Edinburgh town walls
Encyclopedia
There have been several town walls around Edinburgh
, Scotland
, since the 12th century. Some form of wall probably existed from the foundation of the royal burgh
in around 1125, though the first building is recorded in the mid-15th century, when the King's Wall was constructed. In the 16th century the more extensive Flodden Wall was erected, following the Scots' defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field
in 1513. This was extended by the Telfer Wall in the early 17th century. The walls had a number of gates, known as ports, the most important being the Netherbow Port, which stood halfway down the Royal Mile
. This gave access from the Canongate
which was, at that time, a separate burgh
.
The walls never proved very successful as defensive structures, and were easily breached on more than one occasion. They served more as a means of controlling trade and taxing goods, and as a deterrent to smugglers. Throughout their history, the town walls of Edinburgh have served better in their role as a trade barrier than as a defensive one. By the mid 18th century, the walls had outlived both their defensive and trade purposes, and demolition of sections of the wall began. The Netherbow Port was pulled down in 1764, and demolition continued into the 19th century. Today, a number of sections of the three successive walls survive, although none of the ports remain.
by King David I of Scotland
around 1125. This gave the town the privilege of holding a market, and the ability to raise money by taxing goods coming into the burgh for sale. It is probable, therefore, that some form of boundary was constructed around this time, although it may have been a timber palisade
or ditch, rather than a stone wall.
To the north of Edinburgh lay the marshy Nor Loch
, formed in the early 15th century in the depression where Princes Street Gardens
are now laid out. This natural defence was augmented by the steep slope up to the northern edge of the Old Town. Edinburgh Castle
, on its rocky outcrop, defended the western approach. Walls were therefore needed primarily on the south and east sides of the burgh.
Early records mention a west gate in 1180, a south gate in 1214, and the Netherbow Port in 1369. In 1362 the Wellhouse Tower was built beneath the north wall of the castle, protecting the castle's water supply, and defending the approach along the south shore of the Nor Loch.
issued a charter
permitting the burgesses of Edinburgh to defend their town, as follows:
In a further royal charter of 28 April 1472, King James III
ordered the demolition of houses built on or outside the King's Wall, which were hampering efforts to strengthen the defences. Edinburgh was thus one of only three Scottish towns to have medieval stone walls, the others being Stirling
and Perth
, though other towns had earth walls or palisades.
The wall ran along the south side of the Royal Mile
, above the Cowgate
, from the slope of the Castle Hill in the west, almost as far as the modern St Mary's Street in the east, where it turned to cross the Royal Mile. In all, the King's Wall enclosed a space no larger than 0.8 by. The alignment of the wall was irregular, as existing property boundaries or walls were reinforced to form a defence. The early wall had two ports: the Upper Bow or Over-Bow, in the vicinity of what is now Victoria Street, and the Nether Bow, on the Royal Mile near Fountain Close, which was located near around 46 metres (150.9 ft) further west than the later structure. In addition, postern
s (side gates) were provided, for example at Gray's Close.
led an invasion of northern England
in support of the French
and the Auld Alliance
. On 9 September, the Scots met the English at the Battle of Flodden, and were heavily defeated, with King James killed on the field. An English invasion was widely expected, and in Edinburgh it was resolved to build a new town wall. However, the new wall was also an opportunity to control smuggling into the burgh, and the town council accordingly decided to extend the wall south to take in the Grassmarket
and Cowgate
areas of the burgh. Construction began the following year, but was not completed until 1560. Work started at the western end, and the final section was the stretch from Leith Wynd to the Nor Loch, incorporating the New Port. The cost of this last work was £4/10s
Scots
per rood (one rood = six ells or 5.6 metres) for the wall, plus 40s per rood for the battlements.
The Flodden Wall, as it became known, was generally around 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) thick and up to 7.3 metres (24 ft) high. The Flodden Wall began at the south side of the castle, running south across the west end of the Grassmarket, where the West Port was located, and continued uphill along the Vennel. A watch-tower or bastion survives at this, the south-west extent of the wall. It then ran east, wrapping around Greyfriars Kirkyard
, to the Bristo Port and the Potterow Port, both located in the vicinity of the National Museum of Scotland
. Continuing east, the wall passed the Kirk o' Field
, where the Old College
now stands, and ran along Drummond Street
, turning north at the Pleasance
to enclose the former Blackfriars Monastery. The Cowgate Port was located at the foot of the Pleasance, and the wall then ran up the line of St Mary's Street, where it was formed by strengthening existing walls rather than new walling, to the Netherbow Port, which stood across the Royal Mile. The wall continued north to the Nor Loch, since replaced by Waverley railway station
, terminating at the New Port. The Flodden Wall enclosed an area of just under 57 hectares (140.8 acre), and remained the limit of the burgh until the 18th century. Contained within this area, in 1560, was a population of around 10,000.
