Page 64 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Scotland

62  SC O TLAND REGION B Y REGION THE RO Y AL MILE  63

Exploring Further Down the Royal Mile John Knox House Morocco’s Land is
Dating from 1450, the oldest
a reproduction of a
house in the city was the 17th-century tenement
The section of the Royal Mile from High Street home of the preacher John house. It takes its name
to Canongate passes two monuments to the Knox during the 1560s. He from the statue of a Moor
Reformation: John Knox’s house and the Tron Kirk. Palace of Palace of is said to have died in an which adorns the entrance.
RO YAL MI L
The Canongate was once an inde pendent district, RO YAL MI L E E HolyroodhouseHolyroodhouse upstairs room. It con tains
relics of his life.
owned by the canons of the Abbey of Holyrood, and
sections of its south side have been restored. Beyond EdinburghEdinburgh
CastleCastle
Morocco’s Land, the road stretches for the final half-
mile (800 m) to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Locator Map
Museum of Edinburgh
Canongate Tolbooth
C A N O N G A T E

H I G H S T R E E T

Museum of Childhood
Though created as a
S T R E E T
S T R E E T
Moubray House was to be museum for adults by a city
S O U T H B R I D G E
S O U T H B R I D G E
the signing place of the Act councillor who was known
of Union in 1707, until a mob to dislike children, this lively
forced the authorities to retreat musem now attracts flocks
The Tron Kirk to another venue. of young visitors.
was built in 1630 for the
The Mercat Cross marks the Presbyterians who left
city centre. It was here that St Giles Cathedral when it Canongate Tolbooth, dating Life Below the Old Town
Bonnie Prince Charlie (see p157) came under the control of from 1591. With its distinctive
proclaimed his father king in 1745. the Bishop of Edinburgh. clock tower, this was the focal Until the 18th century most residents of Edinburgh lived along
point for life in the Burgh of and beneath the Royal Mile and Cowgate. The old abandoned
Canongate. Until the mid-19th cellars and basements, which lacked any proper water supply,
P John Knox House occupation of St Andrews Castle century it contained law courts, daylight or ventilation, were once
45 High St. Tel (0131) 556 9579. Open in 1547 and served two years as a jail and the meeting place centres of domestic life and industry.
10am–6pm Mon–Sat, (Jul–Aug: also a galley slave in the French navy for the Burgh council. It has Under these conditions, cholera, typhus
noon–6pm Sun). 7 limited. & 8 as punishment. On release, Knox been a museum since 1954. and smallpox were com mon. Mary
by appt. 9 = ∑ tracscotland.org went to London and Geneva to Focusing on the lives of King’s Close, under the City Chambers,
As a leader of the Protestant es pouse the Protestant cause, ordinary citizens from the late is one of the most famous of these
areas – its inhabitants were all killed
Reformation and minister at returning to Edinburgh in 1559. 18th century to the present, it by the plague around 1645.
St Giles, John Knox (1513–72) This town house on the Royal covers subjects such as public In 2003 many of these closes were
was one of the most impor tant Mile dates from 1450, and it was eat children for breakfast), it was health, recreation, trade unions opened up for the first time and guided
figures in 16th-century Scotland. here that he spent the last few the world’s first museum of child- and work. The riots, disease and visits are now possible through The Real
Ordained as a priest in 1536, months of his life. Displays tell hood. The collection includes poverty of the 19th century, and Mary King’s Close: (0131) 225 0672,
Knox later became convinced the story of Knox’s life in the medicines, school books, subjects as diverse as wartime, www.realmarykingsclose.com.
of the need for religious change. context of the political and clothing and uniforms, old- football and punk rock, are
He took part in the Protestant religious upheavals of his time. fashioned toys and a growing also covered, giving a valuable
The building also incorporates collection of computer games. insight into life in Edinburgh.
the Scottish Storytelling Centre. With its nickelodeon and antique E The Museum of century it was little more than a
slot machines, it has been called Edinburgh slum. In 1924 the local authority
E Museum of Childhood the world’s noisiest museum. 142–146 Canongate. Tel (0131) 529 bought the property and
42 High St. Tel (0131) 529 4142. 4143. Open 10am–5pm Mon, Thu– opened the museum in 1932.
Open 10am–5pm Mon, Thu–Sat, E Canongate Tolbooth: Sat; noon–5pm Sun. = The collection includes exhibits
noon–5pm Sun. 7 limited. = The People’s Story Museum ∑ edinburghmuseums.org.uk such as Neolithic axe heads,
∑ edinburgh museums.org.uk 163 Canongate. Tel (0131) 529 4057. Huntly House was built in the Roman coins, military artifacts
This is not merely a toy collection Open10am–5pm Wed–Sat, noon– early 16th century and dam aged and glassware. A section is
but an insight into child hood, 5pm Sun. 7 partial. in the English raid on Edinburgh also dedicated to Field Marshal
with all its joys and trials. Founded ∑ edinburghmuseums.org.uk in 1544. First used as a family Earl Haig, Com mander-in-Chief
An 1880 automaton of the Man on the in 1955 by a city councillor, Edinburgh’s social history A prison cell in the Canongate Tol booth: The townhouse, it was later divided of the British Army during
Moon, Museum of Childhood Patrick Murray (who claimed to museum is housed in the People’s Story Museum into apartments but by the 19th World War I.
For hotels and restaurants see pp172–3 and pp181–3
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