Scotland > 1882-1915 - Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of Scotland > 1903, Part 2 - Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of Scotland ... (Royal National Directory of Scotland.) With ... map, etc

EDINBURGH AND LEITH,
WITH THEIR ENVIRONS.
EDINBURGH, capital City of Scotland, Royal and Par-
liamentary Burgh, seat of the College of Justice, the Uni-
versity of Edinburgh and the Assemblies of the Church of
Scotland and Free Church, also of the Episcopal and Roman
Catholic dioceses of Edinburgh, is situated about two miles
south of the Firth of Forth and from Leith, which forms
its port. It lies in lat. 55 deg. 57 m. 23 sec. X., and longi-
tude 3 deg. 10 min. 30 sec. W. ; distant from London 392
miles (by rail 427), 91 from Carlisle (110 by rail), 55 from
Berwick-upon-Tweed (syj by rail), nearly 44 from G-Iasgow
(47J by rail), 43 from Dundee (by rail 66), 109 from Aber-
deen, 241 from Inverness, by Aberdeen, and 191 from In-
verness, by Perth. It is grouped round the abrupt mass of
rock to the south of what was originally the North Loch
and on which stands the old castle, the old Gaelic name
being Dunedin. Down the shoulder of this hill, by a steep
and winding street, runs the " Old Town," ending beyond
the Canongate in the park surrounding Holyrood palace,
while round this venerable centre, which has a lower hill on
either side, are grouped the New Town to the north, Calton
hill on the north-east, the Queen's park backed by Salisbury
Craigs to the east, and behind the hill on which Heriot's
hospital stands Lauriston and The Meadows lie to the south,
while the district round Dean Bridge, Water of Leith and
the railways lies to the west. The railways into the city are
the Caledonian, connected with England at Carlisle (west
coast route), and the North British nid Berwick (east coast
route). By sea it is reached through its port of Leith.
HISTORY.
A great fire in 1532 and the attack on the city by
the Earl of Hertford in 1544 destroyed nearly all the
original buildings except the three prominent edifices which
mark the western, centre and eastern points of the old town,
viz. r the Castle, St. Giles' church and Holyrood, and which
may be said to be the only public buildings dating prior to
1542 ; the Parliament House having been erected as late as
1639. The lower end of the High street is the Burgh of
the Canongate, or town belonging to the Augustine Canons
of the Monastery of the Holy Rood, on the site of which was
built the palace. About 1020 the town became a residence
for the Scottish kings, Margaret the wife of Malcolm Cean-
more dying in the castle in 1093, and early in the 12th
century David I. made it his principal seat of government,
founding in 11 28 the Monastery of the Holy Rood, where he
located a body of Augustme monks : towards the end of this
century William the Lion made it a Royal burgh and a
place of mintage ; but 8th December, 1174, this monarch,
as the price of his hberty, surrendered it by the treaty of
Falaise to Henry II. King of England, by whom it was
retained till 1189. In the year 1214 a parliament first
assembled here, in the reign of Alexander II. In 1239 a
general council of the Scottish Church met here ; and during
the reign of Alexander III. it became the royal residence
and the depository of the records and regalia of the king-
dom. In 1291 the town and castle were surrendered to
King Edward I. ; but were speedily regained by the Scots,
who held them until the fatal battle of Dunbar, in 1294,
enabled Edward to recapture them. The castle continued
in the possession of the English until 13 12, when it once
more reverted to Scotland. In 1326, the fourteenth parlia-
ment of Bruce met in Holyrood Abbey ; and the next year
was memorable for the admission of the borough represen-
tatives among those of the other estates and for the con-
firmation of the treaty of Northampton, by which the
independence of Scotland was acknowledged by Edward
III. About 1327 Robert I. granted a charter to the in-
habitants of Edinburgh, and placed under their dominion
the town of Leith," with its harbour and mills," and in 1371
Robert II. made it the capital. During the reign of Edward
III. the castle twice changed hands ; in 1385 the English
under Richard II. burnt and plundered the abbey, and in
1400 Henry IV. while taking the town spared the abbey, in
consideration of kindness shown to his father in 1381 : the
Scots about 1406 regained the possession of Edinburgh and
the city continued to increase in importance, until it be-
came the residence of the chief functionaries of the govern
ment, after the murder of James I. in 1436-7, and was
the recognized metropolis of the kingdom. Edinburgh now
rapidly increased in population ; and as it was hemmed in by
walls, houses of great height were erected, and very close
together. At this period the street was formed called the Cow-
gate, 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 15th century
Edinburgh was encircled by walls, at the instigation of
James II,, the marriage of which monarch with Mary
Gueldres, and her coronation, were celebrated with great
pomp in 1449 in the Abbey of Holyrood, which abbey
became the tomb of the king eleven years afterwards. The
turbulent reign of James ill. succeeded, during which the
sites of the markets were determined, the provost made
sheriff of the town, and various municipal privileges granted
to the inhabitants. In token of the braverj^ and loyalty 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 in the custody of
the convener of the trades, at whose appearance therewith,
says tradition, not only the artificers of Edinburgh, but
those of the whole kingdom, are to repair to it, and fight
under the convener. On all great pageants, this memorial
of the loyalty of Edinburgh is ostentatiously displayed. In
1508 the thickly- wooded lands of the " JBorough Moor"
were cleared of their trees, in virtue of powers granted by
the king ; and, in order to obtain purchasers for the timber,
the magistrates enacted that " whoever bought as much as
would be sutficient to make a new front for his house might
extend the same seven feet further into the street ; " by
which impolitic permission the town was filled with wooden
houses and the main street contracted in width.
The year 1513 was memorable for the double calamity of
the plague and the disastrous defeat at Flodden. The latter
misfortune filled Edinburgh with consternation ; all capable
of bearing arms were ordered to defend the walls, and the
Privy Council for safety adjourned to Stirling, where James
V. was crowned. At this crisis the fortifications were
strengthened and a new wall built, which encompassed the
high ground on the south, parts of which still remain.
The plague continuing its virulence, the young king was
removed to Dalkeith or Craigmillar. During his minority,
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
partizans in the street, near the Netherbow port, in which
conflict more than two hundred and fifty men were slain,
and the residue of the Hamilton or Arran party expelled
by the Douglases, or by the Angus faction. This bloody
affair was designated by the populace, "Cleanse the Cause-
way." In consequence of the prevailing disquietude, the
Privy Council and Parliament frequently met in the Tol-
booth, or common gaol. In 1514 a small protective force
was appointed, afterwards known by the name of the " City
Guard," and maintained up to 1 817. In 1528 excitements
and disturbances arose in the city, from the secret diffusion
of the principles of the Reformation.
In the year 1532 the College of Justice, consisting of 14
judges under a president, was established by James V. with
its seat in the city, and from this time dates also the Society
of Advocates. A great fire in this year destroyed part of
the city, and about this period rows of obstructing tenements
were removed, and many salutary regulations enforced :
the High street was paved, and lanterns were ordered to he
hung out at night by the inhabitants. In 1534, Norman
Gourlay and David Straiten were tried and condemned at
Holyrood for heresy, and executed at Greenside : in 1543,
EDIN. A