There were six ports in the Flodden Wall. Anti-clockwise from the castle they were:
Besides, there were a number of small posterns. The heads and limbs of executed criminals were regularly displayed above the ports. Of the six ports, the Netherbow was the only one which took the form of a large fortified gateway. Repairs to the Netherbow are recorded in 1538, and a drawing of 1544 shows the Netherbow as a wide arched gate flanked by two round towers. In 1571, the gateway between the towers was rebuilt, and a central clock tower was added above the gateway, topped by an octagonal stone spire. This structure was repaired in the early 17th century.
led an English force into Scotland during the War of the Rough Wooing. On 6 May, having captured Leith, Hertford's men blew open the Netherbow Port with their artillery. The town was burned over the following three days, "so that neither within the walls nor in the suburbs was left any one house unburnt".
Further disturbances took place during the troubled reign of Mary, Queen of Scots (1542–1567), and its aftermath. In 1558 the Protestant Lords of the Congregation
marched on Edinburgh against the Catholic French Regent, Mary of Guise
, and were able to take control of the town without difficulty, despite the guards posted at the city gate. Following the forced abdication of Queen Mary, Scotland's nobility was divided between her supporters, and those of the infant King James VI
, represented by a series of regents. Edinburgh was held for the Queen by William Kirkcaldy of Grange
, and in May 1571 the town was besieged by the Regent's forces under James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton
. Repairs were made to the walls, and the Netherbow was barricaded. Nearby houses were pulled down to improve defences, and the siege gun Mons Meg
was employed to batter houses outside the wall which were being used by snipers. Unable to make any headway, the besiegers withdrew on 20 May.
Again the defences were strengthened in September, in advance of a second siege which began on 16 October. By this stage only ten per cent of Edinburgh's inhabitants remained in the city. The besiegers under Regent Mar
had only seven guns, and while they did manage to breach the Flodden Wall, the inner defences were too strong for an assault. By 21 October the siege was once again lifted. A blockade of the town was continued until July 1572 when a truce was agreed. Grange retreated into the castle and handed over the town to the Regent's party. The siege of Edinburgh Castle continued until May 1573, when it was finally reduced by a battery of guns shipped from England.
, which was enclosed between 1628 and 1636 by the Telfer Wall. Most of this land was subsequently sold to the charitable George Heriot
's Trust, and is now occupied by George Heriot's School
. The rubble
-built wall ran south from the Flodden Tower in the Vennel to Lauriston Place; it then turned east, running as far as Bristo Street, where it returned north to the Bristo Port in the Flodden Wall. The Telfer Wall was named after its mason
, John Taillefer.
and the wright (carpenter) John Scott strengthened the Flodden and Telfer walls and constructed artillery emplacements in 1650. Further emplacements were built by Captain Theodore Dury in 1715, in response to the Jacobite rising
of that year. In 1736, the lynching of Captain John Porteous
by an Edinburgh mob led the British Government in London to impose sanctions on the town. Porteous, Captain of the Town Guard, had been convicted of murder following the shooting of spectators at a public hanging, but following a reprieve, a mob broke into the Tolbooth Jail and executed him. The initial demand by the House of Lords
was for the demolition of the Netherbow Port, although this was resisted by the town, and commuted to a fine by the House of Commons
. When the town was threatened by the Jacobite rising of 1745
, a company of volunteer citizens was raised for the defence of the city, and the mathematics professor Colin Maclaurin
advised on improvements to the walls. However, as Bonnie Prince Charlie's troops approached, the town was undermanned and the walls undefended. On the morning of 17 September, a group of Highlanders under Donald Cameron of Lochiel
rushed the Netherbow Port as the gates were opened, and Edinburgh was captured without a fight.
