun to find the inconvenience
they laboured under by being confined
within the old Flodden wall, and that the city was
still destitute of such public buildings as were
necessary for the accommodation of those societies
which were formed, or forming, in all other capitals,
to direct the business of the nation, and provide
for the general welfare ; and so men of tas‘te, rank,
and opulence, began to bestir themselves in Edinburgh
at last.
Many ancient alleys and closes, whose names
are well-nigh forgotten now, were demolished on
the north side of the Righ Street, to procure a
site for the new Royal Exchange. Some of these
had already become ruinous, and must have been
of vast antiquity. Many beautifully-sculptured
stones belonging to houses there were built into
the curious tower, erected by Mr. Walter Ross at
the Dean, and are now in a similar tower at Portobello,
Others were scattered about the garden
grounds at the foot of the Castle rock, and still
show the important character of some of the
edifices demolished. Among them there was a
lintel, discovered when clearing out the bed 01
the North Loch, with the initials IS. (and the
date 1658), supposed to be those of Jaines tenth
Lord Somerville, who, after serving long in the
Venetian army, died at a great age in 1677.
On the 13th of September, 1753, the first stone
of the new Exchange was laid by George Drummond,
then Grand Master of the Scottish Masons,
whose memory as a patriotic magistrate is still remembered
with respect in Edinburgh. A triumphal
arch, a gallery for the magistrates, and covered
stands for the spectators, enclosed the arena.
“The procession was very grand and regular,”
says the Gentleman’s Magazine for that year.
each lodge of maSons, of which there were
thirteen, walked in procession by themselves, all
uncovered, amounting to 672, most of whom were
operative masons.” The military paid proper
honours to the company on this occasion, and escorted
the procession in a suitable manner. The
Grand Master and the present substitute were
preceded by the Lord Provost, magistrates, and
council, in their robes, with the city sword, mace,
&c., carried before them, accompanied by the
directors of the scheme.
All day the foundation-stone lay open, that the
people might see it, with the Latin inscription on
the plate, which runs thus in English :-
“ GEORGE DKUMMOND,
Of the Society of Freemasons in Scotland Grand Master,
Thrice Provost of the City of Edinburgh,
Three hundred Brother Masons attending,
In presence of many persons of distinction,
The Magistrates and Citizens of Edinburgh,
And of every rank of people an innumerable multitude,
And all Applaudipg ;
For convenience of the inhabitants of Edinburgh,
And the public ornament,
Laid this stone,
Wdliam Alexander being Provost,
On the 13th September, 1753. of the Era of Masonry 5753,
And of the reign of George II., King of Great Britain,
the 27th yea.”
In the stone were deposited two medals, one
bearing the profile and name of the Grand Master,
the other having the masonic arms, with the collar
of St. Andrew, and the legend, “ In the Lord is
all our trust.”
Though the stone was thus laid in 1753, the
work was not fairly begun till the following year,
nor was it finished till 1761, at the expense of
A31,5oo, including the price of the area on which
it is built ; but it never answered the purpose for
which it was intended-its paved quadrangle and
handsome Palladian arcades were never used by
the mercantile class, who persisted in meeting, as
of old, at the Cross, or where it stood.
Save that its front and western arcades have
been converted into shops, it remains unchanged
since it was thus described by Arnot, and the back I
view of it, which faces the New Town, catches the
eye at once, by its vast bulk and stupendous height,
IOO feet, all of polished ashlar, now blackened with -
the smoke of years :--.“The Exchange is a large
and elegant building, with a court in the -centre.
,](images/thumbs/old_new_edin_v1p195.gif "Volume 1 Page 183")
... Royal Excharge.] THE ROYAL EXCHANGE. 183 -
CHAPTER XX.
THE ROYAL EXCHANGE-THE TRON CHURCH-THE GREAT FIRE OF ...
Vol. 1 p. 183 (Rel. 1.26)
![c
152 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH, [Leith Walk,
In I 748 the thoroughfare is described as “a very
handsome gravel walk, twenty feet broad, which is
kept in good repair at the public expense, and no
horses suffered to come upon it.” In 1763 two
stage coaches, with three horses, a driver, and
postilion each, ran between Edinburgh and Leith
every hour, consuming an hour on the way, from
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ; and at that time there were no
other stage coaches in Scotland, except one which
set out at long intervals for London.
