Archive for year: 2014

I have written before about The Dean Cemetery, to the rear of The Dean Gallery in Edinburgh. It is an interesting place and many of those that lie peacefully here have a fascinating past, most from Georgian and Victorian society.

Passing through last week – as one of the walks available from www.edinburghwalks.com – I came across the dark Celtic Cross which tells the fascinating story of Lieutenant John Irving of the British Royal Navy.

Irving was part of Sir John Franklin’s expedition to find the North West Passage that left Kent, England in 1845 on board HMS Terror. The other Royal Navy ship in the party was HMS Erebus.

Having wintered at Beechey Island, they thereafter set out to find the Passage, but became locked in the ice for two years. By June 1847 Franklin, twenty Officers and Seamen died, but Irving and 104 other survivors landed on King William Island and tried to march further South into Canada, some 250 miles away. They perished in this venture.

Many expeditions were sent out to trace the crews, and it was in June 1879 that Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka’s American Searching Expedition found Irving’s grave near a place called Camp Crozier, the remains identifiable by the presence of a silver medal engraved ‘Second Mathematical Prize, Royal Naval College. Awarded to John Irving Mid-summer. 1830’, lying nearby. His remains were returned to Edinburgh and on the 7th January 1881 he was buried in the Dean Cemetery.

The tableau on the Cross appears to show the survivors leaving Erebus and Terror to commence their march South.

A synopsis of the terrible affair is also on the cross. However, it brought to mind more recent information that adds colour to this story.

Dr. John Rae was a qualified surgeon from Orkney in Scotland who was employed by the Hudson Bay Company after his arrival there in 1833. He stayed in the Moose Factory area for around 10 years and in this time assimilated with the local native Canadians. He learned their vital survival skills, though his insistence of dressing like a native was frowned upon. Dr. Rae assisted in two searches for Erebus and Terror and their men, but abandoned the search for Franklin in 1854 after learning that the expedition had ended in disaster and that the last survivors having been forced to resort to cannibalism.

In April 1854, Rae had heard from an Inuit that a group of 40 white men had been seen four years previously pulling a boat and sledges South along the West coast of King William Island. From what he was told, Rae decided the men had died in the winter of 1850, after ice had crushed their ships. Some years later, Rae learned that the Inuit had discovered 30 bodies and a number of graves and it appeared the men had died of starvation. But the report of cannibalism caused a scandal which was not accepted by Victorian Britain and, in particular, Franklin’s widow. Even Charles Dickens wrote of his disbelief. But in May 1859 following another expedition, skeletons were found of some of the last survivors and they appeared to confirm that the men had resorted to cannibalism.

Dr. Rae eventually returned to the UK, but his courageous deeds in the snowy wastelands of Northern Canada were never truly recognised….until 2014. On 30th September 2014 a simple plaque was unveiled to Rae in Westminster Abbey in London, England. This plaque is adjacent to a memorial to Franlin.

But there is more……. Also in September 2014 the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the discovery of a ship to the West of King William Island, South of the Victoria Strait. This ship has been confirmed as HMS Terror’s sister ship, HMS Erebus. Work is continuing to find Irving’s ship, which must surely be nearby.

So, although Irving was interred in the Dean Cemetery 133 years ago his story and that of the Franklin Expedition continues to evolve to this day.

Edinburgh and Leith have retained many of the graveyards that were used to bury their dead over many centuries and these are fascinating places to visit.

On all of the walks I lead, I visit at least one graveyard as the story of their inhabitants are  interesting and informative, giving an idea of how people lived and died in our historic city and port – see www.edinburghwalks.com for more details.

The graveyards of the city centre contain the marked remains of philosophers, soldiers, merchants, the great legal and scientific minds of their day, religious leaders, Lords, Ladies and their offspring.

By contrast, when I was in North Leith recently, I visited the former St. Ninians Church and the nearby North Leith Cemetery where many of those interred had a connection with the sea.

On land owned by the Abbot of Holyrood, a chapel to St Ninian was built in 1493 at the end of a bridge over the Water of Leith leading from the Shore into North Leith  – an area in the parish of Holyrood House and Canongate. The building has been altered over time and the unusual Dutch style steeple was built in 1675 – see the date above the doorway.

By this time it had become the parish church of the area, but eventually became too small for the congregation and they moved to North Leith Parish Church in nearby Madeira Street, which was built in 1816.

It was fascinating to have a walk around this very quiet part of Leith which is easily accessible from the busier Shore area and the Bondside on Commercial Street. Before I went to the nearby graveyard, it being lunchtime I called into the nearby RoseLeaf Bar for a drink.

The Roseleaf is a fascinating bar and cafe that opened in 2007, which serves high quality brunches, lunches and bar food all day, but is particulary well known for their ‘Pot-Tails’ – cocktails in old china teapots! My drink and the staff were great – what is there not to like about that.

I knew The Roseleaf in it’s former life as The Black Swan , a name it had had for about a century – though known to local Leithers as the Mucky Duck. My paternal grandfather stayed across from The Black Swan during the latter part of the first World War in the street then known as Bridge Street.

I left The Roseleaf and walked about 50 metres South to the gate way into the graveyard of the old St.Ninians.

Now known as North Leith Churchyard this small burial ground has a fascinating connection to the Port and the sea. It is still “monied” people that made it into here between 1664 and 1820, but there are many more merchants and seafarers than seen in the city centre grounds. Many of the sandstone gravestones have worn away, but the skull and crossbones, hourglasses and angels are still visible along with items with the look of the deceased’s working accountrements,  if the names of the deceased are not.

