Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time

All Books Kay's Originals Vol. 1 Kay's Originals Vol. 2 Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time Edinburgh Past and Present Old and New Edinburgh Vol. I Old and New Edinburgh Vol. II Old and New Edinburgh Vol. III Old and New Edinburgh Vol. IV Old and New Edinburgh Vol. V Old and New Edinburgh Vol. VI

Go to: « Kay's Originals Vol. 1 « Kay's Originals Vol. 2 Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time Cover Title Pages Contents List of Illustrations Preface Part 1: Historical Associations Part 1 Ch 1: Earliest Traditions Part 1 Ch 2: From The Accession of The Stuarts to the Death of James III Part 1 Ch 3: From the Accession of James IV to the Battle of Flodden Part 1 Ch 4: From the Battle of Flodden to the Death of James V Part 1 Ch 5: From the Death of James V to the Abdication of Queen Mary Part 1 Ch 6: From the Accession of James VI to the Restoration of Charles II Part 1 Ch 7: Historical Incidents after the Restoration Part 2: Local Antiquities and Traditions Part 2 Ch 1: The Castle Part 2 Ch 2: King's Stables, Castle Barns, and Castle Hill Part 2 Ch 3: The Lawnmarket Part 2 Ch 4: The Tolbooth, Luckenbooths, and Parliament Close Part 2 Ch 5: The High Street Part 2 Ch 6: The High Street and Nether Bow Part 2 Ch 7: The Canongate and Abbey Sanctuary Part 2 Ch 8: St Leonard's, St Mary's Wynd, and The Cowgate Part 2 Ch 9: The West Bow and Suburbs Part 2 Ch 10: Leith, and The New Town Part 2 Ch 11: Ecclesiastical Antiquities Appendix » Edinburgh Past and Present » Old and New Edinburgh Vol. I » Old and New Edinburgh Vol. II » Old and New Edinburgh Vol. III » Old and New Edinburgh Vol. IV » Old and New Edinburgh Vol. V » Old and New Edinburgh Vol. VI

72 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. promise of replacing, at some indefinite period, ‘‘ als mony als gud jeistis ” as had been taken away.l Materials and money continued equally difficult to be obtained; the master of the work had again to have recourse for stones to the old building, although the magistrates were anxious, ifpossible, to preserve it. On the 5th of March 1562, an order appears for taking the stones of the chapel in the Nether Kirk-yard. This supplies the date of the utter demolition of Holyrood Chapel, as it was styled, which had most probably been spoiled and broken down during the tumults of 1559, It stood between the present Parliament House and the Cowgate; and there, on the 12th of August 1528, Walter Chepman founded a chaplainry at the altar of Jesus Christ crucified, and endowed it with his tenement in the Cowgate.’ In the month of April, the Council are threatened with the entire removal of the Courts to St Andrews, for want of a place of meeting in Edinburgh. This is followed ‘by forced taxation, borrowing money on the town mills, threats from the builder to give up the work, (‘ because he had oft and diverse tymes requyrit money, -and could get nane,” and the like, for some years following, until the magistrates contrived, at length, by some means or other, to complete the new building to the satisfaction of all parties. this interval, the Town Council held their own meetings in the Holy-Blood Aisle in St Giles’s Church, until apartments were provided for them, in the New Tolbooth, which served alike for the meetings of the Parliament, the Court of Session, and the Magistrates and Council of the burgh. The New Tolbooth, thus erected with so much difficulty, was not the famous Heart of Midlothian, but a more modern building attached to the south-west corner of St Giles’s Church, part of the site of which is now occupied by the lobby of the Signet Library. In February 1561, the Lord James, newly created Earl of Mar, was publicly married to Lady Agnes Keith, daughter of the Earl Marischal, in St Giles’s Church. They received an admonition “to behave themselves moderately in all things; ” but this did not prevent the event being celebrated with such display as gave great offence to the preachers. A magnificent banquet was given on the occasion, with pageants and masquerades, which the Queen honoured with her presence. Randolph, the ambassadar of Queen Elizabeth, was also a guest, and thus writes of it to Cecil :--“At this notable marriage, upon Shrove Tuesday, at night, sitting among the Lords at supper, in sight of the Queen, she drank unto the Queen’s Majesty, and sent me the cup of gold, which weigheth eighteen or twenty ounces.” The preachers denounced, with veh‘emence, the revels and costly banquets on this occasion, inveighing with peculiar energy against the masking, a practice, as it would seem, till then unknown in Scotland.’ The reformation of religion continued to be pursued with the utmost zeal. The Queen still retained the service of the mass in her own private chapel, to the great offence of the preachers ; but they had succeeded in entirely banishing it from the churches. The arms and burgh sed of Edinburgh, previous to this period, contained a representation of the patron saint, St Giles, with his hind; but by an act of the Town Council, dated 24th During, 1 Council Register, 10th Feb. 1561, &c. Council Register, Maitland, p. 183. Maitland, p. 21, 22. Chambers’s Minor Antiquitits, p. 141-0. Knox’s Hi&, p. 276. Tytler, vol. vi. p. 301.

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