Before that nothing had been done, though in
1774 the Week0 Magazine announced that “a new
road for carriages is to be made betwixt Edinburgh
and Leith. It is to be continued from the end of
the New Bridge by the side of Clelland’s Gardens
and Leith Walk. [Clelland‘s Feu was where Leith
Terrace is now.] We hear that the expense of it
is to be defrayed by subscription.”
In I779 Arnot states that “so great is the concourse
of people passing between Edinburgh and
HIGH STREET, PORTOBELLO.
In 1769, when Provost Drummond built the
North Bridge, he gave out that it was to improve
the access to Leith, and on this pretence, to conciliate
opposition to his scheme, upon the plate in
the foundation-stone of the bridge it is solely described
as the opening of a new road to Leith;
and after it was opened the Walk became freely
used for carriages, but without any regard being
paid to its condition, or any system established
for keeping it in repair ; thus, consequently, it fell
into a state of disorder “from which it was not
rescued till after the commencement of the present
century, when a splendid causeway was formed at
a great expense by the city of Edinburgh, and a
toll erected for its payment.”
Leith, and so much are the stage coaches employed,
that they pass and re-pass between these towns
156 times daily. Each of these carriages holds
four persons.” The fare in some was 2hd.; in
others, gd.
In December, 1799, the Herald announces that
the magistrates had ordered forty oil lamps for
Leith Walk, ‘‘ which necessary k~iprovement,” adds
the editor, will, we understand, soon tzke place.”
Among some reminiscences, which appeared
about thirty years ago, we. have a description of
Anderson’s Leith stage, ‘ I which took an hour and
a half to go from the Tron Church to the shore. A
great lumbering affair on four wheels, the two fore
1 painted yellow, the two hind red, having formerly](images/thumbs/old_new_edin_v5p163.gif "Volume 5 Page 152")
... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH, [Leith Walk,
In I 748 the thoroughfare is described as “a very
handsome gravel ...
Vol. 5 p. 152 (Rel. 1.26)
... Street.! BISHOP BOTHWELL. 219 .
CHAPTEX X Y v r .
THE. HIGH STREET ( ~ ~ ~ f h t d ) .
The Ancient ...
Vol. 2 p. 219 (Rel. 1.22)
... House
PARLIAMENT HOUSE IN THE PRESENT DAY.
the Earl of Marchmont
Earl of Cromarty . . . . 300 0 ...
Vol. 1 p. 164 (Rel. 1.21)
![High Street.] THE STREETS OF EDINBURGH. I93
case with the High Street. -The mansions in the
diverging streets, narrow, steep, gloomy, and illventilated,
became perilous abodes in times of fire
or pestilence.
Those who dwelt in the upper storeys avoided
the toil of descending the steep wheel-stairs that
led to the street, and the entire dkbris of the household
was flung from the windows, regardless of who
or what might be below, especially after nightfall ;
hence the cries of “ Haud your hand ! ” “ Get
lanterns, were ordered to be hung up, by such persons
and in such places as the magistrates should
appoint, there to continue burning for the space of
four hours--i.e., from five till nine o’clock in the
evening.
In consequence of the great assiduity oi the
Provost (Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie), the
Town Council added to his annual allowance 6100
Scots for his clothing and spicery, with two hogs.
heads of wine for his greater state ; and soon after
THE OLD TRON CHURCH. (From am Engraving itr Amt’s “Nistwy ozEdinbrrwh.”)
out 0’ the gait!” or “Gardez Peau!” a shout
copied from the French, were incessant. Another
source of filth and annoyance was the circumstance
that every inhabitant had his own dunghill in the
street, opposite his own door j while the thoroughfkes
were further encumbered and encroached
upon by outside stone stairs, many of which still
remain. Under these were kept swine, which were
allowed to roam the streets (as in old Paris). and
act the part of scavengers, and be alternately the
pets and the terror of the children.
By Acts of Council, 15th October, 1553-5,
the mounds of household garbage were ordained
to be removed, the swine to be prevented from
being a pest in the streets, in which buwefs or
25
another Act was passed, ordaining that the (male)
servants of the inhabitants should attend him with
lighted torches from the vespers or evening prayers
to his own house.