Demolitions began soon after the withdrawal of the Jacobite threat in 1746. The bastions of the Telfer Wall along Lauriston Place were demolished in 1762, as they were obstructing traffic. The Netherbow survived until 1764, when it too was removed as an obstruction. The West Port and the Potterow Port were removed in the 1780s. By now, the New Town
was under construction, and although smuggling of goods through the city walls was still being punished, complaints about the zealousness of the guards were widely circulated. The Old College
of the University of Edinburgh (constructed from 1789), and then the Royal Museum of Scotland (constructed from 1861), were built over sections of the wall around the Potterow Port. Forrest Road was laid out in the 1840s, resulting in the loss of another section of the Telfer Wall. During construction works around the Advocates' Library
and Parliament House
in 1832 and 1845, fragments of walling were uncovered, which were attributed to the King's Wall.
Four sections of the Flodden Wall survive: to the north and south of the Grassmarket; in Greyfriars Kirkyard; and along Drummond Street and the Pleasance. North of the Grassmarket the wall runs alongside Granny's Green steps and has been incorporated into later buildings, including the former Greyfriars Mission Kirk. A line of granite paving across the Grassmarket marks the line of the wall where it was uncovered during construction work in 2008. In the Vennel the last remaining bastion of the town walls survives. The Flodden Tower, as it is sometimes known, comprises two remaining walls with a total length of 17.2 metres (56.4 ft), pierced by crosslet gunloops
and a 19th-century window. Sections of the Flodden Wall can be seen within Greyfriars Kirkyard, adorned with 16th and 17th century tombstones. At the junction of Forrest Road and Bristo Street a line of cobbles and a narrow gap in the later buildings mark the line of the wall. The longest section is in Drummond Street and the Pleasance, where it originally enclosed the Blackfriars Monastery. At the corner of the wall a blocked archway is probably the entrance to a demolished bastion. The site of the Netherbow is marked with an outline of brass blocks at the junction of the Royal Mile and St Mary's Street.
There are two remaining sections of the Telfer Wall. The first runs along Heriot Place from the Flodden Tower, and forms the west boundary of George Heriot's School. The wall along Lauriston Place was demolished in 1762, as the bastions were obstructing traffic. The only remaining section is that forming the south wall of Greyfriars Kirkyard. An inscription on the building at the corner of Teviot Place and Bristo Street reads "1513 Site of Town Wall", although it was in fact the 17th-century Telfer Wall, not the earlier Flodden Wall, which stood on this spot.
The majority of the surviving sections are listed buildings, while three sections are further protected as scheduled ancient monument
s: the Flodden Wall at Granny's Green; the Flodden and Telfer Walls at the Vennel and Heriot Place; and the Flodden Wall at Drummond Place and Pleasance. The walls also form part of the Edinburgh Old Town World Heritage Site
.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, since the 12th century. Some form of wall probably existed from the foundation of the royal burgh
Royal burgh
A royal burgh was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished in 1975, the term is still used in many of the former burghs....
in around 1125, though the first building is recorded in the mid-15th century, when the King's Wall was constructed. In the 16th century the more extensive Flodden Wall was erected, following the Scots' defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field
Battle of Flodden Field
The Battle of Flodden or Flodden Field or occasionally Battle of Branxton was fought in the county of Northumberland in northern England on 9 September 1513, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey...
in 1513. This was extended by the Telfer Wall in the early 17th century. The walls had a number of gates, known as ports, the most important being the Netherbow Port, which stood halfway down the Royal Mile
Royal Mile
The Royal Mile is a succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland.As the name suggests, the Royal Mile is approximately one Scots mile long, and runs between two foci of history in Scotland, from Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Castle...
. This gave access from the Canongate
Canongate
The Canongate is a small district at the heart of Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland.The name derives from the main street running through the area: called Canongate without the definite article, "the". Canongate forms the lower, eastern half of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh's historic Old Town....
which was, at that time, a separate burgh
Burgh
A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...
.
The walls never proved very successful as defensive structures, and were easily breached on more than one occasion. They served more as a means of controlling trade and taxing goods, and as a deterrent to smugglers. Throughout their history, the town walls of Edinburgh have served better in their role as a trade barrier than as a defensive one. By the mid 18th century, the walls had outlived both their defensive and trade purposes, and demolition of sections of the wall began. The Netherbow Port was pulled down in 1764, and demolition continued into the 19th century. Today, a number of sections of the three successive walls survive, although none of the ports remain.
