This article by a guest blogger
gives you just a taste of the rich
and varied history of Edinburgh’s
Royal Mile. One other writer once
said that two thirds of Scotland’s
history took place on this street.
If ever one street defined a
country…it’s this one.
What do you think?
The history of Edinburgh’s
Royal Mile
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The History of Edinburgh’s
Royal Mile
If you have ever been to Edinburgh
and wanted to see something
historic or cultural, you have likely
been to the Royal Mile. This
cobblestone road, that stretches
from Holyroodhouse at the base of
the hill, up towards the glorious
Edinburgh Castle at the top of the
hill, overlooking the entire city, has
long been the historical and cultural
center of the city. While the city itself
has expanded to adapt to industry
and modern life, the Royal Mile is
essential to any discussion of
Edinburgh’s history, and is a major
draw for locals and tourists alike.
What makes this one mile of road so
important? Let’s take a look at its
history.
The Early Years
The hill that hosts the Royal Mile was
carved by prehistoric glaciers, moving
across Scotland. In the early 200s AD,
the first people came to the area,
building a fortress at the top of the
hill, which would later become the
castle. Settlers came to the area and
build a town around the fortress,
which, at the time, was called Clagen.
There were only inklings of the great
city that would come and the nation
it would represent.
1000-1500 AD
Malcolm II takes over Edinburgh and
claims Scotland as a separate
kingdom in 1018. This is the first
point in history that the city is called
Edinburgh. Only a hundred years
later, David I, the new king, builds
Holyrood Abbey at the bottom of the
Royal Mile, which will eventually
become Holyroodhouse. After
another hundred years, Scotland
allies itself with France, making them
enemies of the British crown, who
attach Edinburgh and sack the abbey.
1500-1600 AD
As sea travel becomes safer and
more reliable, the world begins to
shrink and tension between the
Scottish and English begin to rise.
Edinburgh is named the capital of
Scotland and the city is fortified
against invaders with a wall and the
Nor’ Loch (into which most of the
waste from those who lived on the
Royal Mile and its closes would flow).
It is not enough to protect the city,
however, as Henry VIII’s soldiers
break through the defenses and
destroy most of the city.
It is also during this time that the
reformation begins to take hold, not
just in England, but in Scotland as
well. John Knox, an influential
Protestant minister, takes up
residence at St. Giles’ Cathedral
during this time period, coming to
Edinburgh in 1559.
Only two years later, Mary, Queen of
Scots, and her court took up
residence at Holyroodhouse,
returning from France after the death
of her husband. She and her court
are not exactly hiding from the
English monarchy, but when the
Queen and her court are attacked at
the house and her secretary is
murdered, she flees through the
Royal Mile’s winding closes, to escape
being killed herself.
Many of the closes, the streets
perpendicular to the Mile, where, in
Old Edinburgh, most people lived
and worked, are now underground,
but at the time, they boasted a
thriving population of people both
rich and poor, living in conditions
that were, by today’s standards,
terrible. All across Europe, the Black
Plague was claiming countless
victims, and Edinburgh, especially in
the cramped, dirty closes along the
Royal Mile, was no exception.
On a lighter note, it was in 1582 that
the Edinburgh University—and
institution still flourishing
today—was founded.
1600-1900 AD
By the time James VI came to
England’s throne in 1603, the
reformation was in full swing all
across Europe, but especially in
Edinburgh. By the 1700s, however,
the Catholic Church was attempting
to regain control of the region, and
Jacobites were sent to take over
Edinburgh. The churches and
cathedrals built on the royal mile
were largely left alone, however, and
today still stand sentinel over the
road.
During the 1600s, quality of life was
very poor for those living on the
Royal Mile. People flocked to the
Mile, and by 1645, more than 70,000
people were living around it, with
towering buildings barely housing all
of them. Few improvements were
made to the living conditions until
the mid-1800s, when new residences
were built and many of the old closes
were demolished or built-on top of,
to create new homes and businesses.
Two of Edinburgh’s most famous
citizens were born during this
period—Walter Scott (1771) and
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850). The
Greyfriar’s Kirk also had its most
famous patron, a little dog named
Bobby, during this time. Though not
technically on the Mile itself, the Kirk
is only a few steps from the
cobblestones and has a memorial
commemorating that loyal little dog,
who visited his master’s grave every
day.
Holyroodhouse had long since
ceased to be an abbey and instead,
was used as a palace for visiting
dignitaries. When Queen Victoria
visited Edinburgh, it was where she
and her family stayed, instead of in
the darkness of the castle at the top
of the Royal Mile.
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