I found that the final resting place of the grandparents of 19th Century British Prime minister W.E.Gladstone (So that is why Gladstone’s Place is near by). Also that of Lady McIntosh who raised a regiment for Prince Charlie’s 1745 rising. Amongst the more ordinary : John Broun, shipmaster  – died in 1744, the year before Bonnie Prince Charlie was in town.

It is fascinating to visit and graveyards are not scary at all. It adds something to your knowledge of an area and it’s past and I am glad I visited.

There was a time in Edinburgh, not so many years ago, that Sunday was a day of rest. You had no choice because nothing really happened. Places of entertainment, shops, cafes and restaurants did not open. Neither did the pubs!

Thankfully this has all changed.

Last month I walked through Stockbridge on a Sunday. A vibrant village with a very bohemian feel just to the North of the city centre, it was thronging with people out with family and friends dining, drinking, chatting, shopping and having a good time. New (and newish) eateries on the scene, The Raeburn, Rollo and Scran & Scallie were full to overflowing, with The Raeburn making good use of their “sit ootery”. Stalwarts like The Stockbridge Tap and Hector’s were also doing very good business too.

However, the main purpose for my visit to Stockbridge that day was to steal a glimpse within St. Bernard’s Well. This is the larger of two Georgian Wells on the South side of the Water of Leith on the path leading from the quiet Dean Village into Stockbridge (see www.edinburghwalks.com for further details of guided walks in the area).  It is named after the troglodyte St. Bernard of Clairvaux who it is said lived here in the 12th Century and is very rarely open to the public.

In 1788 Lord Gardenstone commissioned Alexander Nasmyth to design a grand well on the site, replacing a smaller well house that had been there since 1760. It consists of a circular domed temple with ten Doric columns, within which stands a statue of the Greek goddess Hygeia. Below the statue and columns is the wellhouse. It was thought that drinking the waters of the well did you some good. When the Well first opened the public could call between 6am and 9am each morning and drink to the benefit of their health. They were charged a penny to drink on site or subscribe for five shillings for a season. Drinking offsite was half a penny. Thankfully washing of sores and bathing of limbs was prohibited.

When I called at the Well it was looking magnificent. Having recently had some renovation, Hygiea and the exterior stone work was clean and glistening. However, it was only when I entered the Well room that I was taken aback. The only way I can describe the interior is that it was like being inside a Faberge Egg! From the little light that shone through the windows and from the few candles that had been lit to brighten the

gloom, the roof and walls were illuminated with gold, marble and blue tiles vying for attention. The well pump itself stood in the middle of the room and the latin phrase Bibendo Valebis – By Drinking You Will Be Well – was boldly displayed above the lionhead waterspout, with the marble basin below. The tiled floor was also intricate, colourful and beatiful.Such a contrast from the greyness of the exterior stone.

The pump is no longer in working order, but maybe that is a good thing as, by all reports the water were sulpherous and very unpleasant. Better to call into one of the pubs or eateries mentioned earlier for a decent drink!

Leaving St. Bernard’s Well, I headed back into Stockbridge, but could not pass by Stockbridge Market without having a wander round. This fantastic addition to the vibe of Stockbridge takes place every Sunday (they have a Saturday market in The Grassmarket too). Fresh bread, fish, meats, cheese, olives, cakes, chocolate, organic veg, pies, wines and beers make up the majority of stalls, with exotic cooked foods from around the world also available. Also there are clothes, cards, pictures and all sorts of chic bric-a-brac on sale. For me it was a French loaf that caught my eye. Lunch sorted.

Loaf of fresh bread on a Sunday, now that hasn’t always happened in Edinburgh.

What started as a cloudy and blustery day in Edinburgh turned into a Sunny day in Edinburgh’s port, Leith last week.

I followed Walk D from my website (www.Edinburghwalks.com) and got a marvellous view of the North of Edinburgh, the Kingdom of Fife and the Forth Bridges from Calton Hill. However because of the height and our position to the West of the hill, it was blowy so it was good to get down onto Leith Walk for a bit of shelter.

Venturing North, I made it to the boundary between the City and it’s Port at Pilrig. It brought back stories of the Boundary Bar with it’s two doors (one in Leith and one in Edinburgh) and two liquor licenses, so the patrons could drink up in Edinburgh at the end of the day but drink later on the Leith side as it was still open. All prior to 1920 of course when Leith became part of the city, to the displeasure of the majority of Leithers.

I took in sites of interest to those with a love of literature, the former family homes of Robert Louis Stevenson, Harry Potter’s J.K.Rowling and a train station from Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting.

For much needed refreshment and to dodge a quick shower of rain, I headed to the Lioness of Leith pub in Duke Street, Leith where I had a great pint of Summerhall Ale. The menu looked great too, but I decided to venture out as the sun had come out from behind the clouds and the sky was clearing.

I took in much of the South/Eastside of The Shore and the streets here are full of life. It has been about 30 years now since the first business ventured in here to open a restaurant and try to entice people from The City into their Port. Well now there are Michelin starred restaurants and great bars here to visit. I had lunch in The Vintage on Henderson Street, sharing a tapas style platter and the beers came in 2/3 pint glasses. Staff were very keen and knowledgeable and I would highly recommend it.

After lunch I made it along the old bondside in Commercial Street, past the remains of Cromwell’s Citadel and ended up at the Royal Yacht Britannia and the Ocean Terminal shopping mall. By now the sun was splitting the sky. It was Sunny Leith afterall.

A brilliant walk and such a relaxing day.