Background
Edinburgh was formally established as a royal burghRoyal burgh
A royal burgh was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished in 1975, the term is still used in many of the former burghs....
by King David I of Scotland
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
around 1125. This gave the town the privilege of holding a market, and the ability to raise money by taxing goods coming into the burgh for sale. It is probable, therefore, that some form of boundary was constructed around this time, although it may have been a timber palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
or ditch, rather than a stone wall.
To the north of Edinburgh lay the marshy Nor Loch
Nor Loch
The Nor Loch, also known as the Nor' Loch and the North Loch, was a loch formerly in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the area now occupied by Princes Street Gardens, which lies between the Royal Mile and Princes Street.- Geological formation :...
, formed in the early 15th century in the depression where Princes Street Gardens
Princes Street Gardens
Princes Street Gardens is a public park in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Gardens were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and the creation of the New Town. The Nor Loch was a large loch in the centre of the city. It was...
are now laid out. This natural defence was augmented by the steep slope up to the northern edge of the Old Town. Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
, on its rocky outcrop, defended the western approach. Walls were therefore needed primarily on the south and east sides of the burgh.
Early records mention a west gate in 1180, a south gate in 1214, and the Netherbow Port in 1369. In 1362 the Wellhouse Tower was built beneath the north wall of the castle, protecting the castle's water supply, and defending the approach along the south shore of the Nor Loch.
King's Wall
The King's Wall is first recorded in 1427, in a title deed which refers to the wall as the property boundary. In 1450, King James IIJames II of Scotland
James II reigned as King of Scots from 1437 to his death.He was the son of James I, King of Scots, and Joan Beaufort...
issued a charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
permitting the burgesses of Edinburgh to defend their town, as follows:
In a further royal charter of 28 April 1472, King James III
James III of Scotland
James III was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488. James was an unpopular and ineffective monarch owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family.His reputation as the...
ordered the demolition of houses built on or outside the King's Wall, which were hampering efforts to strengthen the defences. Edinburgh was thus one of only three Scottish towns to have medieval stone walls, the others being Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
and Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
, though other towns had earth walls or palisades.
The wall ran along the south side of the Royal Mile
Royal Mile
The Royal Mile is a succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland.As the name suggests, the Royal Mile is approximately one Scots mile long, and runs between two foci of history in Scotland, from Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Castle...
, above the Cowgate
Cowgate
The Cowgate is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about 5 minutes' walk from Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site. The street's name is derived from the fact that cows were herded down it for Edinburgh's market days in previous centuries .The street is part of the lower...
, from the slope of the Castle Hill in the west, almost as far as the modern St Mary's Street in the east, where it turned to cross the Royal Mile. In all, the King's Wall enclosed a space no larger than 0.8 by. The alignment of the wall was irregular, as existing property boundaries or walls were reinforced to form a defence. The early wall had two ports: the Upper Bow or Over-Bow, in the vicinity of what is now Victoria Street, and the Nether Bow, on the Royal Mile near Fountain Close, which was located near around 46 metres (150.9 ft) further west than the later structure. In addition, postern
Postern
A postern is a secondary door or gate, particularly in a fortification such as a city wall or castle curtain wall. Posterns were often located in a concealed location, allowing the occupants to come and go inconspicuously. In the event of a siege, a postern could act as a sally port, allowing...
s (side gates) were provided, for example at Gray's Close.
Flodden Wall
In 1513, King James IVJames IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
led an invasion of northern England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
in support of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the Auld Alliance
Auld Alliance
The Auld Alliance was an alliance between the kingdoms of Scotland and France. It played a significant role in the relations between Scotland, France and England from its beginning in 1295 until the 1560 Treaty of Edinburgh. The alliance was renewed by all the French and Scottish monarchs of that...
