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Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time

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APPENDIX. 451 k The ancient North Porch, with h e Norman doorway, demolished about 1760. The room above, entered by the narrow turnpike stair indicated in the plan, waa the place of coniinement of Sir John Cordon of Haddo, in 1644. This, and the adjoining chapel to the east, are now entirely removed. I A modern Doorway into Haddo’s Hold Kirk, now built up. m Modern North Doorway to the Old Kirk. a Entrance to the old Belfry Turret, being a passage partitioned off from St Eloi’s Chapel, nearly the o North Transept and Aisle, used aa the City Clerk’s Chambers. p Opening under the Belfry. p Modern North Entrances to the High Kirk, now built up. 7 The Napier Tomb. s Our Lady’s Niche. t Modern South Entrance to the High Kirk, now built up, U Entrance to the Assembly Aisle. o, Old Kirk Style, or Stinking Style. w Entrance to the Old Tolbooth, assaulted by the Porteous Mob in 1636, and now rebuilt at Abbotsford. x Beth’s or Bess Wynd y Covered Passage from the Tolbooth to Parliament Close, through the New Tolbooth or Council House. It is not unworthy of notice here that the Town Council Records prove that the different chaplainries of St Gilea’s Church, were held long after the Reformation had pulled down the altara and abolished their services. In September 1620, ‘‘ James Lennox is elected chaplain of the Chapelry of the Holy Rood and Holy Crose, in the Burgh Kirk Yard of Saint Giles.” This, no doubt, refers to the chapel founded and endowed by Walter Chepman in 1528. Every vestige of the chapel had disappeared half a century before, and it is doubtful if even the lower churchyard, in which it had stood, was in existence at the date of this election ; though it is probable that the “ AWmK i~kyard”r emained in use long after the upper yard had been abandoned a1 a place of sepulture. So late as March 4th, 1629, “John Yair is elected chaplane of St Ninean’s Altar in the College Kirk of St Giles.” whole site of which is now occupied with the new Belfry Turret. c Sr C~ILES’S CHURCHYARD.-h Edgar’s map of Old Edinburgh there is shown about the middle of Forrester‘s Wynd, on the east side, a small open court, which retained, till near the close of last century, distinct marks of having formed the entrance to the lower Churchyard of St Giles. It was pointed out as such early in the present century to the Rev. John Sime, by Mr Cunningham, the builder of Portobello Tower,-a fabric, wherein the chief sculptured stones and other relics of the ancient tenements demolished to make way for the South Bridge, have been preserved. Mr Cunningham descnxed a curious piece of sculpture, emblematic of death, which appropriately decorated the lintel of the ancient gateway through which our forefathers were wont to be borne to their last resting-place. It is the same sculptured lintel, we have no doubt, which is thus alluded to in the Edinburgh Magazine for July 1800,--“ A long stone, on which wm curiously sculptured a group resembling Hdbein’a Duncc of Death, was some months ago discovered at the head of Forrester‘s Wynd, which, in former days was the western boundary of St Giles’s High Churchyard. This relic was much defaced, and broken in two, by being carelessly tossed down by the workmen. It was a curious piece. Amid other musicians who brought up the rear, was an angel playing on the Highland bagpipe,-a national conceit, which appears also on the entablature of one of the pillars of the supremely elegant Gothic chapel at Roslin” We look in vain now for thia sinadar specimen of early Scottish art, where it should have been preserved, in the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Oas Comxs.-A description is given (page 330), of the discovery of oaken coffins on the eite of the
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45 2 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. lower churchyard, in 1844 ; the following notices of the Town Council Records, indicates the date and reason of their disuse. An Act of Council, September 30th, 1618, ‘‘Discharges Oak Kircts to be made for burials of the deceased persones within the Brough” Thia, however, must have met with very slight attention, the ancient usages in reference to the burial of the dead being in all countries and states of society the most diBcult to eradicate. Another Act of the Town Council, in February 1635, prohibits the Oak Kbts being brought to the Greyfriars’ Churchyard, ‘‘ The-burial place in Greyfriars being scarce capable of the dead bodiea occasioned through Wainscott Kists.” Even this failed in securing sufficient room for the dead, and an Act of Town Council, dated 1st April 1636, provides for the augmentation of the areyfriars’ burial-ground. XIX. ANCIENT LODGINGS. A FEW additional notices of some value, regarding some of the ancient mansions referred to in the come of the work, are introduced here, having been overlooked when preparing the Text, or only discovered when too late to insert in their proper places. The following notice of it appears in the Diurnal of Occurrsnts, a very curious collection of contemporary records of the sixteenth century, printed by the Bannatyne Club, the practical value of which is greatly abridged by the want of an index :-“ Vpon the xiij day of Februar, the zeir of God foirsaid, Henrie lord Dernlk, eldest Bone to Matho erle of Lennox, come to Edinburgh be post fra Ingland, and wes lugeit in my lord Seytouna lugeing in the Cannongait besyid Edinburgh.’-(Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p. 79.) CARDINABLE ATONH’So usE.-From the following notices it will be wen that the ancient tenement which stood till lately in the Cowgate, at the foot of Blackfriars’ Wynd, was the scene of the first festivities in Edinburgh after the arrival of Queen Mary, and was, not long after, honoured by her own presence, with the chief nobles of her court :- U Vpoun the xix day of August lxj, Marie, quene of Scottis, our souerane ladie, e tin th e raid of Leith at sex houris in the mornyng, accumpanyit onlie with tua gallionis ; and thair come with hir in cumpany monsieur Domell, the grand pryour, monsieur marques [d’ElbeufJ the said quenes grace moder broder, togidder with monsieur Danguill [d’hville], second sone to the constable of France, with certane vther nobill gentilmen ; and at ten houris the samen day, hir hienes landit vpoun the schoir of Leith, and remanit in Andro Lambis hous be the space of ane hour, and thairefter wes convoyit vp to hir palice of Halyrudhoua “Vpoun the xxiiij day of August, quhilk wes Sonday, the quenes grace causit say mes in hir hienes chappell within hir palace of Halyrudhous, quhairat the lordis of the congegatioun wes grittumlie annoyit . (6 Vpoun $he lust day of Aqwt lxj, the toun of Edinburgh maid thc banked to m&r DomeU, the grand mow, marques, and monsieur Danguill, in am honourable maner, within the lugeing mrntynts pertenying to tha cardinall. “Vpoun the h t day of September, the said monsieur Domell depairtit, with the twa gallionis quhilk. brocht the quenes grace hame to France, and his broder remanit in Scotland, ((Vpoun the secund day of September lxj, the quenes grace maid hir entrea in the burgh of Edinburgh on tbis maner. Her hienes depairtit of Halyrudhous, and raid be the lang gait on the north syid of the said burgh, vnto the tyme scho come to the castell, quheir wee ane xet maid to hir, at the quhilk scho, wcumpanijt with the maist pairt of the nobilitie of Scotland except my lord duke and hia none, come in and raid vp the castell bank to the caatell, and dynit thairin ; and quhen sho had dynit at tuelf houris, hir hienea come furth of the said WINTOUNH OUSE.-The site of the ancient mansion of the Earls of Wintoun is described on page 303.
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