But despite the Acts quoted the streets were not
thoroughly cleared or cleaned for more than sixty
years after. WhenKing JaniesVI., having celebrated
his marriage with Anne of Denmark, on the zznd
October, 1589, was about to return home, he wrote
one of his characteristic epistles to the Provost,
Alexander Clark of Balbirnie :-“ Here we are
drinking and driving in the add way,” and adding,
“for GoZs sake see n’ things are nulf at our hanucoming.”
James did not wish to be exposed in
the eyes of his foreign attendants, and he alludes](images/thumbs/old_new_edin_v2p013.gif "Volume 2 Page 193")
... Street.] THE STREETS OF EDINBURGH. I93
case with the High Street. -The mansions in the
diverging streets, ...
Vol. 2 p. 193 (Rel. 1.21)
![The Great Fire.] THE GREAT FIRE. 189
Assemlily Close, then occupied as a workshop by
Kirkwood, a well-known engraver. The engines
came promptly enough ; but, from some unknown
cause, an hour elapsed before they were in working
order, and by that time the terrible element had
raged with such fierceness and rapidity that, by
eleven o'clock the upper portion of this tenement,
including six storeys, forming the eastern 'division
of a uniform pile of buildings, was one mass of
roaring flames, which, as the breeze was from the
to their elevated position, or the roar of the gathering
conflagration, the shouts of the crowd, and
wailing of women and children, their cries were
unheard for a time, until it was too late. The
whole tenement was lost, together with extensive
ranges of buildings in the old Fish Market and
Assembly Closes, to -which it was the means of
communicating the flames.
While these tall and stately edifices were yielding
to destruction, the night grew calm and still, and
THE ROYAL EXCHANGE.
sooth-west, turned them, as they burst from the
gaping windows, in the direction of a house to the
eastward, the strong' gable of which saved it from
the destruction which seemed imminent.
Two tenements to the westward were less fortunate,
and as, from the narrowness of the ancient
close, it was impossible to work the engines, they
soon were involved in one frightful and appalling
blaze. Great fears mere now entertained for the
venerable Courant office; nor was it long before
the fire seized on its upper storey, at the very time
when some brave fellows got upon the roof of a
tenement to the westward, and shouted to the firemen
to give them a pipe, by which they could
piay upon the adjoining roof, But, owing either
I the sparks emitted by the flames shot upwards as if
spouted from a volcano, and descended like the
thickest drift or snow-storm, affecting the respiration
of all. A dusky, lurid red tinged the clouds,
and the glare shone on the Castle wdls, the
rocks of the Calton, the beetling crags, and all the
city spires. Scores of lofty chimneys, set on fire
by the falling sparks, added to the growing horror
of the scene ; and for a considerable time the Tron
Church was completely enveloped in this perilous
shower of embers.
About one in the morning of the 16th the alarm
of fire was given from a house directly oppoife to
the burning masses, and, though groundless, it
added to the deepening Consternation. Mean](images/thumbs/old_new_edin_v1p201.gif "Volume 1 Page 189")
... Great Fire.] THE GREAT FIRE. 189
Assemlily Close, then occupied as a workshop by
Kirkwood, a well-known ...
Vol. 1 p. 189 (Rel. 1.18)
... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. LHol~lrood.
and intriguing apostbte as one of the greatest and
best men of his ...
Vol. 3 p. 60 (Rel. 1.14)
![West Church.] MR. NEIL MWICAR. I33 -
those of other sections of the city, took courage, and
sought to retrieve their past ill-conduct by noisily .
preparing to raise forces to defend themselves in
case of a second visit from the Highlanders.
the General Assembly met in the church, and
passed an Act, which, however necessary, perhaps,
in those harassing times, concerning ‘‘ the sine and
guilte of the king and his house,” caused much
suffering to the Covenanters after the Restoration.
It was known by the name of the West Kirk Act,
and was approved by Parliament the same day.
Subsequently, during his siege of the castle
Cromwell made the church a barrack; hence its
roof and windows were destroyed by the guns of
the fortress, and soon little was left of it but the
bare walls, which were repaired, and opened for
service in 1655.
For some years subsequent the sole troubles
of the incumbents were breaches
of “the Sabbath,” such as when
William Gillespie, in 1659, was
“fund carrying watter, and his
wyfe knoking beir,” for which
they had to make public repentance,
or filling people for
“taking snuff in tyme of sermon,”
contrary to the Act of
18th June, 1640; till 1665,
when the ‘‘ great mutiny” in
the parish occurred, and the
minister, William Gordon, for
“ keeping of festivals,” was
railed at by the people, who
closed the doors against him,
for which a man and a woman,
according to Wodrow, were
scourged through Edinburgh.