. On 9 September, the Scots met the English at the Battle of Flodden, and were heavily defeated, with King James killed on the field. An English invasion was widely expected, and in Edinburgh it was resolved to build a new town wall. However, the new wall was also an opportunity to control smuggling into the burgh, and the town council accordingly decided to extend the wall south to take in the Grassmarket
Grassmarket
The Grassmarket is an historic market square in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland.In relation to the rest of the city the area is a hollow, well below surrounding ground levels.-Location:...
and Cowgate
Cowgate
The Cowgate is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about 5 minutes' walk from Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site. The street's name is derived from the fact that cows were herded down it for Edinburgh's market days in previous centuries .The street is part of the lower...
areas of the burgh. Construction began the following year, but was not completed until 1560. Work started at the western end, and the final section was the stretch from Leith Wynd to the Nor Loch, incorporating the New Port. The cost of this last work was £4/10s
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
Scots
Pound Scots
The pound Scots was the national unit of currency in the Kingdom of Scotland before the country entered into political and currency union with the Kingdom of England in 1707 . It was introduced by David I, in the 12th century, on the model of English and French money, divided into 20 shillings...
per rood (one rood = six ells or 5.6 metres) for the wall, plus 40s per rood for the battlements.
The Flodden Wall, as it became known, was generally around 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) thick and up to 7.3 metres (24 ft) high. The Flodden Wall began at the south side of the castle, running south across the west end of the Grassmarket, where the West Port was located, and continued uphill along the Vennel. A watch-tower or bastion survives at this, the south-west extent of the wall. It then ran east, wrapping around Greyfriars Kirkyard
Greyfriars Kirkyard
Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a number of notable Edinburgh residents are interred at...
, to the Bristo Port and the Potterow Port, both located in the vicinity of the National Museum of Scotland
National Museum of Scotland
The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the Royal Museum next door, with collections covering science and technology, natural history, and world...
. Continuing east, the wall passed the Kirk o' Field
Kirk o' Field
Kirk o' Field in Edinburgh, Scotland, is best known as the site of the murder in 1567 of Lord Darnley, second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots....
, where the Old College
Old College, University of Edinburgh
Old College is a building of the University of Edinburgh. It is located on South Bridge, and presently houses parts of the University's administration, the University of Edinburgh School of Law, and the Talbot Rice Gallery...
now stands, and ran along Drummond Street
Drummond Street, Edinburgh
Drummond Street is a street in Edinburgh's Old Town, near the famous Royal Mile and Holyrood. The street joins South Bridge and the Pleasance. Its west most opening is opposite the University of Edinburgh School of Law located at Old College....
, turning north at the Pleasance
Pleasance
The Pleasance is a street in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is largely residential, although the University of Edinburgh owns property in the area.-University of Edinburgh union:...
to enclose the former Blackfriars Monastery. The Cowgate Port was located at the foot of the Pleasance, and the wall then ran up the line of St Mary's Street, where it was formed by strengthening existing walls rather than new walling, to the Netherbow Port, which stood across the Royal Mile. The wall continued north to the Nor Loch, since replaced by Waverley railway station
Edinburgh Waverley railway station
Edinburgh Waverley railway station is the main railway station in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Covering an area of over 25 acres in the centre of the city, it is the second-largest main line railway station in the United Kingdom in terms of area, the largest being...
, terminating at the New Port. The Flodden Wall enclosed an area of just under 57 hectares (140.8 acre), and remained the limit of the burgh until the 18th century. Contained within this area, in 1560, was a population of around 10,000.
There were six ports in the Flodden Wall. Anti-clockwise from the castle they were:
- West Port, built 1514 at the west end of the Grassmarket, where the modern street of West PortWest Port, EdinburghWest Port is a street in Edinburgh's Old Town, Scotland, located just south of Edinburgh Castle. It runs from Main Point down to the south west corner of the Grassmarket...
is today, and giving access to Wester PortsburghPortsburghPortsburgh was a burgh of barony outside the city walls of Edinburgh, Scotland from 1649 to 1856, taking its name from the West Port of Edinburgh. It extended from Lochrin in the west to Drummond Street in the east, and from King's Stables Road in the north to the Meadows in the south.The name...
; - Bristo Port (Greyfriars Port, Society Port), built around 1515 on Bristo Street, close to Greyfriars KirkGreyfriars KirkGreyfriars Kirk, today Greyfriars Tolbooth & Highland Kirk, is a parish kirk of the Church of Scotland in central Edinburgh, Scotland...
and the Society of Brewers; - Potterrow Port (Kirk o' Field Port), at the head of Horse Wynd near the Kirk o' Field, giving access to Easter PortsburghPortsburghPortsburgh was a burgh of barony outside the city walls of Edinburgh, Scotland from 1649 to 1856, taking its name from the West Port of Edinburgh. It extended from Lochrin in the west to Drummond Street in the east, and from King's Stables Road in the north to the Meadows in the south.The name...
