The Old Tolbooth, 'The Heart of Midlothian.'

On Edinburgh's historic 'Royal Mile,' outside St Giles Kirk there lies a pattern of setts, in coloured stone, commemorating the 'Heart of Midlothian,' a building that once stood right here.

After more English attacks which led to the the burning of Edinburgh by various Edwards, all that family were thugs as you know, major work was required.  King Robert II granted the right to build a suitable building quite close to the corner of St Giles.  The area was used as a market place then, and was a replacement for a previous building destroyed by brute force.

Thus the 'Tolbooth' came into being around 1386.

The Tolbooth was used by the town council for many years, it was not until 1811 they moved across the road into the city Chambers.  The building included a prison, and was surrounded by shops on all sides.  This was after all the centre of the city, and the capital of Scotland at that.

The prison was not a great place to be.  Some had metal collars around the neck which were chained to the wall.  Others wore boots that crippled the feet, or possibly thumbscrews were employed to torture the prisoner.  Not all prisoners were confined, some were imprisoned for debt, others for petty theft, and some could walk about working in the prison rooms.  The drains were blocked, the stench, even for Edinburgh, unbearable, and many prisoners were no more than adolescent boys, some who were to hang. 

After 1795 executions, once held at the 'Mercat Cross' were held on an extension on the west side of the Tolbooth, thus enabling the public to enjoy the spectacle at the gallows there.  Rebellious individuals such as Montrose, James Graham who supported Charles I during the English Civil War,  were decapitated and their heads placed on spikes facing the High Street.  Not that they would see much I suggest.

Another who was hanged was Deacon Brodie.  A man of good character and well known amongst the rich and powerful of the day.  As a cabinet maker his work also involved fixing locks on doors and enabling the great and good to rest in their beds peacefully.  However, gambling debts and two secret mistresses and five children to support tempted him into misusing his knowledge of the security and enabled him, and accomplices, to rob the rich.  He was eventually found out and hanged at the tolbooth to much cheering from the rich I imagine.  'Deacon Brodie's Tavern,' stands at the corner of the Lawnmarket and Bank Street today, though it was 1974 when I last entered the building, Brodie himself may not have done so.  

John Porteous was also hanged there.  He became Captain of the Guard and was responsible for among other things controlling the 'town mob.'  The mob became angry after the execution of one Andrew Wilson, so angry that the town guard was called out and armed with gunpowder and shot.  Now Captain Porteous was not a popular figure, possibly because of his job, but in controlling the mob he ordered his men to fire above their heads.  Good thinking, except that people in the tenements above were hit, further angering the mob.  Thus it is said the Captain ordered his men to fire on the mob itself killing 6 and wounding others.  

The Captain was tried for murder, and jailed in the Tolbooth.  The English government under Sir Robert Walpole attempted to defer sentence thus once again showing their ignorance of Scotland.  As a result, several thousand joined together, attacked the Tolbooth, removed Porteous and dragged him down the street where he was hanged, not once but four times before he expired.

The Town Mob was a fearful force.  Despite much talk in London no individual was brought to trial for this riot.  Sir Walter Scott, in his book 'The Heart of Midlothian,' set the scene with his version of the events of this event.  He would have been very aware of the situation in Edinburgh and it may be well worth reading the book for more details, however, they will have an romantic twist to them!

1784

The 'Luckenbooths' that is shops, can be clearly seen in this 1784 map.  The position of the aged tolbooth may once have been tolerable in the town but as can be seen it blocked the 'Royal Mile.'  It is noticeable how many buildings surround the Kirk, with only space for the parliament , now long defunct after the 1707 Lords criminal sell out to English bribes.   

The Old Tollbooth

Alexander Naysmith's portrayal of the building shows us the two story erection at the western end where hangings took place.  The four story building looks magnificent here, with St Giles to the right of the picture, but of course we cannot smell it, notice the bits falling off, or the state of the insides of the building.  The building was removed in 1817 enabling easier passage on the road.  A mosaic was placed in the road to commemorate the 'heart of Midlothian,' as it was named by the public, and they say passers-by today spit on the setts in memory of the town people's hatred of the old prison.  This of course is middle class nonsense. 

In 1874 s football team, one of the first in the world, was begun in Edinburgh by the lads who attended a pub, or dance hall, they were probably one and the same thing, named the 'Heart of Midlothian,' nearby.   This team is one of the great Scottish sides having one all that is to be won, and at the time of writing about to gather more glory in the near future.  

However, the residue of the mob remain in Edinburgh, usually following the smaller, less efficient sides like Hibernian.  These rough, uneducated types will not be aware that a notorious building stood upon this spot, they will just reveal their low life attitudes by spitting the what became the crest of the Heart of Midlothian Football Club.  Jealousy and inferiority lies behind such actions.

It has been made clear by one researcher that of all the guide books to Edinburgh that he looked at only two mentioned the Heart of Midlothian football clubs or indeed Hibernian for that matter.  All did mention the Murrayfield Rugby ground however, once again revealing the middle class divide that endures in the city.