At the Revolution, those
of ground to the west was added to it (including
the garden,with trees, shown in Gordon’s Map), from
the old boundary to the present west gate at the
Lothian Road. About the same time several
heritors requested permission to inter their dead
in the little or Wester-kirk, which had been a
species of ruin since the invasion of Cromwell.
In 1745, after the victory of the Highlanders at
Prestonpans, a message was sent to the ministers
of the city, in the name cf “Charles, Prince Regent,”
desiring them to preach next day, Sunday,
as usual; but many, alarmed by the defeat of Cope,
sought refuge in the country, and no public worship
was performed within the city, save by a
ST. CUTHBERT’S CHURCH.
(From Cmdm of Potkicmay’s Mu@.)
ministers who had been ejected in 1661, and were
yet alive, returned to their charges. Among them
was Mr. David Williamson, who, in 1689, was
settled in St. Cuthbert’s manse ; but not quietly,
for the castle, defended by the Duke of Gordon,
was undergoing its last disastrous siege by the
troops oC William, and the church suffered so much
damage from shot and shell, that for many months
after the surrender in June, the people were unable
to use it, and the repairs amounted to LI,~OO.
If tradition has not wronged him, Mr. Williamson
is the well-known (‘ Dainty Davie” of Scottish
song, who had six wives ere the seventh, Jean.
Straiton, survived him. He died in August, 1706,
and was buried in the churchyard, where the
vicinity of the grave is alone indicated by the
letters D. W. cut on the front of the tomb in which
he lies.
The ancient cemetery on the knoll having been
found too small for the increasing population and
consequent number of interments, in 1701 a piece
clergyman named Hog a t t h e
Tron.
It was otherwise, however,
at St. Cuthbert’s, the incumbent
of which was then the Rev.
Neil McVicar, yho preached
to a crowded congregation,
many of whom were armed
Highlanders, before whom he
prayed for George 11. and also
for Charles Edward in a fashion
of his own, recorded thus by
Ray, in his history of the time,
and others :-
‘(Bless the king! Thou
knowest what king I mean.
May the crown sit long on his
head. As for that young man
who has come among us to
seek an earthly crown, we](images/thumbs/old_new_edin_v3p145.gif "Volume 3 Page 133")
... Church.] MR. NEIL MWICAR. I33 -
those of other sections of the city, took courage, and
sought to retrieve ...
Vol. 3 p. 133 (Rel. 1.14)
... OLD -4ND NEW EDINBURGH. urffrey Street
of The Friend of India, and author of the “Life
of Dr. IVilson of ...
Vol. 2 p. 290 (Rel. 0.99)
... OF ILLUSTRATIONS . xi ..
P
Deacon Brodie . . . . . . . .
The First Interview in 1786: Deacon Brodie ...
Vol. 2 p. 393 (Rel. 0.96)
![Cowgate.] ANCIENT
Both these relics are now preserved in the
Museum of Antiquities.
An act of the Privy Council in 1616 describes
Edinburgh as infested by strong and idle vagabonds,
having their resorts “in some parts of the Cowgate,
Canongate, Potterrow, West Port, &c., where
they ordinarily convene every night, and pass their
time in all kind of not and filthy lechery, to the
offence and displeasure of God,” lying all day on
CLOSES. 241
Close in 1514; Todrig’s Wynd is mentioned in
1456, when Patrick Donald granted two merks
yearly from his tenement therein for repairing the
altar of St. Hubert, and in 1500 a bailie named
Todrig, was assaulted with drawn swords in his
own house by two men, who were taken to the Tron,
and had their hands stricken through.
Carrubber‘s Close was probably named from
“ William of Caribris,” one of the three bailies in
THE COWGATE, FROM THE PORT TO COLLEGE WYND, 1646. ( A f b cfdsthumay.)
