... ANTIQUITIES. 413
tradition of its dedication to St Anthony; but the silver stream, celebrated in ...
Book 10 p. 453
(Score 0.59)
... UCKENBOOTHS AND PARLIAMENT CLOSE. 209
so thick that they only got out a small cabinet with great difEculty. But ...
Book 10 p. 228
(Score 0.59)
... OLD.? AND NEW EDINBURGH. [The City Crosa.
by the Figgate-burn ere he marched to storm
Dunbar.?
There lie ...
Book 1 p. 150
(Score 0.59)
... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Northumberland Street.
A noted antiquary, he was Correspondant du
Comitk Imp2riaZ des ...
Book 4 p. 198
(Score 0.59)
![Portobello.] THE FIGGATE MUIR ?43
to the line of the turnpike road. The whole surface
of the district round them is studded with
buildings, and has only so far subsided from the
urban character as to acquire for these, whether
villa or cottage, the graceful accompaninients of
garden or hedge-row. ?A stroll from the beautified
city to Piershill,? says a writer, ?when the
musical bands of the barracks are striving to drown
the soft and carolling melodies of the little songsters
on the hedges and trees at the subsession ot
Arthur?s Seat, and when? the blue Firth, with its
many-tinted canopy of clouds, and its picturesque
display of islets and steamers, and little smiling
boats on its waters, vies with the luxuriant lands
upon its shore to win the award due to beauty, is
indescribably delightful.?
C H A P T E R X I V .
PORTOBELLO.
Portolxll~The Site before the Houses-The Figgate Muir-Stone Coffins-A Meeting with Cromwell-A Curious Raae--Portobello Hut-
Robbqrs-Willkq Jamieson?s Feuing-Sir W. Scott and ?The Lay ?-Portobello Tower-Review of Yeomanry and H i g h d e w
Hugh Miller-David Laing-Joppa-Magdalene Bridge-Brunstane House.
PORTOBELLO, now a Parliamentary burgh, and
favourite bathing quarter of the citizens, occupies a
locality known for ages as the Figgate Muir, a once
desolate expanse of muir-land, which perhaps was
a portion of the forest of Drumsheugh, but which
latterly was covered With whins and furze, bordered
by a broad sandy beach, and extending from Magdalene
Bridge on the south perhaps to where Seafield
now lies, on the north-west.
Through this waste flowed the Figgate Bum out
of Duddingston Loch, a continuation of the Braid.
Figgate is said to be a corruption of the Saxon
word for a cow?s-ditch, and here ?the monks of
Holyrood were wont to pasture their cattle.
Traces of early inhabitants were found here
in 1821, when three stone cofiins?were discovered
under a tumulus of sand, midway between Portobello
and Craigantinnie. These were rudely put
together, and each contained a human skeleton.
?? The bones were quite entire,?? says the Week&
JournnZ for that year, ?and from their position it
would appear that the bodies had been buried with
their legs across. At the head of each was deposited
a number of flints, from which it is conjectured
the inhumation had taken place before the
use of metal in this country; and, what is very
remarkable, the roots of some shrubs had penetrated
the coffins and skulls of the skeletons, about which
and the ribs they had curiously twisted themselves.
The cavities of the skeletons indeed were quite
filled with vegetable matter.?
It was on the Figgate Muir that, during the
War of Independence, Sir William Wallace in 1296
mustered his zoo patriots to join Robert Lauder
and Crystal Seton at Musselblirgh for the pursuit
of the traitor Earl of Dunbar, whom they fought at
Inverwick, afterwards taking his castle at Dunbar.
In the Register of the Privy Council, January,
1584, in a bond of caution for David Preston of
Craigmillar, Robert Pacok in Brigend, Thomas
Pacok in Cameron, and others, are named as sureties
that John Hutchison, mirchant and burgess
of Edinburgh, shall be left peaceably in possession
of the lands ?? callit Kingis medow, besyde the
said burgh, and of that pairt thairof nixt adjacent
to the bume callit the Figott Burne, on the north
side of the same, being a proper pairt and pertinent
of the saidis landis of Kingis Medow.?
