Mary King's Close
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For years the hidden underground closes of Mary King's Close, in the Old Town area of Edinburgh, Scotland, have been shrouded in myths and mysteries. Blood-curdling tales of ghosts and murders, and myths of plague victims being walled up and left to die.[citation needed] However, new research and archaeological evidence has revealed a truer story which is more fascinating than any amount of fiction. The close actually consists of a number of closes; which were originally narrow streets with tenement houses on either side, stretching up to seven storeys high and is now a commercial tourist attraction.
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[edit] History
Mary King, who the close was named after, was born towards the end of the 16th century. In 1616 she married a local merchant burgess, Thomas Nemo or Nimmo and together they had four children children-Alexander, Euphame, Jonet and William. Thomas died in 1629 leaving Mary and her four children alone. Together they moved to, what was then known as King's or Alexander King's Close. Alexander King had been a prominent lawyer in the city and was no actual relation to Mary. The name of the close was later changed to her name, Mary King.
By the 1750s, many of the buildings of old Edinburgh, including parts of Mary King's and other closes, were in a ruinous state; the pressures of over-crowding along with political and economic upheaval had taken their toll. So it was proposed that 'a covered place of exchange' should be built over the site, to remove the merchants from the street around the Mercat cross and St. Giles' Cathedral, to store national records, and provide meeting rooms. Subsequently, in 1753, the Burgh Council decided to develop a new building, the Royal Exchange (designed by John Adam). This building is now the City Chambers. The houses at the top of the closes were knocked down and part of the lower sections were kept and used as the foundations for the Royal Exchange.
[edit] Plague
On Christmas 1645 the plague, probably brought by ship from Europe via the port of Leith, erupted across the land. It took hold first in Edinburgh, then spreaded west and north, and over the following 18 months killed a substantial part of the Scottish population.
Despite the myth, victims were not walled up in the closes and left to starve. There had, in fact, been a long tradition of organized quarantine in the town. Over many previous outbreaks, those infected with the plague were enclosed in their houses. Bread, ale, coal and even wine were delivered to them daily. Others were quarantined in wooden huts or ‘ludges’, outside the town at, Sciennes, Boroughmuir or in the King’s Park, for anything from two to six weeks or until death, whichever came the soonest.
With the limited and often downright dangerous medical treatments of the time, doctors could do very little to help. Like others, they would have worn herb-filled, beak-like, masks to try to protect themselves; but many died. Jon Paulitius, Edinburgh’s first official plague doctor, was one such victim. Though the risks were not without compensation. His salary had risen from £40, first to £80, and then to an incredible £100 Scots a month by the time his successor, Dr George Rae replaced him on June the 13th.
By November, Dr Rae had negotiated a further £10 Scots per month but by the autumn of 1646 the worst was over in Edinburgh, though it took longer elsewhere; the Council had second thoughts about paying him. Ten years after this, the last major outbreak of the ‘foul pestilence’ in Scotland, George Rae was still fighting to be paid. He eventually won and claimed an unprecedented yearly pension of £1,200 Scots.
[edit] Mary King's Close today
Mary King's Close was re-opened to the public in April 2003. Now a commercial tourist attraction, it is being displayed as a historically accurate example of life in Edinburgh between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Copyright permission granted from The Continnuum Group for all information and images.
[edit] Mary King's Close in television
- Mary King's Close was [[1]] on Series 4 of "Most Haunted", a British television programme based on investigating purported paranormal activity.
- Annie's room and Mary King's Close both [[2]] in series 6 of Billy Connolly's World Tour of Scotland.
- Mary King's Close [[3]] on Most Haunted Live 2006 comilation of "Most Haunted", a British television programme based on investigating purported paranormal activity.