17. The Cowgate ; 44, Peebles Wynd ; 45, Merlin’s Wynd ; 46, Niddry’s Wynd ; 47, Dickson’s Close : 50, Gnfs Wynd ; 5% St Mad5 w p d ;
h St Mary’s Wpd Suburbs ; I; Cov&e Port ; g, Si M a j s Wynd Port ; 53, The College Wynd ; 54. Robertson’s Wynd ; 55. High
School Wynd ; q, Lady Yeser‘s Kirk ; .r, The High School ; w, The College ; y, S i M;uy of the Fields, or the Kirk of Fields ; 25, The
Town Wall.
the causeway, extorting alms with “ shameful exclamations,”
to such an extent that passengers could
neither walk nor confer in the streets without being
impeded and pestered by them ; hence the magistrates
gave orders to expel them wholesale from the
city and keep it clear of them.
The Burgh Records throw some light on the
names of certain of the oldest closes-those running
between the central street and the Cowgate, as being
the residences or erections of old and influential
citizens. Thus Niddry’s Wynd is doubtless connected
with Robert Niddry, a magistrate in 1437 ;
Cant’s Close with Adam Cant, who was Dean of
Guild in 1450, though it is called Alexander Cant’s
79
1454, as doubtless Con’s Close was from John Con,
a wealthy flesher of 1508. William Foular’s Close
is mentioned in 1521, when Bessie Symourtoun
is ordered to be burned there on the cheeks and
banished for passing gear infected with the pest ;
and Mauchan’s Close was no doubt connected
with the name of John Mauchane, one of the bailies
in 1523; Lord Eorthwick’s Close is frequently
mentioned before 1530, and Francis Bell’s Close
occurs in the City Treasurer‘s Accounts, under date
1554. Liberton’s Wynd is mentioned in a charter
by James 111. in 1474, and the old protocol books of
the city refer to it frequently in the twelve years
preceding Flodden ; William Liberton’s heirs are](images/thumbs/old_new_edin_v4p061.gif "Volume 4 Page 241")
... ANCIENT
Both these relics are now preserved in the
Museum of Antiquities.
An act of the Privy Council ...
Vol. 4 p. 241 (Rel. 0.91)
... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Greyfirs Church.
King‘s Commissioner, the severity of these vile
persecutions was ...
Vol. 4 p. 378 (Rel. 0.91)
... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Wardie.
In this district evidences have been found of the
luck,” and it sometimes ...
Vol. 6 p. 306 (Rel. 0.89)
... N ~ S , attracted by the dampness of the soil,
where for ages the artificial loch lay. A few feet
eastward of ...
Vol. 1 p. 82 (Rel. 0.82)
... AND NEW EDINEURGH. LSouth Bridge. 376
In 1837 he succeeded Professor Macvey Napier
as Librarian to the Signet ...
Vol. 2 p. 377 (Rel. 0.81)
... lock was placed upon it for the same purpose.
In 1647 only three open thoroughfares are shown
OLD AND ...
Vol. 3 p. 17 (Rel. 0.81)
![The Cowgate.] THE CUNZIE NOOK. 267
dexter hand palmed, and in its palm an eye. In
the dexter canton, a saltire argent, under the imperial
crown, surmounted by a thistle j and in base
a castle argent, masoned sable, within a border,
charged with instruments used by the society. To
the surgeons. were added the apothecaries.
James IV., one of the greatest patrons of art and
science in his time, dabbled a little in surgery and
chemistry, and had an assistant, John the Leeche,
whom he brought from the Continent. Pitscottie
tells us that James was “ane singular guid chirurgione,”
and in his daily expense book, singular
entries occur in 1491, of payments made to people
to let him bleed them and pull their teeth :-
“Item, to ane fallow, because the King pullit
furtht his twtht, xviii shillings.
“Item, to Kynnard, ye barbour, for tua teith
drawin furtht of his hed be the King, xvci sh.”
The barbers were frequently refractory, and
brought the surgeons into the Court of Session t e
adjust rights, real or imagined. But after the union
of the latter with the apothecaries, they gave up
the barber craft, and were formed into one corporation
by an Act of Council, on the 25th February,
1657, as already mentioned in the account of
the old Royal College of Surgeons.
The first admitted after the change, was Christopher
Irving, recorded as ‘‘ ane free chmgone,”
without the usual words “and barber,” after his
name. He was physician to James VII., and from
him the Irvings of Castle Irving, in .Ireland, are
descended.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE SOCIETY.