Among the witnesses is George Ramsay, Dean of
Restalrig.
We next hear of this locality in 1650, when it
was supposed to be the scene of a secret meeting,
?? half way between Leith and Musselburgh Rocks,
at low water,? between Oliver Cromwell and the
Scottish leaders, each attended by a hundred
horse, when any question the latter proposed to
ask he agreed to answer, but declined to admit
alike of animadversion or reply. A part of this
alleged conference is said to have been-
? Why did you put the king to death ?
?? Because he was a tyrant, and deserved death.?
? Why did you dissolve the Parliament ? I?
?? Because they .were greater tyrants than the
king, and required dissolution.?
The Mercurius CaZtdoonius of 1661 records a very
different scene here, under the name of the Thicket
Burn, when a foot-race was run from thence to the
summit of Arthur?s Seat by twelve browster-wives,
?all of them in a condition which makes violent
exertion unsuitable to the female form.? The prizes
on this occasiofi were, for the first, a hundredweight
of cheese and ?a budge11 of Dunkeld aquavite,
andarumpkin of Brunswick rum for the second, set
down by the Dutch midwife. The next day six](images/thumbs/old_new_edin_v5p154.gif "Old and New Edinburgh Vol. V Page 143")
... THE FIGGATE MUIR ?43
to the line of the turnpike road. The whole surface
of the district round them ...
Book 5 p. 143
(Score 0.59)
... HIGH STREET. 243
bouring buildings with a majestic and imposing effect, of which the north front of ...
Book 10 p. 264
(Score 0.59)
... LA WNALARKET. 161
note in their day, the moat eminent of whom was the celebrated lawyer, Sir John ...
Book 10 p. 175
(Score 0.58)
... MEMORIALS UP
Congregation, The, 61-70, 386
Constable, Archibald, 235
Constitution Street, Leith, ...
Book 10 p. 501
(Score 0.58)
... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [North Bridge
they occupied when obtained, that we are tempted to
conclude the ...
Book 2 p. 360
(Score 0.58)
... AND THE NEW TOWN. 357
hold still frowns above the crag that rises from the eastern bank of Lochend; and ...
Book 10 p. 392
(Score 0.58)
... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
minutes the young man breathed his last. And now, quivering in the pangs of dissolution, ...
Book 9 p. 131
(Score 0.58)
... the two boys to him, he upbraided
them with their informing upon him, and told them
that they must ...
Book 3 p. 183
(Score 0.58)
... AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Canonmills. 86
modation than external display, and yet is not
unsuited to the ...
Book 5 p. 86
(Score 0.58)
... 382 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH.
thoroughfare named Chambers Street, to which the
school was transferred in ...
Book 2 p. 382
(Score 0.58)
... MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
were derivable from it to the Crown is proved by the frequent payments with which it ...
Book 10 p. 400
(Score 0.58)
... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Moultray?s HilL
of the realm have been open to all genuine scholars.
Another result ...
Book 2 p. 369
(Score 0.58)
... not correspond in paint of date with the
shirts they accompanied.? Lord Napier died in
1823.
His house, ...
Book 3 p. 158
(Score 0.58)
... of Belhaven, the Earl Marischal, after having
opposed the Union in all its stages, refused to be
present at ...
Book 1 p. 67
(Score 0.57)
![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 "Old and New Edinburgh Vol. I Page 183")
... Royal Excharge.] THE ROYAL EXCHANGE. 183 -
CHAPTER XX.
THE ROYAL EXCHANGE-THE TRON CHURCH-THE GREAT FIRE OF ...
Book 1 p. 183
(Score 0.57)
... MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
I., who hoped thereby to gain him over from the Presbyterians. In this, however, ...
Book 10 p. 194
(Score 0.57)
... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Nether Bow.
with cannon stone-shot in 1544, ere advancing
;against the Castle. ? They ...
Book 2 p. 218
(Score 0.57)
... MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
Frendracht, Viscount, 191
Froissart, 9, 12
Fullerton, Adam, 152, 272
Gabriel, the ...