; - Cowgate Port (Soo-gate, Blackfriars Port), on the Cowgate near the Blackfriars Monastery, the access to the Grassmarket from the east;
- Netherbow Port, on the Royal Mile;
- New Port (St Andrew's Port), at the foot of Halkerston's Wynd beneath the modern North BridgeNorth Bridge, EdinburghNorth Bridge is a road bridge and street in Edinburgh linking the High Street with Princes Street, and the New Town with the Old. The current bridge was built between 1894–97. A previous North Bridge, built from 1763–72, stood until 1896....
, giving access north to LeithLeith-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
.
Besides, there were a number of small posterns. The heads and limbs of executed criminals were regularly displayed above the ports. Of the six ports, the Netherbow was the only one which took the form of a large fortified gateway. Repairs to the Netherbow are recorded in 1538, and a drawing of 1544 shows the Netherbow as a wide arched gate flanked by two round towers. In 1571, the gateway between the towers was rebuilt, and a central clock tower was added above the gateway, topped by an octagonal stone spire. This structure was repaired in the early 17th century.
Military action
Although the expected English invasion never materialised after Flodden, the 16th century was a turbulent period in Scotland. In 1544 the Earl of HertfordEdward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
led an English force into Scotland during the War of the Rough Wooing. On 6 May, having captured Leith, Hertford's men blew open the Netherbow Port with their artillery. The town was burned over the following three days, "so that neither within the walls nor in the suburbs was left any one house unburnt".
Further disturbances took place during the troubled reign of Mary, Queen of Scots (1542–1567), and its aftermath. In 1558 the Protestant Lords of the Congregation
Lords of the Congregation
The Lords of the Congregation were a group of Protestant Scottish nobles who in the mid-16th century favoured reformation of the church along Protestant principles and a Scottish-English alliance.- Historical events :...
marched on Edinburgh against the Catholic French Regent, Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise was a queen consort of Scotland as the second spouse of King James V. She was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and served as regent of Scotland in her daughter's name from 1554 to 1560...
, and were able to take control of the town without difficulty, despite the guards posted at the city gate. Following the forced abdication of Queen Mary, Scotland's nobility was divided between her supporters, and those of the infant King James VI
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, represented by a series of regents. Edinburgh was held for the Queen by William Kirkcaldy of Grange
William Kirkcaldy of Grange
Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange , Scottish politician and general, was the eldest son of Sir James Kirkcaldy of Grange , a member of an old Fife family...
, and in May 1571 the town was besieged by the Regent's forces under James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton
James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton
James Douglas, jure uxoris 4th Earl of Morton was the last of the four regents of Scotland during the minority of King James VI. He was in some ways the most successful of the four, since he did manage to win the civil war which had been dragging on with the supporters of the exiled Mary, Queen of...
. Repairs were made to the walls, and the Netherbow was barricaded. Nearby houses were pulled down to improve defences, and the siege gun Mons Meg
Mons Meg
Mons Meg is a medieval bombard which can be classed as a supergun, now located at Edinburgh Castle, Scotland. There are conflicting theories about its origins, but it appears from the accounts of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy that it was made to his order around 1449 and sent as a gift 8 years...
was employed to batter houses outside the wall which were being used by snipers. Unable to make any headway, the besiegers withdrew on 20 May.
Again the defences were strengthened in September, in advance of a second siege which began on 16 October. By this stage only ten per cent of Edinburgh's inhabitants remained in the city. The besiegers under Regent Mar
John Erskine, 17th Earl of Mar
John Erskine, 17th Earl of Mar , regent of Scotland, was a son of John, 5th Lord Erskine, who was guardian of King James V, and afterwards of Mary, Queen of Scots....
had only seven guns, and while they did manage to breach the Flodden Wall, the inner defences were too strong for an assault. By 21 October the siege was once again lifted. A blockade of the town was continued until July 1572 when a truce was agreed. Grange retreated into the castle and handed over the town to the Regent's party. The siege of Edinburgh Castle continued until May 1573, when it was finally reduced by a battery of guns shipped from England.
