Alexander Monteith: Beginnings of Anatomy in Edinburgh, 1694

Alexander Monteith: his petition for a ‘gift of bodies’ On 24 October 1694 Alexander Monteith petitioned Edinburgh Town Council for ‘a gift of the bodies of those who die in the Correction House, and foundlings who die upon the breast, and to be allowed a convenient place for such, and the use of the College kirkyard […]
Margaret Dickson: Half Hangit Maggie

The Remarkable Tale of Margaret Dickson: The Woman Who Survived the Hangman’s Noose In 1724, a young woman from Edinburgh named Margaret Dickson was accused of concealing her pregnancy and killing her newborn child. Despite her insistence on her innocence, she was sentenced to be hanged at the age of just 22. Against all odds, […]
Burnhead: a lost Lowland distillery

The lost distillery at Burnhead, Edinburgh A study of the history of the south side of Edinburgh has revealed that a whisky distillery was established at Burnhead, Gracemount in the late eighteenth century on a site at Lasswade Road. The distillery building was illustrated in a survey plan of the land and property of the […]
Edinburgh Castle under siege, 1689

Pickets, Bombardments and Spies: The Siege of Edinburgh Castle (18th March-15th June 1689) On a brisk and clear night, 25th March 1689, a soldier stood sentry upon the western ramparts of Edinburgh Castle. Witnessing some peculiar flashes in the darkness below he alerted his comrades and before long the Governor of the Castle, George Gordon, […]
Reviving the Trinity Stones: A Treasure Hunt and a Jigsaw Puzzle

The two year Reviving the Trinity Stones project will be an exciting combination of a treasure hunt and jigsaw puzzle.. It is enabled by a Jean Guild Grant from the Old Edinburgh Club The Back Story In 1460 Mary of Guelders built her ambitious charitable foundation of a hospital and the Trinity Collegiate Church below the Calton […]
Table Tennis: A Notable Absence

Capturing vanishing Edinburgh history The Old Edinburgh Club has a mission to uncover and capture vanishing evidence of Edinburgh’s history. Table tennis is, I believe, a clear example of a portion of Edinburgh’s history in danger. Many people have played the game in a social context or on the kitchen table but its existence as […]
‘The Queen’s Lender’ review

The eponymous hero of this historical novel is George Heriot, jeweller to Queen Anna of Denmark, consort of James VI. The story extends from Edinburgh in 1593 to London in 1603 when James VI becomes James I and on to Heriot’s death in 1624. It is told as a series of short vignettes illustrating how […]
10 Scotland Street

by Leslie Hills (Edinburgh: Scotland Street Press, 2023) Book review by Edward Duvall I found reviewing this book a great treat. Leslie Hills has lived in the main-door flat at 10 Scotland Street in Edinburgh for 50 years and this is the fruit of her research in various archives into the residents during the preceding […]
Bodysnatcher

We were approached by Ringwood Publishing in Glasgow asking if we would review a new novel by Carol Margaret Davison, Bodysnatcher. We took up this kind offer, as it was based on the Burke and Hare murders and may appeal to our members. Here’s what Jo Chapman, one of our Council Members, made of it: […]
Summer visit to Mansfield Traquair

On 9 June, 10 members of the OEC enjoyed a spectacular visit to the converted church that is the Mansfield Traquair Centre at 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh. It is quite breath-taking inside with the magnificent murals painted by Phoebe Traquair (self portrait pictured left), who eventually finished them in 1901, and her story is worth […]