Scotland > 1868, 1878 - Slater's (late Pigot & Co.'s) Royal national commercial directory and topography of Scotland > 1878 > Part 1

EDINBURGH AND LEITH,
WITH THEIR ENVTEONS,
INCLUDING THE PARISHES AND VILLAGES OF CEAMOND AND GRANTON, EESTALKIG, STOCKBRIDGE, NEWHAVE>?,
GORGIE, DAVIDSON'S MAINS, MUERAYPIELD, AND THEIR VICINITIES.
E
CiDINBURGH, the beautiful metropolis of Scotland, occupies a
site in the northaru part of the county of Edinburgh, or Mill Lothian,
remarliable for its romantic inequahties, its rich historical remi-
niscences, and the beauty of its architectural features, witliin two
miles from the south shore of the Frith of Fortii ; in lat. 55 deg.
67 miu. 23 sec. N., and longitude 3 deg. 10 min. 80 sec. w.; distant
from London 393 miles (by raii 427), 91 from Carlisle (110 by rail),
55 from Berwick-upon-Tweed (67M bv raiJl, nearly 44 from Glasgow
{47}4 by raii), 43 from Dundee ( by raii 66), 109 from Aberdeen, 241 from
Inverness, by Aberdeen, and 191 from Inverness by Perth.
ORIGIN, NAME, AND BRIEF NOTICE OP EVENTS CON-
NECTED WITH THE CITY.
The origin of Edinburga, as of many other towns of high anti-
quity, is shrouded in great obscurity ; there can be little doubt,
however, that the town grew up around the lofty castle roclt, a for-
tress almost impregnable before the introdiictiou of gun powder,
and which rises abruptly with precipitous sides on the north, west,
ttud south, sloping eastward into a ridge, steep both on its northern
and southern sides. It was on this ridgo that the town lirst began
to he built. The most aueieut name on record applied to the rock
fortress is Oasteth Mijnyd -^.aiics, '• the fortress of the hill of Saint
Agues." The name Edinburgh is said to be derived from Edwin, an
Anglo-Saxon King of Nortnumbria, wlio died in 634. The Lothians,
and whole s.E. of Scotland, were at that timo part of the kingdom of
Northumbria; the northern parts of the country were then the
scene of continual wars.
An old Gffilic name of Edinburgh is Dnnediu. For some centuries
the town was conlined entirely to the ridge already noticed. On
the K. was a lake, now drained, the North Loch. On other sides it
was defended by a wall, of which some traces still remain. After
the cession of Lothian to the Scots, iu 1020, the castle often became
the residence of the Scottish monarchs, and in the 12th century
David I. made it his favourite liabitation. Dwellings now multiplied
around it, and David founded tho Abbe v of Holyrood, whose canons
ho empowered to erect a suburb westward of their abbey ; and this
suburb soon united itself with Edinburgh, which had rapidly ex-
tended itself down the declivity of the castle eastward. The monks
gave tho name of Canonsburgh, or Canongate, to their new town,
which appellation it still bears. The long street thus formed between
the abbey and the castle consisted, it is presumed, of very humble
dwellings, as it appears that long after this period they were
thatched with straw. From VViUiara the Lion, about the close oi
tile 12th century, it is supposed the town received the privileges of
a royal burgh, and the honour of being a place of mintage ; but soon
alter, this monarch, as tlie price of his liberty, surrendered it to
Henry II., king of England, by whom it was retained till 11813. In
the year 1214 a parliament lirst assembled Jiere, in the reign of
reign of Alexander II. In 1239 a general council of the Scottish
church met here ; and during the reign of jilexander III. it became
the royal residence, and the depository of the records and regalia
of tho kingdom. In 1291 the town and castle wore surrendered to
King Edward I., but were speedily regained by tho Scots, who
held them, until the fatal battle of Dunbar, iu 1294, enabled Edward
to recapture them. The castle continued in possession of the
English until 1312, when it once more reverted to Scotland. In
l32l), tho fourteenth p.arliament of Bruce met in Holyrood Abbey;
and the next year was memorable for the admission of the borough
repiosentaaves among those of the other estates, and for the cou-
lirmation of the treRy of Northampton, by which the independence
of Scotland was acknowledged by Edward III. Shortlv after,
Robert I. granted a charter to tho inhabitants of Edinburgh, ami
placed under their dominion the town of Leith, " with its harbour
and mills." During tho reign of Edward III. the <;astle twice
changed hands, but it ultimately submitted to its natural masters,
and the city continued to increase iu importance, until it became
the residence of the chief functionaries of the government, after the
murder of James I. iu 1436-7, after which it became the recognised
metropolis of the kingdom. E linhurgh now rapidly increased in
population; and as it was hemmed in by walls, houses of great
height were erected, and very close together.
The character of the Old Town at the present day is derived from
this time. At this time, also, a new street was formed, the Cowgate,
parallel to the main street on the south, at the bottom of the ridge,
now one of the poorest and most narrow streets in the Old Town.
About the middle of the loth century Edinljurgh was encircled by
walls, at the instigation of James II., the marriagoof which monarch
with Mary Gueldres, and her coronation, were celebrated with great
pomp in the Abbey of Holyrood, which abbey became the tomb of
the king eleven years afterwards. The turbulent reign of James III.
succeeded, during w ich the sites of the markets were determuiod,
the provost made sheriff of the town, and various municipal privi-
leges granted to the inhabitants ; in token of the bravery and loy-
alty of the inhabitants, a banner was also given to them, to be
displayed " in defence of their king, their country, and their own
rights." This flag, from its colour, received the name of the " blue
blanket," and remains now in tho custody oi the convener of tho
trades, at whose appearance therewith, says tradition, not only the
ai tificers of Edinburgh, but those oi the whole kingdom, are to repair
to It, una fight nuder the convener. Oa all gi-eat pageants this
memorial of the loyalty of Edinburgh is ostentatiously displayed.