Telfer Wall
In 1618 the town council bought 10 acres (4 ha) of land to the west of Greyfriars KirkGreyfriars Kirk
Greyfriars Kirk, today Greyfriars Tolbooth & Highland Kirk, is a parish kirk of the Church of Scotland in central Edinburgh, Scotland...
, which was enclosed between 1628 and 1636 by the Telfer Wall. Most of this land was subsequently sold to the charitable George Heriot
George Heriot
George Heriot was a Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist. He is chiefly remembered today as founder of George Heriot's School, a large private school in Edinburgh; his name has also been given to Heriot-Watt University, as well as several streets in the same city.Heriot was the court goldsmith...
's Trust, and is now occupied by George Heriot's School
George Heriot's School
George Heriot's School is an independent primary and secondary school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, with around 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff and 80 non-teaching staff. It was established in 1628 as George Heriot's Hospital, by bequest of the royal goldsmith George...
. The rubble
Rubble
Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture. This word is closely connected in derivation with "rubbish", which was formerly also applied to what we now call "rubble". Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as brash...
-built wall ran south from the Flodden Tower in the Vennel to Lauriston Place; it then turned east, running as far as Bristo Street, where it returned north to the Bristo Port in the Flodden Wall. The Telfer Wall was named after its mason
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
, John Taillefer.
Later history and demolition
By the 17th century the King's Wall had been almost completely absorbed within later buildings, although it is briefly mentioned in the "Extent Roll", a town survey of 1635, and limited sections appear on James Gordon of Rothiemay's map of 1647. The mason John MylneJohn Mylne (1611-1667)
John Mylne , sometimes known as "John Mylne junior", or "the Younger", was a Scottish master mason and architect, who served as Master Mason to the Crown of Scotland. Born in Perth, he was the son of John Mylne, master mason, and Isobel Wilson.Practising as a stonemason, he also took on the role of...
and the wright (carpenter) John Scott strengthened the Flodden and Telfer walls and constructed artillery emplacements in 1650. Further emplacements were built by Captain Theodore Dury in 1715, in response to the Jacobite rising
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
of that year. In 1736, the lynching of Captain John Porteous
Captain John Porteous
Captain John Porteous, was a Scottish soldier, Captain of the City Guard of Edinburgh .-Early life:John Porteous was born at The Glen, Quair Water, near Traquair, in the Borders, the son of Stephen Porteous, a tailor of the Canongate, Edinburgh. Little is known of his early life, except that he...
by an Edinburgh mob led the British Government in London to impose sanctions on the town. Porteous, Captain of the Town Guard, had been convicted of murder following the shooting of spectators at a public hanging, but following a reprieve, a mob broke into the Tolbooth Jail and executed him. The initial demand by the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
was for the demolition of the Netherbow Port, although this was resisted by the town, and commuted to a fine by the House of Commons
House of Commons of Great Britain
The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of the Parliament of Scotland, as one of the most significant...
. When the town was threatened by the Jacobite rising of 1745
Jacobite Rising of 1745
The Jacobite rising of 1745, often referred to as "The 'Forty-Five," was the attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart. The rising occurred during the War of the Austrian Succession when most of the British Army was on the European continent...
, a company of volunteer citizens was raised for the defence of the city, and the mathematics professor Colin Maclaurin
Colin Maclaurin
Colin Maclaurin was a Scottish mathematician who made important contributions to geometry and algebra. The Maclaurin series, a special case of the Taylor series, are named after him....
advised on improvements to the walls. However, as Bonnie Prince Charlie's troops approached, the town was undermanned and the walls undefended. On the morning of 17 September, a group of Highlanders under Donald Cameron of Lochiel
Donald Cameron of Lochiel
Donald Cameron of Lochiel , was an influential Highland Clan Chief known for his magnanimous and gallant nature. His support of Charles Edward Stuart was instrumental in the Jacobite Rising of 1745...
rushed the Netherbow Port as the gates were opened, and Edinburgh was captured without a fight.