The Candlemaker Row--The “ Cunzie Nook”-Tbe of Charles 1.-The Candlemakers’ Hall--The Afhk of Dr. Symons-The Society, IS+
Brown Square-Proposed Statue to George III., x~-Di&nguished Inhabitants-Si IsIay Campbell-Lard Glenlec-Haigof Beimerside
--Si John Lerlie-Miss Jeannie Elliot-Argyle Square-Origin of it-Dr. Hugh Bkit-The Sutties of that Ilk-Trades Maiden Hospital-
-Mint0 House and the Elliots-New Medical School-Baptist Church-Chambers Strect-Idustrial Museum of Sdence and Art-Its
Great Hall and adjoining Halls-Aim of the Architect-Contents and Models briefly glanced at-New Watt Institution and School of
ArtsPhrenoloEical Museum-New Free Tron Church-New Tiainiing College of the Church of Scotland-The Dental Hospita-The
.
Theatre ofvari.&s.
THE Candlemaker Row is simply the first portion
of the old way that led from the Grassmarket and
Cowgate-head, where Sir John Inglis resided in
1784, to the lands of Bnsto, and thence on to
Powburn ; and it was down this way that a portion
of the routed Flemings, with Guy of Namur at their
head, fled towards the Castle rock, after their
defeat on the Burghmuir in 1335.
In Charles I.’s time a close line of street with a
great open space behind occupied the whole of the
east side, from the Greyfriars Port to the Cowgatehead.
The west side was the boundary wall of the
churchyard, save at the foot, where two or three
houses appear in 1647, one of which, as the Cunzie
Nook, is no doubt that referred to by Wilson as
a curious little timber-fronted tenement, surmounted
with antique crow-steps ; an open gallery
projects in front, and rude little; shot-windows admit
the light to the decayed and gloomy chambers
therein.” This, we presume, to be the Cunzie Nook,
a place where the Mint had no doubt been estab
Cshed at some early period, possibly during some
of the strange proceedings in the Regency of Mary
of Guise, when the Lords of the Congregation
“past to Holyroodhous, and tuik and intromettit
With the ernis of the Cunzehous.”
On the west side, near the present entrance to
the churchyard of the Greyfriars, stands the hall of
the ancient Corporation of the Candlemakers, which
gave its name to the Row, with the arms of the
craft boldly cut over the doorway, on a large oblong
panel, and, beneath, their appropriate motto,
. Omnia man;jesfa Zuce.
Internally, the hall is subdivided into many residences,
smaller accommodation sufficing for the
fraternity in this age of gas, so that it exists little
more than in name. In 1847 the number of its
members amounted to only fhw, who met periodically
for various purposes, connected with the corporation
and its funds.
Edgar‘s plan shows, in the eighteenth century, the
close row of houses that existed along the whole of
the west side, from the Bristo Port to the foot, and
nearly till Forrest Road was opened up in a linewith
the central Meadow Walk.
Humble though this locality may seem now, Sir
James Dunbar, Bart., of Dum, rented No. ZI in
1810, latterly a carting office. In those days the
street was a place ‘of considerable bustle; the
Hawick dilligence started twice weekly from
Paterson’s Inn, a well-known hostel in its time,](images/thumbs/old_new_edin_v4p087.gif "Volume 4 Page 267")
... Cowgate.] THE CUNZIE NOOK. 267
dexter hand palmed, and in its palm an eye. In
the dexter canton, a saltire ...
Vol. 4 p. 267 (Rel. 0.8)
... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. Canongate.
the days that were no more. ‘* No funeral hearse,”
says Lockhart, “crept ...
Vol. 3 p. 28 (Rel. 0.79)
... 99 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH.
. Stirling-Maxwell, Sir Wm., 11. 86,
. Stitchill, Laird of I. 169
.Stockbridge, 11. ...
Vol. 6 p. 390 (Rel. 0.78)
![Kirk-of-Field.] BOTHWELL DENOUNCED. 7
of the Canongate to Bothwell’s lodging, near the
palace, at the gates of which they were again
challenged by the Archers of the Guard-a corps
which existed from 1562 to 1567-who asked “if
they knew what noise that was they heard a short
time before.” They replied that they did not.
Rushing to his house, Bothwell called for something
to drink, and throwing off his clothes, went
to bed.
Tidings that the house had been blown up and
the king slain spread fast through the startled
city, and George Hackett, a servant of the palace,
communicated these to Bothwell, whom he found
in “ane great effray pitch-black,” and excited.