In 1508 the thickl}-- wooded lands of tho " Borough Moor" wero
cleared of their trees, in virtue of powers granted by the king; and.
in order to obtain purchasers for the timber, the maglBtratea enacted
that " whoever bought as much as would be sulficient to make a
new front to his house, might extend the same seven feet further
into the street ; " by which impolitio permission the town was filled
with wooden houses, and the main street contracted fourteen feet
in width.
The year 1513 was memorable for the double calamity of the
plague and the disastrous defeat at Flodden. Tho latter misfor-
tune ailed Edinburgh with consternation; all capable ot bearing
arms were ordered to defend the walls, and " the women were
discharged from crying or clamouring in the streets;" tho Privy
Council, tor safety, adjourned to Stirling, where James V. was
crowned. At this alarming crisis the lortilications were strengthened,
and a new wail built, which encompassed the high grounds on
the south, parts of which still remain. The plague continuing its
virulencG, the young king was removed to Dalkeith or Craig-
miller. During" his minoritv, the Earl of Arran and Cardinal
Beatoun, jealous of the influence acquired by the Earl of Angus,
through his marriage with the queen dowager, attacked him and
his partisans in the street near the Netherbow port, in which con-
flict more than two hundred and Hfty men were slain, and tho resi-
due of tho Hamilton's or Arran's party expelled by tho Douglasses,
or faction of Angus. This bloodv affair was designated by the
populace "Cleanse tho Causeway." Similar sanguinary occur-
rences wei-e not unfrequent in these contentious times, and during
his whole minority the capital was the theatre of tumult, chiefly
through the turbulence of' the house of Douglas. In consequence
of tho prevailing disquietude, tho Privy Council and Parliament
frequently met in the Tolbootli, or common gaol. In 1514 the small
force was appointed, afterv^ards known by |he name of the "City
Guard," which was dissolved so lately as 1817. In 1528, excite-
ments and disturbances arose in the city, from the secret diffusion
of the principles of the Beforraation.
The year 1532 is signalised by the establishment in the capital ot
the College of Justice, whicli important corporation, includiug the
whole body of fuuctionaries connected with the supreme courts,
endowed Edinburgh still more with the attributes of a metropolis;
and as the citv rose in dignity the parliament interfered for the
coiTcction of its deformities. Rows o! obstructiug tenements were
removed, and many pnkitarv regulations enforced lor the provsntion
ol impurities; the High Street was paved, and lanterns were
ordered to be hung out at night by the inhabitants. In 1534,
Norman Gourlay and David Straiton were tried and condemned at
Holyrood for heresy, and executed at Greenside. In 1543, tjie
magistrates having thought proper to deprive tho craftsmen of tlio
privilege of voting at the election of provost and bailies, the deactcs
th-cw their swords iu the council chamber; but the strife was sub-
dued, partly by compromise and partly by the irresistable reasonings
of an armed force. The next year was a disastrous one for thii
rising metropolis ; Henry VIII., of England, in revenge for ^he
opposition made by the catholic regency of Artau and Beatoun to
the marriage of his son Edward with tho young Queen Mary, sent
an army and fleet to ravage Scotland under the command of the
Earl of Hertford, who, landing at Leitli, set fire to Edinburgh, an I
burnt the abbey and palace of Holyrood. The attempt to capture th^
castle was unsuccessful; but the departing foe- destroyed thH-pior
of Leith, seized the ships in tlio harbour, and "neither pyle,vill'M!e,
town, nor house, in their way homewards, was ielt uuburnt." In
consequence of this outrage, a French garrison was introduced lour
years afterwards, under D'Esse, v/ho fortified Leith, and took every
precaution against a repetition oi the calamity.
About the year 1556, the intrepid relormer, John Knox, bce:'.iai>
conspicuous." The reformation now made rapid progress ia
Scotland, not without strife and bloodshed. The population
destroyed not only the symbols of popery, but also many oi the
religious houses. On the anniversary of Saint Giles, the pairjir
saint of Edinburgh, the priests and monks were furiously atta^.:
and dispersed, and the effigy of the saint, whicli they wero e -
ing in procession, was indignantly destroyed ; luid M-hen tho lo-
ot tho congregation arrived from Perth, Stirling, and Linhthguw^
they found their purposed work had been anticipated by the
people; but it is fortunate that the rage of the reformers icXdin-
burgh was confined to the decorations and furniture of the
churclies, so that two of the chief ecclesiastical edifices still ve-
main, while the convents and monasteries were convertei^ into
dwelling-houses, somb of which are still standing. The stru^(,,ii
between tho two parties now became tierce, and but for the arrival,
of an English force to the assistance of tlie protestants, the i&iue
of the contest would have been doubtful; but tlie reformers, \'>itii
these auxiliaries, becoming ascendant, the triumph of the, popular
sentiment was complete. The first assembly oi the reformed kirk
met in Edinburgh on the 15th of January, 1060. On the'Stii ,.
August, 1561, Mary, Queen of Scots, landed at Leith, from Fr,.:r--- .
to sway the sceptre of her ancestors, and she was well ree.-j l.. ;
but her predilection for thj Romish ritual soon abated he'- ' i..',.
larity, and subjected her to insult; even her private char ' ' i>^
invaded, and her devotions inteiTupted. The drama now ' ijja
1-1