Demolitions began soon after the withdrawal of the Jacobite threat in 1746. The bastions of the Telfer Wall along Lauriston Place were demolished in 1762, as they were obstructing traffic. The Netherbow survived until 1764, when it too was removed as an obstruction. The West Port and the Potterow Port were removed in the 1780s. By now, the New Town
New Town, Edinburgh
The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is often considered to be a masterpiece of city planning, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
was under construction, and although smuggling of goods through the city walls was still being punished, complaints about the zealousness of the guards were widely circulated. The Old College
Old College, University of Edinburgh
Old College is a building of the University of Edinburgh. It is located on South Bridge, and presently houses parts of the University's administration, the University of Edinburgh School of Law, and the Talbot Rice Gallery...
of the University of Edinburgh (constructed from 1789), and then the Royal Museum of Scotland (constructed from 1861), were built over sections of the wall around the Potterow Port. Forrest Road was laid out in the 1840s, resulting in the loss of another section of the Telfer Wall. During construction works around the Advocates' Library
Advocates' Library
The Advocates' Library is a law library belonging to the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh, founded in 1682. Until 1925 it was the deposit library for Scotland, after which the role was taken on by the National Library of Scotland....
and Parliament House
Parliament House, Edinburgh
Parliament House in Edinburgh, Scotland, was home to the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland, and now houses the Supreme Courts of Scotland. It is located in the Old Town, just off the Royal Mile, opposite St Giles Cathedral.-Parliament Hall:...
in 1832 and 1845, fragments of walling were uncovered, which were attributed to the King's Wall.
Surviving fragments
Nothing remains of Edinburgh's earliest enclosures, and very little of the King's Wall survives, although parts are probably incorporated in later buildings. A section of walling in Tweeddale Court, on the south side of the Royal Mile, may represent part of the eastern wall. This was exposed during demolition of a cinema structure in 1985 and was recognised by planners as a fortified wall; subsequently it was not demolished as consented. The height (6 metres (19.7 ft)), and lack of openings suggest a defensive purpose. Walling in Castle Wynd, north of the Grassmarket, has also been identified with the King's Wall. In 1973, archaeological excavations on the site now occupied by the Radisson Hotel, south of the Royal Mile, uncovered a fragment of wall, which was thought likely to be the King's Wall. There was also evidence of a house adjacent, which had been demolished sometime in the 15th century, presumably in response to James III's order of 1472.Four sections of the Flodden Wall survive: to the north and south of the Grassmarket; in Greyfriars Kirkyard; and along Drummond Street and the Pleasance. North of the Grassmarket the wall runs alongside Granny's Green steps and has been incorporated into later buildings, including the former Greyfriars Mission Kirk. A line of granite paving across the Grassmarket marks the line of the wall where it was uncovered during construction work in 2008. In the Vennel the last remaining bastion of the town walls survives. The Flodden Tower, as it is sometimes known, comprises two remaining walls with a total length of 17.2 metres (56.4 ft), pierced by crosslet gunloops
Embrasure
In military architecture, an embrasure is the opening in a crenellation or battlement between the two raised solid portions or merlons, sometimes called a crenel or crenelle...
and a 19th-century window. Sections of the Flodden Wall can be seen within Greyfriars Kirkyard, adorned with 16th and 17th century tombstones. At the junction of Forrest Road and Bristo Street a line of cobbles and a narrow gap in the later buildings mark the line of the wall. The longest section is in Drummond Street and the Pleasance, where it originally enclosed the Blackfriars Monastery. At the corner of the wall a blocked archway is probably the entrance to a demolished bastion. The site of the Netherbow is marked with an outline of brass blocks at the junction of the Royal Mile and St Mary's Street.
There are two remaining sections of the Telfer Wall. The first runs along Heriot Place from the Flodden Tower, and forms the west boundary of George Heriot's School. The wall along Lauriston Place was demolished in 1762, as the bastions were obstructing traffic. The only remaining section is that forming the south wall of Greyfriars Kirkyard. An inscription on the building at the corner of Teviot Place and Bristo Street reads "1513 Site of Town Wall", although it was in fact the 17th-century Telfer Wall, not the earlier Flodden Wall, which stood on this spot.
The majority of the surviving sections are listed buildings, while three sections are further protected as scheduled ancient monument
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
s: the Flodden Wall at Granny's Green; the Flodden and Telfer Walls at the Vennel and Heriot Place; and the Flodden Wall at Drummond Place and Pleasance. The walls also form part of the Edinburgh Old Town World Heritage Site
Old Town, Edinburgh
The Old Town of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is the medieval part of the city. Together with the 18th-century New Town, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has preserved its medieval plan and many Reformation-era buildings....
.