Then with assumed coolness he inquired “what
was the matter ? ” On being distinctly informed,
he began to shout “Treason!” and on being
joined by the Earl of Huntley, he repaired at once
to the presence of the queen.
By dawn the whole area of the Kirk-of-Field
was crowded by citizens, who found that the three
servants who slept in the gallery were buried in the
ruins, out of which Nelson was dragged alive.
In Holyrood the queen kept her bed in a darkened
room, while a proclamation was issued, offering
the then tolerable sum of L2,ooo Scots to
any who would give information as to the perpetrators
of the crime. On the same day the body of
Darnley was brought to Holyrood Chapel, and
after being embalmed by Maistre Mastin Picauet,
‘ I ypothegar,” was interred on Saturday night, without
the presence of any of the nobles or officers
of state, except the Lord Justice Clerk Bellenden
and Sir James Traquair.
Bothwell was denounced as the murderer by a
paper fixed on the Tolbooth Gate. But though the
earl was ultimately brought to trial, no precisely
proper inquiry into the startling atrocity was made
by the officers of the Crown.
A bill fastened on the Tron Beam, declared
that the smith who furnished the false keys to the
king’s apartment would, on due security being
given, point out his employers ; and other placards,
on one of which were written the queen’s initials,
M.R., were posted elsewhere-manifestations of
public feeling that rendered Bothwell so furious
that he rode through the city at the head of a band
of his armed vassals, swearing that he “ would wash
his hands” in the blood of the authors, could he
but discover them ; and from that time forward he
watched all who approached him with a jealous
eye, and a hand on his dagger.
When that part of the city wall which immediately
adjoined the house of the Kirk-of-Field
was demolished in 1854, it was found to be five
feet thick, and contained among its rubble many
fragments of a Gothic church or other edifice, and
three cannon-balls, one of 24 pounds’ weight, were
found in it.
In the records of the Privy Council in 1599, we
find an order for denouncing and putting to the
horn Robert Balfour, Provost of the Kirk-of-Field,
for having failed to appear before the Lords, and
answer “ to sic thingis as sauld have been inquirit
of him at his cuming.” The Provost, brother of
the notorious Sir James, had been outlawed or forfeited
in 157 I, as there rested upon both the charge
of having been chief agents in the murder or
Darnley.
He was ultimately remitted and pardoned, and
this was ratified by Parliament in 1584, when he
and his posterity were allowed to enjoy all their
possessions,‘‘ providing alwayis that these presentis
be not extendit to repossess and restoir the said
Robert to bny ryt he has, or he may pretend, to ye
Provostrie of ye Kirk-of-Field, sumtym situat within
the libertie of ye burgh of Edinburgh.”
In this same year, 1584, the Town Council were
greatly excited by a serious affray that ensued at
the Kirk-of-Field Port, and to prevent the recurrence
of a similar disorder, ordained that on the
ringing of the alarm bell the inhabitants were all to
convene in their several quarters under their bailies,
“ in armour and good order.” And subsequently,
to prevent broils by night-walkers, they ordered
I‘ that at 10 o’clock fifty strokes would be given on
the great bell, after which none should be upon the
streets, under a penalty of Azo Scots, and imprisonment
during the town’s pleasure.” (“ Council
Records.”)
A fragment of ruin connected with the Kirk-of-
Field is shown as extant in 1647 in Gordon’s map,
near what is now the north-west corner of Drumrnond
Street, and close to the old University. A
group ot trees appear to the eastward, and a garden
to the iiorth.
(Tytler.)](images/thumbs/old_new_edin_v5p018.gif "Volume 5 Page 7")
... BOTHWELL DENOUNCED. 7
of the Canongate to Bothwell’s lodging, near the
palace, at the gates of ...
Vol. 5 p. 7 (Rel. 0.78)
![OLD LEITH STACF.. Leith Walk.]
VIEWS IN PORTOBELLO.
I, Ramsag h e ; n, The Established Church ; & High Street, looking eart; + Town Hall ; 5 Episcopalisn Church.
116](images/thumbs/old_new_edin_v5p164.gif "Volume 5 Page 153")
... LEITH STACF.. Leith Walk.]
VIEWS IN PORTOBELLO.
I, Ramsag h e ; n, The Established Church ; & High ...
Vol. 5 p. 153 (Rel. 0.77)
