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EdinburghLawnmarket – South SideCrossing over to the southern side of the Lawnmarket, there are three areas of interest between West Bow and George IV Bridge. Riddell's Close leads through to a double courtyard where James VI held a grand banquet in 1593 for the nobles of the Danish embassy. The 16th century house, with a wooden staircase on the outside, is where Bailie John McMorran, a teacher at Edinburgh High School, lived. In 1595 boys from that school killed him after he refused them a holiday! Fisher’s Close, which was previously known as Hamilton's Close and Cant's Land, is named after Thomas Fisher, the first Chamberlain of Edinburgh, who built a tenement on this site at the end of the 16th century. This later became home to the Duke of Buccleuch's family, but much of the property was destroyed around 1835 to allow construction of Victoria Street. The close was restored, by the Carnegie UK trust in 1953, and currently houses administrative staff for the nearby National Library on George IV Bridge. Opposite Gladstone's Land is Brodie's Close named after Deacon William Brodie - pillar of society by day, burglar by night and believed to be the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's tale Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde. |
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