Book 10 p. 503
(Score 0.57)
... Luckenbooths
James VI., but no memories of him now remain,
save the alley called Byres? Close, and his ...
Book 1 p. 154
(Score 0.57)
![296 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
its quaint old lions, in which the Unionists are said to have been scared while signing
some of their preliminary treaties, is still there. The upper terrace is shaded by a magnificent
thorn tree, which appears to be much older than the house; on the second, a
curious arbour has been constructed by the interlacing stems of trees, twisted into the
fantastic forms in which our ancestors delighted; and on the lowest terrace, a fine fountain
of clear water is guarded by the marble statue of a little fisher, with his basket at his feet,
5lled with the mimic spoils of the rod and line. The garden has a southern aspect, and
is of large dimensions, and both it and the house might still afford no unsuitable accommodation
to the proudest Earl in the Scottish Peerage.’
Directly opposite to the Old Tolbooth, and not far removed. from the stately mansion
of the Earls of Moray, is an antique fabric of a singularly picturesque character, associated
with the name of one of the adversaries of that noble house-George, first Marquis of
Huntly, who murdered the Bonny Earl of Moray in 1591.. The evidence, indeed, is not
complete which assigns this as the dwelling of the first marquis, but it is rendered exceedingly
probable from the fact that his residence was in the Canongate, and that this
fine old mansion was occupied at a later period by his descendants. In June 1636, he
was carried from his lodging in the Canongate, with the hope of reaching his northern
territories before his death, but he got no farther than Dundee, where he died in his
seventy-fourth year.8 The aame noble lodging was the abode of the unfortunate Marquis,
who succeeded to his father’s title, and perished on the block at the Cross of Edinburgh in
1649. Ten years before that, their old mansion in the Canongate was the scene of special
rejoicing and festivity, on the occasion of the marriage of his eldest daughter, Lady Ann
with the Lord Drummond, afterwards third Earl of Perth, who was ane preceise puritane,
and therfore weill lyked in Edinburgh.” * The house was occupied, when Maitland wrote,
by the Duchess-Dowager of Gordon; and through a misinterpretation of the evidence
given by some of the witnesses concerned in the murder of Darnley in 1567, he pronounces
it to have been the Mint Office of Scotland at that period. If the date on the building,
which is 1570, be that of its erection, it settles the question. But, at any rate, an examination
of the evidence referred to leaves no doubt that the Mint was situated at the period
entirely without the Canongate, and in the outer court of the Palace of Holyoood,’ though
this has uot prevented the historian being followed, as usual, without investigation by later
writers. We have engraved a view of this curious old mansion as it appears from the
Bakehouse Close. It presents an exceedingly picturesque row of timber-fronted gables
to the street, resting on a uniform range of ornamental corbels projecting from the stone
basement fitory. A series of sculptured tablets adorn the front of the building, containing
certain pious aphorisms, differing in style from those so frequently occurrikg on the buildings
of the sixteenth century. On one is inscribed :-“ CONSTANTPIE CTORI RES MOBTALIVM
Moray House was for aome time occupied by the British Linen Company’s Bank ; and, since 1847, has been used as
the Free Church Normal School, and the fine terraced gardens deacribed above transformed into a playgronnd for the
wholam. ’ Spaldmg’e History of the Troublea, vol. i p. 42. ’ Ibid, vol. i p. 177.
4 “Incontinent the Erle [Bothwell], French Paris, William Powry, semitar and porter to the eaid Erle, Pat. Wil-
~ouna, nd the deponar, geid down the turnpike altogidder, and endlong the back of the Queenis garden puhiZZ mo cum
to the Cunzie-Eow, and the back of the stabilk [seemingly what is now called the Howa Wynd], quhill eow cum to the
Cannongate foreanent the Abbey eet.”-Deposition of Cfeorge Dalgleiah ; Crim. Trials, Supp. p. 495.](images/thumbs/memorials/memorials_v1_Page_340.gif "Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time Page 322")
... MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
its quaint old lions, in which the Unionists are said to have been scared while ...
Book 10 p. 322
(Score 0.56)
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